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manta rays swimming in the shallow ocean with coral
Fort Myers, FL

Defenders of Wildlife Applauds Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for Tightening Protections for Listed Species

Defenders of Wildlife welcomes today’s action by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to end open permitting for the capture of ESA-threatened marine species in Florida waters for public display and exhibition purposes.
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NARW
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Legal Intervention Aims to Protect North Atlantic Right Whales From Deadly Ship Strikes

Conservation groups today filed a motion to intervene to help fight a lawsuit aimed at overturning a seasonal speed rule protecting North Atlantic right whales from deadly vessel strikes. The groups want to defend the rule against a lawsuit brought by a New York vessel owner fined for violating seasonal speed limits. The suit alleges that NOAA Fisheries lacked the statutory authority to issue the rule.
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sage grouse in snow at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge
Washington, D.C.

Final Rescission of Public Lands Rule Reverses Modern Land Management, Threatens Wildlife Habitat

The Bureau of Land Management today announced a decision to roll back the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, commonly referred to as the Public Lands Rule. The policy modernized how BLM manages our national public lands and represented the critical incorporation of ecological resilience into management alongside traditional resource extraction.

Press Releases

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Red-cockaded woodpecker feasts on a bug
Washington, DC

Defenders 'Disappointed’ by Downlisting of Red Cockaded Woodpecker

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today downlisted the red-cockaded woodpecker from endangered to threatened status under the Endangered Species Act, a decision conservation groups
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2010.10.31 - Sierra Nevada Red Fox - Stanislaus National Forest - U.S. Department of Agriculture (CC by 2.0).jpg
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA

Defenders to Sue Over Failure to Protect Habitat for One of Nation’s Rarest Mammals

Defenders of Wildlife today notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that it intends to sue over its failure to designate critical habitat for an
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2023.01.05- Right Whale Swimming with Calf-FWC-CC BY NC ND 2.0
Washington, DC

Defenders: Latest Right Whale Population Estimate Shows More to be Done

The North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium via NOAA Fisheries today updated the estimated population of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. The new estimate is
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Red Knots and Horseshoe Crabs
Annapolis, MD

Fisheries Commission Rejects Delaware Bay Female Horseshoe Crab Harvest Proposal

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission ( ASMFC) decided against allowing a bait harvest of female horseshoe crabs in Delaware Bay in 2025, maintaining a
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2015.03.30 - Desert Tortoise - Joshua Tree National Park - Kurt Moses, NPS.jpg
SAN FRANCISCO

Judge Rejects Federal Project Threatening California’s Desert Tortoises

A judge has rejected federal agencies’ approval of activities in the California Desert Conservation Area, including a vast network of off-road vehicle routes in the
Senior Vice President, External Affairs
lsheehan@defenders.org
(202) 772-3244
Communications Director
mdewane@defenders.org
(202) 772-0217
Communications Specialist
jcovey@defenders.org
Communications Specialist
kirby@defenders.org
(202) 772-3268