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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.
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Three sea otters float in the water. There are hills or mountains in the distance in the background.

Construction on Gateway to Road through Izembek Continues

The Ninth Circuit today denied Defenders of Wildlife’s emergency motion to halt construction on King Cove Corp.’s 2.8-mile road segment leading to the doorstep of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness. Defenders’ request for immediate injunctive relief marks the latest stage in its larger effort to block a damaging and precedent-setting road from King Cove to Cold Bay, Alaska, that would plow through the heart of Izembek.

Press Releases

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2010.10.28 - Caribou Grazing in Front of Mountains - Alaska - Colin Arisman.jpg
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA

Defenders Opposes Proposed Illegal Land Exchange in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge

Conservation groups are outraged today by a Department of the Interior’s proposal released today to trade away congressionally-designated wilderness lands within the Izembek National Wildlife
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Florida Panther walking through sand at night
Tallahassee, FL

Florida Passes Ill-Conceived Amendment 2, Wildlife Conflict Could Ensue

Florida's Amendment 2 makes hunting and fishing the preferred means of wildlife management, sidelining science and putting imperiled species at risk.
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Polar Bear on Beaufort Sea on Foggy Day

Environmental Review Underscores Grave Threat to National Treasure

The Department of the Interior released today its second report detailing the devastating impacts of transforming the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
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2019.07.02-Landscape of Black Spruce Pines-Danielle Brigida-USFWS
Washington, DC

2024 Presidential Election — Our Gameplan: Defend Wildlife

Here at Defenders of Wildlife, we get up every morning with one goal in mind: defend the animals, landscapes and natural bounty that define our nation. And, today, our 2.1 million members are counting on us more than ever to fulfill that goal so that wildlife they love isn’t lost into the void of extinction.
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2022.04.18 - Landscape - Beaver Coexistence New Mexico - Bryan Bird

Defenders Receives NFWF’s Southwest Rivers Headwaters Grant to Support Habitat Restoration, Beaver Coexistence Along Rio Grande

Defenders of Wildlife is proud to announce it has been awarded a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to support our on-the-ground efforts
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