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okee
South Korea

Defenders Celebrates Vote to Add Okefenokee Refuge to UNESCO World Heritage List

The United Nations World Heritage Committee voted to add the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge to its World Heritage List.
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sea turtle
Washington, D.C.

Conservation Groups Plan to Sue Trump Over Attempts to Eliminate Protections for Threatened Species & Favor Corporate Interests Instead of Science

Conservation groups notified the Trump administration of their plans to challenge two rulemakings weakening the Endangered Species Act (ESA) that were finalized today.
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Florida Panther
WASHINGTON, D.C.

In a Gift to Industry, The Trump Administration Eliminates Protections for Threatened Species and Essential Habitat

In a devastating blow to wildlife, the Trump administration today finalized rollbacks of two regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act that will hamstring the protection and recovery of endangered and threatened species.

Press Releases

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Great Egret in flight in Okefenokee NWR
Washington, DC

Biden Administration Moves to Protect Migratory Birds, Drops Trump-Era Court Appeal

The Biden administration today formally dropped an appeal of a federal district court ruling that rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to strip protections for birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA).
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Agassiz's desert tortoise eating cactus
Sacramento, CA

Biden Administration Halts Trump’s Last-minute Attack to Undo Desert Conservation Plan

In the 11th hour of President Trump’s term, the federal administration announced a rollback to upend key conservation protections afforded to public lands in the California Desert Conservation Area by the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) adopted by the federal government and the State of California in 2016.
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Right Whale
St. Augustine, FL

Critically Endangered North Atlantic Right Whale Calf Killed off Florida Coast

A brand-new male North Atlantic right whale calf was discovered dead yesterday on a beach at Anastasia State Park near St. Augustine, Florida.
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Polar bears
Anchorage, AK

Emergency court order stops ConocoPhillips from moving forward on destructive Willow project

Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, Defenders of Wildlife and four additional groups applaud a U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling yesterday that stops ConocoPhillips from doing winter road construction, gravel mining, and blasting on its Willow project in the western Arctic, on federal lands in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, while the court decides an appeal in the case.
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Williamson’s Sapsucker on a branch
Washington, DC

Legislation Introduced to Establish one of the Nation’s Largest Urban Wildlife Refuges

A recent report finds that California lost more than 1 million acres of natural area between 2001 and 2017 due to urban development, greatly affecting
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
Communications Specialist
estern@defenders.org
202-772-0243