For Immediate Release

Today 10 a.m., the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining will hold a legislative hearing on 15 bills, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski's Alaska Native Claims Settlement Improvement Act, S. 1481.

Robert Dewey, vice president of government relations and external affairs, Defenders of Wildlife, issued this statement: 

"The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Improvement Act is a massive public lands giveaway. The bill would sell off hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands within the Tongass National Forest and the National Wildlife Refuge System to private profit. Lands that belong to the American people within the biologically sensitive coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would be privatized and opened to oil and gas development. These actions would have significant impacts on the wildlife that rely on old-growth forest and the Arctic Refuge to survive." 

For over 75 years, Defenders of Wildlife has remained dedicated to protecting all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With a nationwide network of nearly 2.1 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife for generations to come. To learn more, please visit https://defenders.org/newsroom or follow us on X @Defenders.

  

News

Image
2018.10.21 - Mexican Gray Wolf Pups - Watson.jpg
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO

Defenders Signs onto Letter Demanding Release of Female Mexican Gray Wolf

Thirty-six conservation groups representing millions of members and supporters from across the United States today sent a formal letter to the U.S. Department of the
Image
Two orcas swimming in a body of water. The orca on the left is jumping out of the water and the one on the right is breaching, just poking its dorsal fin and tops of head out. There are faint mountains in the background.
Washington, DC

New Bill Would Gut Marine Mammal Protections

Rep. Nicholas Begich (R-AK) introduced a draft bill today that would eviscerate the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the sole federal law protecting marine mammals in