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manatee
St. Petersburg, Fl.

Florida Manatees to Receive Nearly 2 Million Acres of Revised Protected Habitat

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Monday proposed a revised critical habitat plan that would protect 1,904,191 acres of critical habitat for the Florida
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Red Knots and Horseshoe Crabs
CHARLESTON, SC

Defenders of Wildlife Statement on Dismissal of Challenge to Cape Romain Refuge Management

Defenders of Wildlife celebrates today the dismissal of a challenge by the state of South Carolina to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s authority to
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Baby Green Sea Turtles on the beach
Washington, DC

More Than 80 Conservation Groups Call on Members of Congress To Oppose New House Bill Targeting Endangered Species Act

More than 80 conservation groups representing millions of Americans are calling on members of Congress to oppose a new bill (H.R. 9533) targeting the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The “ESA Amendments Act of 2024,” which House Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) is proposing, would dramatically weaken the bedrock environmental law by decreasing protections for threatened and endangered species and rewriting key portions of it.

Press Releases

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baby desert tortoise in shell
Washington, DC

Bureau of Land Management Releases Ill-Conceived Proposal for the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan

Today the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a proposed amendment to the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP), initially approved under the Obama administration in 2016.
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Photo of the White House in Washington, DC
Washington, DC

Statement from Defenders of Wildlife Regarding Impeachment of President Trump

Defenders of Wildlife’s President & CEO Jamie Rappaport Clark released the following statement in reaction to the congressional effort to impeach President Trump for his role in inciting violence and attacking our constitutional framework.
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North atlantic right whale and calf
Washington, DC

Feds Sued to Force Them to Protect Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales From Vessel Strikes

Conservation groups sued the National Marine Fisheries Service today for failing to respond to two rulemaking petitions to protect critically endangered right whales from being run over and killed by ships and boats in U.S. waters. The groups are calling for more speed limits to reduce the number of vessel strikes.
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Black bear momma and cubs in the Tongass
Washington, DC

Congress Introduces Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2021

The Roadless Area Conservation Rule was adopted by the U.S. Forest Service on January 12, 2001 to conserve wildlands, watersheds and wildlife habitat within national forest lands by preventing development within areas that had not been touched by road building and logging. Protecting nearly 60 million acres of unroaded areas within the national forest system, the rule is one of America’s most important conservation achievements.
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Collared adult male Canada lynx
Washington, DC

Eleventh Hour Rule to Further Weaken Laws to Protect Endangered Species

The Trump administration proposed an eleventh-hour rule yesterday that would significantly diminish the strength of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by allowing federal regulators to ignore new information about the impacts of U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plans governing actions that have the potential to harm ESA-listed species, such as logging, roadbuilding, oil and gas leasing and other habitat-disturbing activities.
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
hhammer@defenders.org
(202) 772-0295
Communications Specialist
jpetrequin@defenders.org
(202) 772-0243