In 2018, CLF sued to prevent the plan from moving forward, and last month, the court ruled in our favor. Here’s what you need to know about that decision and what still is at stake in this critical case.
“It cannot be overstated how critical it is to protect more of this country’s natural places,” said CLF President Bradley Campbell. “Permanently protecting 30 percent of lands and waters will help fight the climate crisis, protect biodiversity, and give future generations a chance at inheriting a healthy planet. The administration’s report presents a reasonable path for reaching this goal in nine short years, but for the effort to be credible the administration needs to be clearer about what criteria must be met to consider lands or waters ‘preserved.’”
With life expected to slowly return to some semblance of normal by the summer, we must continue to find ways to promote public health and the economy. But we also must protect the public’s right to access open space along the city’s waterfront.
As a reporter for The Boston Globe and a documentary filmmaker, David Abel casts light on serious environmental issues by crafting compelling stories that inspire action.
Regulators have known for more than 20 years that vessel strikes kill right whales at an alarming rate. But to date, they haven’t put forward a real solution.
“The Supreme Court correctly rejected this baseless challenge to the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument,” said Peter Shelley, Senior Counsel at CLF. “The science supporting the need for this critical protected area—the only one along the Atlantic seaboard—has only gotten stronger and more compelling. The Biden Administration must now reinstate the ban on commercial fishing within the monument’s boundaries as soon as possible.”
“It’s concerning any time you get a statement like this from a justice, especially from the chief justice,” said Peter Shelley, senior counsel at the Conservation Law Foundation in Boston. “The tea leaves of this statement are going to be read closely by people with very different perspectives.”
Regulators have known for more than 20 years that vessel strikes kill right whales at an alarming rate. But to date, they haven’t put forward a real solution.
Early announcements from the new administration give reason for optimism and could help us leave a healthy ocean for future generations. The emphasis on conserving protected ocean areas like the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts means the ocean has a shot at recovering from the damage humans have inflicted.
From the second they are born to their last breath, North Atlantic right whales help our climate by making our ocean more resilient. We need to push for their protection so that they can do their part in helping to create a greater future for all.
