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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

Organizations Call on Trump Administration to Reverse Decisions from Tainted Monuments Review

Monday’s report in the Washington Post further proves that the Trump administration’s national monument review has been a predetermined exercise from the very beginning, designed

Congressional Negotiators Dump Anti-Wildlife Riders

Lawmakers stripped almost all of the anti-wildlife riders attached to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) from the final conference report. These included ones harming

Trump Administration Stakes Out Unlawful “Road to Ruin” through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge

Despite pending litigation, the Trump administration secretly ordered ground-disturbing survey work to facilitate an illegal land trade and construction of a destructive road through wilderness

Sweeping Rewrite of Endangered Species Act Regulations Endangers Species

Proposed changes to key regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act – our nation’s most important endangered wildlife and habitat conservation law – will weaken federal

House Interior Appropriations Bill Loaded with Anti-Wildlife Riders

The House of Representatives passed a n Interior and Environment  Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2019 ( H.R. 6147 ) today that includes several extremely damaging
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