Image
Violet-green Swallow
ANN ARBOR, MI

Study Led by Defenders of Wildlife Scientist Shows Noise Pollution Impacts on Migratory Birds

“The major takeaway from this study is that anthropogenic noise affects many aspects of bird behavior, with some responses more directly tied to fitness,” said Natalie Madden, lead author of the new study.
Image
Louisiana Black Bear
Raleigh, N.C.

Defenders Receives Advocacy Organization of the Year Award

Defenders of Wildlife joined its partners in the Safe Passage coalition today to accept the Advocacy Organization of the Year Award at the 2026 Sweethearts
Image
Two North Atlantic Right Whales
Washington, D.C.

Defenders Raises Alarm Over Administration’s Proposal to Amend Rule Protecting North Atlantic Right Whales From Deadly Vessel Strikes

Defenders of Wildlife is devastated to learn that a three-year-old female North Atlantic right whale was found dead off Virginia on February 10, 2026. This

Press Releases

Image
chinook salmon
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA

Stop the Ongoing Killing of Federally Protected Salmon and Steelhead by the Central Valley Project and the State Water Project

State and federal agencies must take immediate action to stop the unauthorized killing of thousands of Chinook Salmon and Steelhead at State and Federal water
Image
north atlantic right whale dead virginia clearwater marine aquarium research institute NOAA permit 24359
Washington, DC

Conservation Groups Decry Yet Another Preventable Right Whale Death

Yet another North Atlantic right whale was spotted dead on Saturday off the coast of Virginia, announced Tuesday by NOAA Fisheries. Conservation groups Defenders of
Image
Hawksbill sea turtle by NOAA/Caroline S. Rogers
Washington, DC

Defenders Statement on Biden Administration’s Final Endangered Species Act Regulations

The Biden administration today released final Endangered Species Act regulations that restore several core components of the bedrock conservation law that the previous administration sought to undercut. Defenders of Wildlife, which pursued legal challenges to the 2019 regulations, expressed both appreciation and concern with the newly released regulations.
Image
Students, parents and faculty from FernLeaf Community Charter School remove invasive plants and plant new growth along the bank of Cane Creek in Fletcher, N.C.
Fletcher, N.C.

Shade Your Stream Program Plants New Life Along North Carolina Creek

The banks of Cane Creek came alive Friday with hard work — much of it by small, determined hands. Students of the FernLeaf Community School
Image
Johanna Grasso

Defenders Secures Win for Polar Bears in Alaska's North Slope

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finding that oil and gas activities in Alaska pose
Senior Vice President, External Affairs
lsheehan@defenders.org
(202) 772-3244
Communications Director
mdewane@defenders.org
(202) 772-0217
Communications Specialist
jcovey@defenders.org
Former Communications Specialist
Communications Specialist
kirby@defenders.org
(202) 772-3268