WASHINGTON - April 3 - The State of Michigan has given formal notice to the federal government that the state is beginning the process of withdrawing its wetlands protection program and the federal agencies must prepare to take over permitting and enforcement, according to a letter released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Michigan's Legislature is still considering whether to adopt Gov. Jennifer Granholm's proposal to scrap wetland protections in her state.

WASHINGTON - April 2 - U.S.

The following is a statement by Rodger Schlickeisen, president for Defenders of Wildlife:

SAN FRANCISCO - April 1 - Today the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for illegally delaying protection of the ashy storm petrel under the Endangered Species Act. The Service failed to make a 12-month finding on whether the ashy storm petrel, a rare California seabird imperiled by development and global warming, should be listed under the Endangered Species Act as threatened or endangered. This decision was due by the agency on October 16, 2008.

LIVINGSTON, Mont. - April 1 - The long fight over wolves in the Northern Rockies continued today when the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and a coalition of concerned conservation groups announced a legal challenge to the recent US Fish and Wildlife Service decision to remove wolves from the federal Endangered Species list.

WASHINGTON - March 30 - At a ceremony earlier today, President Obama signed into law legislation permanently establishing the National Landscape Conservation System, which will protect and restore the most scenic, ecologically and historically significant lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management. The System, the first of its kind in 50 years, consists of National Monuments, National Conservation Areas, Wilderness Areas, Wild and Scenic Rivers, National Scenic and Historic Trails and other protective designations totaling over 850 sites and 26 million acres.

WASHINGTON - March 30 - American Rivers applauded President Barack Obama today for signing into the law the second largest Wild and Scenic Rivers package in history. The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 designates 86 new Wild and Scenic Rivers, totaling over 1,100 miles in Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming, Utah, California, and Massachusetts. The legislation includes important protections for 350,000 acres of land along the rivers and also contains new Wilderness designations for over two million acres of public land.