One of the largest sea stars in the world, the sunflower sea star, was once common along the Pacific Coast of North America. Its sharp decline has prompted NOAA Fisheries to propose listing the species as threatened.
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This proposal means that the sunflower sea star (Pycnopodia helianthoides) is considered likely to become in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future. The main threat to the species is a lethal pathogen that caused a recent outbreak of Sea Star Wasting Syndrome. It killed more than 90 percent of sunflower sea stars from 2013 to 2017 in what is considered the largest marine wildlife disease outbreak on record. Sea stars that contract the syndrome become lethargic, develop lesions, lose their arms, and within days disintegrate into gooey masses.

​​The Guardian

Tens of thousands of dead wild salmon scattered
long a creek bed are the latest casualty of
a drought that has gripped the province of
British Columbia for more than a month and
​left communities bracing for more devastation.

Continuing the momentum to achieve the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030, the Department of the Interior today announced the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will conduct an environmental review of the first proposed wind energy project offshore Maryland.

This week, the Department will publish a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Construction and Operations Plan (COP) submitted by US Wind, LLC (US Wind). This is the 10th offshore wind energy COP review initiated under the Biden-Harris administration.

NPR

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is restoring federal regulations that require rigorous environmental review of major infrastructure projects such as highways, pipelines and oil wells — including likely impacts on climate change and nearby communities. The longstanding reviews were scaled back by the Trump administration in a bid to fast-track projects and create jobs.
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A rule finalized Tuesday will restore key provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, a bedrock environmental law designed to ensure community safeguards during reviews for a wide range of federal proposals, including roads, bridges and energy projects authorized in the $1 trillion infrastructure law Biden signed last fall, the White House said.

The White House Council on Environmental Quality said the new rule, which takes effect in late May, should resolve challenges created by the Trump-era policy and restore public confidence during environmental reviews.