The working materials in the NRDC Document Bank are listed in reverse chronological order. For additional policy materials including reports and issue papers, see the Issues section of the main NRDC site.
National and Alaska Survey on Pebble Mine
A national poll reveals solid opposition to Pebble Mine, proposed at the headwaters of Bristol Bay, Alaska. Protecting salmon – and the jobs, people, and wildlife that depend on it – from the mine’s projected 10 billion tons of waste are the leading causes of opposition for both residents in the lower 48 states and Alaska.
Oppose the Extinction Rider
The Interior and Environment Appropriations bill for FY12 contains a rider (p. 8) that would prevent the Fish and Wildlife Service from listing any new species or designating critical habitat for any currently listed species under the Endangered Species Act. The rider does allow the Fish and Wildlife Service to delist and downlist species, thus creating a one-way ratchet in which wildlife protection can only be weakened.
Oppose Provisions that Harm Bighorn Sheep
The Interior and Environment Appropriations bill for FY12 contains two riders (sections 120 & 442) that would allow domestic sheep in the west to graze without restrictions in order to appease a handful of ranchers in Idaho. This would make domestic sheep more likely to come into contact with and spread deadly diseases to bighorn sheep.
Protect Endangered Species from Harmful Pesticides
The Interior and Environment Appropriations bill for FY12 contains a rider (section 447) offered by Rep. Calvert (R-CA) that would prevent EPA from implementing measures to mitigate the effects of harmful pesticides on endangered and threatened species, as required under the Endangered Species Act.
Oppose a Provision That Would Remove Courts from the Endangered Species Act Process
The Interior and Environment Appropriations bill for FY12 contains a rider (section 119) that would shield potentially flawed wolf delisting decisions in Wyoming and the Great Lakes from judicial review.
Green Group CEOs letter to President Obama emphasizing the need to include revenues in a debt limit agreement
Letter from Green Group CEOs to President Obama as debt ceiling negotiations continue, emphasizing the need to include revenues in any debt limit agreement. The letter points out that dealing with the deficit without raising significant additional revenues is quite simply a decision to dismember vital programs on which the public depends, including those that protect health and the environment, provide for conservation and recreation, and maintain critical infrastructure.
Comments on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Proposals Affecting Wolves
NRDC supports the delisting of gray wolves in the Midwest, including in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. However, NRDC does not believe that the best available scientific evidence supports the recognition of Canis lycaon as a species. Additionally, the proposed reclassification of many wolves occurring in the Midwest and all wolves in the northeastern United States, as Canis lycaon is unnecessary at this time and undermines the Service’s delisting proposal for Midwest wolves. Finally, NRDC strongly urges the Service to recognize and list a Distinct Population Segment of wolves in the Pacific Northwest.
Letter in support of shark species preservation
This letter in support of Assembly Bill 376 is dated June 24, 2011 and was sent to the members of the California State Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee. The letter is signed by Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of The Humane Society; Peter Knights, Executive Director of WildAID; Frances Beinecke, President of NRDC; and Leonardo DiCaprio, Actor/Activist.
Coalition Letter to Christopher C. Ward regarding JFK expansion
Letter dated March 17, 2011 in opposition to proposal to expand JFK Airport into Jamaica Bay to Christopher O. Ward
NRDC Comments on Wolf Management in Idaho
Comments on Wildlife Services' Revised Environmental Assessment evaluating the impacts of alternatives for gray wolf damage management in Idaho.
Notice of Appeal for FirstEnergy BayShore Plant, 12/17/2010
Five groups are appealing pollution permits for a coal plant in Lake Erie’s Maumee Bay that currently kills 60 billion fish on the grounds that the State of Ohio is not requiring the best available technology to eliminate the problem as required by law.
Idaho Wolf EA Comments
NRDC's Montana office submitted comments on the USDA’s Wildlife Services agency’s environmental assessment process evaluating the impacts of "alternatives for gray wolf damage management in Idaho."
Federal Endangered Species Act Protections for Gray Wolves in the Northern Rockies Restored
Legal decision restoring federal Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the Northern Rockies filed August 5, 2010.
Great Lakes NGO Whitehouse Letter on Asian Carp
Some of the most prominent National and Great Lakes conservation groups have petitioned President Obama to step in and make significant changes to the federal response to the ongoing Asian carp crisis.
NRDC Comments on the Montana Wolf Hunt - 2010
Wolf hunts in the Northern Rockies threaten to undermine one of the greatest conservation successes in history. Wolf populations in the region have come very close to reaching sustainable levels, however state managed hunts may prevent populations from reaching those levels, particularly given the way the hunts were managed in the first year. NRDC submitted comments on the hunts.
A Grizzly Challenge: Ensuring a Future for Alberta's Threatened Grizzlies
This joint report from the David Suzuki Foundation, NRDC, Yellowstone to Yukon and a variety of other interested groups looks at the shaky future faced by Alberta’s shrinking grizzly bear population.
NRDC and Gulf Coast Community Letter to Department of Labor
Letter requests U.S. Department of Labor to take specific steps to protect the health of fishermen and workers working in oil-contaminated areas post BP oil spill.
Letter from NRDC President Frances Beinecke to President Obama regarding scope of independent investigation of Gulf oil disaster.
The letter to the President recommends that the independent commission being established by the President be given a broad mandate to investigate the causes of the Gulf oil disaster spill, the adequacy of the response, the regulatory changes needed to protect the environment and prevent such a disaster in the future and the implications of its findings for determining the location and extent of future offshore drilling.
NRDC Comments on the Draft Proposed Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program, 2010-2015, (January, 2009)
This letter from September 21, 2009, to the Minerals Management Service (MMS) of the Department of Interior (the Department, Interior, or DOI), comments on the Draft Proposed Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program, 2010-2015.
Ensuring a Future for Canada's Grizzly Bears
This joint report from the David Suzuki Foundation and NRDC looks at the dangerous impacts of excessive grizzly bear trophy hunting in Canadian national parks. The death toll affects populations on both sides of the national border, as many bears move between protected areas in the United States and parts of B.C., where most Americans would be surprised to learn that the bears are not protected from trophy hunters, even in provincial parks.
- wil_10040102a.pdf
- wil_10040102b.pdf Grizzly Bear mortality rates by year
Cross-Border Flathead Region Grizzly Kills Map
NRDC and the David Suzuki Foundation have released a new report detailing trophy hunting of grizzly bears in along the U.S. and Canadian border. This map details kills observed in the British Columbia portion of the Flathead region.
Comments on Minnesota's Special Registration Review for the Pesticide Atrazine
These comments complement NRDC’s national report, Poisoning the Well, on the impact of atrazine on surface and drinking water in the Midwest, including Minnesota. (Wu et al., 2009.)
Protecting the Great Lakes: Keeping ballast water pollution out of New York
NRDC argued on behalf of New York’s aggressive new state law to keep invasive species out of the Great Lakes by putting limitations on the dumping of ballast water from cargo ships. The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York in Albany sided with NRDC and NWF when they intervened in the Port of Oswego Authority vs. Grainis case.
Bee Toxic Pesticide Pulled from the Market
This federal court decision was a win for bees when NRDC challenged an illegal registration for the highly toxic insecticide, spirotetramat (trade named Movento). The court agreed with NRDC’s argument that regulators had not followed basic procedures for allowing public comment and evaluating the chemical’s economic, environmental, and social impacts. The chemical will be removed from American store shelves until it has been appropriately evaluated.
Petition to List Atlantic Sturgeon as Endangered Under the Endangered Species Act
NRDC’s petition to list the Atlantic sturgeon as an endangered species throughout all or a significant portion of its range pursuant to the federal Endangered Species Act ("ESA").
Petition to List the Insular Population of Hawaiian False Killer Whales as Endangered Under the ESA
NRDC petitions the Secretary of Commerce through the National Marine Fisheries Service to add the Hawaiian false killer whale population to the endangered species list. The Hawaiian false killer whale population is a small and ecologically unique population of 120 animals that has suffered a significant decline over the last 25 years.
Order Granting Preliminary Injunction to Restore Wolf Protections
This opinion, issued by Federal District Judge Donald Molloy on Friday, July 18, 2008, orders the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to restore federal Endangered Species Act protections to the Northern Rocky Mountain population of gray wolves pending the resolution of a lawsuit, brought by NRDC and our allies, challenging the Bush Administration's decision to strip the region's wolves of their federal protection.
Petition to File a Gray Wolf Recovery Plan
NRDC and Defenders of Wildlife filed this February 2008 petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to prepare a recovery plan for the gray wolf under the Endangered Species Act.
Department of Interior Letter to Wyoming Fish and Game – January 2004
This letter was sent to the State of Wyoming noting that significant concerns over the state’s wolf management plan could affect the effort to remove wolves from the Endangered Species List and that the Wyoming wolves could not be separated from the larger Northern Rockies population that also includes animals in Idaho and Montana.