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gray wolf walking with paw raised and looking at camera
Olympia, WA

Washington State 2025 Wolf Count Increases, Depredations Decrease

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife today released the state’s 2025 minimum count for gray wolves at 270 individuals, a 17% increase from 2024
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gray wolf
Salem, OR

Oregon Releases 2025 Annual Wolf Count, Numbers Up

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife today issued its 2025 gray wolf annual report, announcing an increase in the wolf population for a new
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Offshore Oil Rig
Washington D.C.

Defenders of Wildlife Challenges Unprecedented “God Squad” Exemption Allowing Unchecked Gulf Oil Drilling

Defenders of Wildlife today announced it is taking legal action to overturn an unprecedented and unlawful decision by the Endangered Species Committee, known as the “God Squad,” to exempt federal authorizations of oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico through a blanket exemption from the Endangered Species Act’s protections.

Press Releases

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Tiger cub in Bandhavgarh
Washington, DC

Lawmakers in China Urged to Reduce Demand for Vulnerable Wildlife

Defenders of Wildlife and more than 25 nonprofit organizations from India, Vietnam, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and Germany this week published an open letter to lawmakers in China urging them to act to reduce demand for wild animal species threatened with extinction.
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A grove of aspens burst into color near Forest Road 528 on the Rio Grande National Forest in Southern Colorado
Washington, DC

Trump Administration Announces Finalization of Destructive National Forest Rule

The Trump administration is poised to finalize a rule tomorrow that would make it easier to pursue the administration’s goal to ramp up logging and other harmful extractive activities within America’s treasured national forests.
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Grizzly Bears at the confluence of the Russian River and Kenai River, Kenai Peninsula, Chugach National Forest, Alaska
Anchorage, AK

Court upholds prohibition of brown bear baiting in the Kenai Refuge

A coalition of groups hailed a federal court decision last week that upheld a 2016 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rule that enshrines the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s long-standing prohibition on brown bear baiting, along with its decades-long approach of managing the Skilak Wildlife Recreation Area for wildlife viewing and education.
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Greater Sage Grouse - Wyoming
WASHINGTON

Conservation Groups Urge Appropriators to Oppose Sage-Grouse Rider

In a letter sent to key House and Senate appropriations negotiators, environmental groups recently urged that language used to prohibit the greater sage-grouse from being given Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections be omitted from this year’s final bill language.
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Manatee resting at Three Sisters Springs
Orlando, FL

Environmental Attorney to Expand New Defenders of Wildlife Gulf Coast Program

Defenders of Wildlife has expanded its reach in the southeastern U.S., hiring Florida-based attorney Elizabeth Neville to become its first senior Gulf Coast representative. Neville's work will focus on vital biodiversity and conservation issues affecting the Gulf Coast regions of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.
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