Image
Salt Marsh - Cumberland Island
ST. MARYS, GEORGIA

NPS Land Swaps and Visitor Plan Open the Door to Devastating Impacts at Cumberland Island

In advance of a public hearing on proposed land exchanges on Cumberland Island National Seashore, Defenders of Wildlife called on the National Park Service to remedy a host of management issues facing one of the largest undeveloped barrier islands on the East Coast.
Image
2019.08.07 - Florida Panther looking straight at camera - MS 45 - fStop Foundation
WASHINGTON, D.C.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Memo Underscores Trump Administration’s All-Fronts War on Wildlife

Brian Nesvik, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, issued a memorandum explaining to FWS staff that the Endangered Species Act’s prohibition on unauthorized “take” applies only to affirmative acts intentionally and purposefully directed at a particular animal. This follows the Trump administration’s rescission of the regulatory definitions of “harm” under the ESA, which took effect this week.
Image
A close up of the face of a Sierra Nevada Red Fox at the edge of a forest in Deschutes County, Oregon.
Washington, D.C.

Court Rules Habitat Must Be Protected After FWS Attempts to Waive Protections for Less Than 40 Sierra Nevada Red Fox

Defenders of Wildlife earned a significant victory for the Endangered Species Act today when a federal district court found that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to not designate critical habitat for the endangered Sierra Nevada red fox was a violation of the law.

Press Releases

Image
Sonoran Pronghorn Roaming Field
Washington, DC

New Border Wall Built with Military Funds Would Cutoff Wildlife Movement

According to a recently obtained letter, the Department of Homeland Security has requested billions of dollars in military funds from the Department of Defense to build additional miles of border wall.
Image
close up of Red Wolf walking in Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge
Washington, DC

National Academy of Sciences Confirms Red Wolves Are a Valid Species

A new report concludes that the endangered Red Wolf is a taxonomically valid species and a species that must be protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Image
Mexican Gray Wolf
Washington, DC

Study Confirms Taxonomic Validity of the Mexican Gray Wolf

A new report confirmed the Mexican gray wolf as a valid taxonomic subspecies of gray wolf.
Image
Washington, DC

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Holds Hearing on the Nomination of an Ex-Oil and Gas Lobbyist for Interior Secretary

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is holding a hearing today on the nomination of current Acting Secretary David Bernhardt to be Secretary of the Interior.
Image
Grizzly Bear and Cub

U.S. Forest Service Moves Forward with Massive Timber Sale

The project entails widespread old-growth clearcutting on the largest island in our nation’s largest forest.
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