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2020.03.24 - Alligator - Okefenokee Swamp - Okefenokee Wilderness Area - Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge - Michael Lusk.jpg
ATLANTA, GEORGIA

Defenders Celebrates Land Acquisition Deal Protecting Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge from Threat of Mining

Defenders of Wildlife celebrates The Conservation Fund’s acquisition of the properties owned by Twin Pines Minerals, LLC, a company seeking to mine adjacent to the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, the largest refuge east of the Mississippi River.
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Andre Johnson / iStock Photo
Washington, DC

Communities Push Back on Opening Waters for Oil Drilling

Defenders of Wildlife filed comments this week opposing new offshore oil drilling. More than 44 thousand public comments were submitted to the first comment period
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US Capitol Building Washington DC
Washington, D.C.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Sells Out Wildlife Along with American Lands and Waters

Defenders of Wildlife strongly condemns the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for selling out wildlife in its text for the upcoming budget reconciliation bill.

Press Releases

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California spotted owl
San Francisco, Calif,

Lawsuit Launched to Overturn Trump Administration’s Denial of Protection for California Spotted Owl

Today, conservation groups filed a formal notice of intent to sue the Trump administration over its failure to protect the California spotted owl under the Endangered Species Act.
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Lower Rio Grande Valley Egret

Trump Administration Issues 28th Border Wall Waiver

As reported in the Federal Register today, the Trump administration has issued another waiver of environmental and public safety laws to expedite border wall construction in Texas. This marks the 28th such waiver issued by this administration and will cover two tracts of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, one of the most biologically diverse landscapes in the continental United States.
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Alligator Okefenokee NWR
Washington, DC

Okefenokee Swamp and St. Marys River named Among America’s Most Endangered Rivers of 2020

American Rivers today named the Okefenokee Swamp and St. Marys River among America’s Most Endangered Rivers®, citing the threat titanium mining would pose to the waterways’ clean water, wetlands and wildlife habitat. American Rivers and its partners called on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other permitting agencies to deny any proposals that risk the long-term protection of the Okefenokee Swamp and St. Marys River.
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Florida_Manatee
Washington, DC

Ocklawaha River named among America’s Most Endangered Rivers of 2020

American Rivers today named the Ocklawaha River among America’s Most Endangered Rivers®, citing the Rodman Dam as a threat to clean water, wildlife habitat, and recreation.
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Right Whale
Washington, DC

Court: Feds Failing to Protect North Atlantic Right Whales From Lobster Gear Entanglements

A federal judge ruled yesterday that the National Marine Fisheries Service’s authorization and management of the American lobster fishery violates the federal Endangered Species Act. The court held that the agency failed to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales and that its biological opinion on the fishery violated “straightforward” requirements of the Act, putting the whales at greater risk of entanglement.
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
jpetrequin@defenders.org
(202) 772-0243
Communications Specialist
zklein@defenders.org
(202) 772-3268