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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.
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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.
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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

Forest Ecology, Wildlife Experts to Farm Bill Conferees: Reject the House Farm Bill

Today 16 leading experts in forest ecology and management, including esteemed professors Norman Christensen of Duke University and Jerry Franklin of the University of Washington
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Border wall comparison Matt Clark/Defenders

Petition Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Overturn Border Wall Decision

Three conservation groups filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court today asking for a review of a federal court ruling that allowed the Trump

Department of Agriculture Proposes New Solutions to Protect Forests

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators announced a new strategy for improving wildfire management across the nation’s forestlands today

Death of Third Southern Resident Orca

Southern resident orca J-pod lost another member today, four-year-old female J50, despite emergency human intervention with medical treatment and attempted hand feeding. J50’s failing health

Report: Endangered Species Act Recovery Plans Missing, Delayed and Old

Today, Defenders of Wildlife’s Center for Conservation Innovation has published a paper in the journal Conservation Letters on the Endangered Species Act (ESA), entitled “Missing
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