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2025.03.08 - SW - Ocelot Fest - Jacqueline Covey-DOW (1).jpg

Ocelot Conservation Day Returns to the RGV

On March 7, the annual celebration of Texas’ beloved native cat, Ocelot Conservation Day, returns to the Rio Grande Valley. Now in its 29th year
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Violet-green Swallow
ANN ARBOR, MI

Study Led by Defenders of Wildlife Scientist Shows Noise Pollution Impacts on Migratory Birds

“The major takeaway from this study is that anthropogenic noise affects many aspects of bird behavior, with some responses more directly tied to fitness,” said Natalie Madden, lead author of the new study.
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Louisiana Black Bear
Raleigh, N.C.

Defenders Receives Advocacy Organization of the Year Award

Defenders of Wildlife joined its partners in the Safe Passage coalition today to accept the Advocacy Organization of the Year Award at the 2026 Sweethearts

Press Releases

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Horseshoe Crabs
Charleston, SC

Defenders of Wildlife and Conservation Groups Sue Regulators, Pharmaceutical Company Over Crab Pens

South Carolina's natural resources agency and pharmaceutical giant Charles River Laboratories are facing a federal lawsuit for violating the Endangered Species Act by allowing harvesters to keep horseshoe crabs captive in manmade ponds, a practice only South Carolina permits.
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gray wolf howling in lamar valley
SEATTLE, Wash.

Collared Wolf Crosses Interstate-90 in Washington for First Time Ever

For the first time ever, a collaRed Wolf in Washington state successfully crossed interstate-90 into the South Cascades mountains according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).
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Black mountains in the western mojave desert
Washington, DC

New Study Outlines Ways to Conserve 30 Percent of Nation’s Lands and Waters by 2030

A new study by Defenders of Wildlife’s Center for Conservation Innovation, “Identifying key federal, state and private lands strategies for achieving 30X30 in the US” was published this week in the leading scientific journal Conservation Letters.
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Caribou on tundra in NPR-A
Anchorage, AK

Biden Administration to Reverse Oil Lease Expansion in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska

The Bureau of Land Management announced that it will reverse previous plans to expand oil leasing in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska and include new plans to protect threatened and endangered species instead.
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Mexican Gray Wolf stare
Flagstaff, Ariz.

Well-known Mexican Gray Wolf Killed on National Forest Land in Northern Arizona

An endangered Mexican gray wolf in Arizona known as “Anubis” (m2520) was illegally shot and killed on Jan. 2. His death, on national forest land, is now under federal investigation.
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