FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date:  January 21, 2015

Contact: Melanie Gade, mgade@defenders.org (202) 772-0288

Senate Rejects Damaging Amendment, Protects Endangered Species Act

WASHINGTON – Today the Senate voted down an amendment, sponsored by Mike Lee (UT), to the Keystone pipeline bill that would have restricted citizens’ access to the courts and curtailed their ability to hold the government accountable when it fails to properly enforce the Endangered Species Act.

Jamie Rappaport Clark, Former Defenders of Wildlife's President and CEO issued the following statement:

“Today, in one of the first votes of this new Congress, the Senate voted to affirm the integrity of the Endangered Species Act. By rejecting the Lee amendment, the Senate ensured that all citizens will retain the ability to hold the government accountable when its actions threaten America’s imperiled wildlife. We applaud those Senators who stood strong in the face of this attempt to undermine the integrity of one of this nation’s bedrock conservation laws.”

###

Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 1.1 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit www.defenders.org and follow us on Twitter @defendersnews.

 

 

For nearly 80 years, Defenders of Wildlife has worked to protect and restore America’s wildlife at risk of extinction, advancing a vision of a future in which wildlife thrives, sustained by broad public support and a resilient network of healthy lands and waters. With a network of more than 2 million supporters, Defenders is an advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard wildlife for generations to come. To learn more, please visit https://defenders.org/newsroom or follow us on Instagram @defendersofwildlife.  

 

News

Image
Diseases that spread in shared spaces can have massive impacts on mammal species and have the potential to kill entire litters of wolf pups.
Raleigh, N.C.

More Red Wolf Pups Shows Promising Growth for Critically Endangered Canid

The Red Wolf Recovery Program in North Carolina confirmed the birth of four wild litters of Red Wolf pups in eastern North Carolina, home to the only population of wild Red Wolves in the world.
Image
Two North Atlantic right whales swimming alongside one another in the ocean
Washington, DC

Defenders Calls Foul on Latest Bill Seeking to Delay Protections for the Critically Endangered North Atlantic Right Whale

Defenders of Wildlife condemns HR 9436, which would delay right whale protections until 2035, as entanglements push the species toward extinction.