LOS ANGELES - September 12 - The Bush administration on Wednesday recommended another reduction in protections for the endangered Lane Mountain milk-vetch by downlisting it to threatened status under the Endangered Species Act. This despite the fact that only four populations of the plant remain on the planet; that recent studies indicate that the number of individuals is declining; and at least 20 percent of the populations will be destroyed by tank maneuvers on Fort Irwin.

WASHINGTON - September 11 - A bill to study the Missisquoi and Trout Rivers for potential designation as Wild and Scenic Rivers passed the House this evening with bi-partisan support, putting the rivers one step closer to permanent protection in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

JUNEAU - September 10 - The nation's leading voice for the national parks, the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), today released an assessment that reveals Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve's natural features are in very good condition, while cultural sites rank only fair.

ATLANTA - September 10 - The Center for Biological Diversity yesterday filed a lawsuit in federal court in Atlanta challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's failure to protect two rare Caribbean plants under the Endangered Species Act. More than a dozen years have passed since a petition was submitted to list the plants, Agave eggersiana and Solanum conocarpum, both of which are near extinction in the wild.

WASHINGTON - September 9 - September 9, 2008. Behind the thin green gloss Congressional leaders spread across the subsidy-laden 2008 farm bill, the Democratic Congress is now hacking away at pledges to expand conservation and other environmental programs. Data analyzed by the Environmental Working Group show that Congress is trying to roll back funding increases in critical conservation and environmental programs, funding pledged in the farm law passed just weeks ago.