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2010.12.30 - Mexican gray wolf standing in snow - gnagel - iStock Photo.jpg
Washington, D.C.

Trump Administration Executive Order Targets Wolves to Appease Ranchers

Under the guise of supporting ranchers from livestock loss due to predation, the Trump administration issued an EO targeting gray wolves and Mexican wolves.
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Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle is on his way home after being released from a cold-stun rehab center.
New Orleans, LA

Defenders Celebrates U.S. Appeals Court Ruling to Protect Imperiled Sea Turtles from Drowning in Fishing Nets

A federal appeals court upheld the rule requiring shrimp trawling vessels to use turtle excluder devices so that sea turtles can avoid getting caught in nets.
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pale gray north atlantic right whale swimming in dark blue ocean with an entangled string wrapped around the top of its head and seen underneath it's lower body
Washington, DC

House Gambles with Survival for North Atlantic Right Whales in Latest Vote to Delay Protections

The House of Representatives voted to pass H.R. 9436, a bill that will delay conservation protections for critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.

Press Releases

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Right Whale
Wassaw Island, GA

Thirteenth Critically Endangered Right Whale Calf of the Season Spotted Near Georgia

Yesterday, NOAA Fisheries announced that a newborn North Atlantic right whale had been spotted near Wassaw Island, Georgia, making it the 13th calf of the 2020-2021 calving season. The newborn was accompanied by its 14-year-old mother. This calf is the mother’s first.
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Sunrise at Heartbreak Rock, Joshua Tree National Park
Washington, D.C.

Inauguration Day Brings Hope for Wildlife

President & CEO Jamie Rappaport Clark on the inauguration of Joe Biden as President of the United States.
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Royal Tern
New York

Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration’s Gutting of Federal Protection for Migratory Birds

National environmental groups filed a lawsuit today in the Southern District of New York challenging the Trump administration’s reinterpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which eliminated longstanding, vital protections for more than 1,000 species of waterfowl, raptors and songbirds.
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Mojave Desert Tortoise, Mojave Max, on stones
St. George, Utah

Trump Administration Decision To Build Highway In Utah Violates Environmental Laws And Risks Integrity Of National Conservation Lands

Today, the Trump administration’s Bureau of Land Management issued a Record of Decision permitting construction of the Northern Corridor Highway, a controversial four-lane highway through the protected Red Cliffs National Conservation Area (NCA) in southwest Utah. The US Fish & Wildlife Service also issued an Incidental Take Permit, allowing for destruction of desert tortoises in the path of the highway project and to reduce protections elsewhere. Desert tortoises are listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act.
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Wolf from the Canyon pack next to road near Norris taken from snowcoach through the glass window
Washington, DC

Groups Challenge Trump Administration Over Gray Wolf Delisting

Today, six environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s rule that removed Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the lower-48 states
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