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wolverine
Washington, D.C.

House Interior Bill Attacks Crucial Protections for Imperiled Wildlife and Public Lands

Defenders of Wildlife today slammed the House Appropriations Committee’s proposed Interior and Environment spending bill for Fiscal Year 2027, which includes numerous damaging policy riders intended to weaken the Endangered Species Act and undermine protections for individual species.
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gray wolf laying in snow looking at the camera
Denver, CO

Defenders Backs Colorado, Calls on Federal Government to Push Onward with Gray Wolf Reintroduction

Defenders of Wildlife sent a comment letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today in response to a public request for information, urging continued
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Mike Leahy
Washington, D.C.

Defenders of Wildlife Announces Mike Leahy as New Vice President of Government Relations

Defenders of Wildlife is pleased to announce Mike Leahy as its new Vice President of Government Relations.

Press Releases

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2023.01.05- Right Whale Swimming with Calf-FWC-CC BY NC ND 2.0
Washington, DC

Conservation Groups Continue Bid to Lift Stay in Right Whale Vessel Speed Rule Case

Conservation groups returned to federal district court Friday to further efforts to obtain a deadline for Biden administration action on a 2022 proposed expanded vessel
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Greater sage grouse, Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge, Wyoming
Washington, DC

Administration’s Proposed Greater Sage-Grouse Proposal Falls Short, Must be Stronger to Reverse Declines

The Biden Administration today released a draft amendment to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land use plans covering much of the land intended to protect the greater sage-grouse, an imperiled species that has experienced an 80% population decline since 1965 and faces serious challenges from prolonged habitat loss and climate change. The proposed amendment, which updates BLM’s 2015 greater sage-grouse conservation strategy, affects 69 million acres across 10 states, almost half of the greater sage-grouse’s remaining habitat.
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Ocelot Mascots - Ocelot Festival 2023 - Texas - DOW.jpg
BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS

Ocelot Conservation Day Returns to Brownsville

Ocelot Conservation Festival, hosted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Friends of the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, and Defenders of Wildlife, returns
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U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Assistant Secretary of the Interior Shannon Estenoz are joined by other Department of the Interior staff on Monday to add a plank commemorating the designation of the Everglades to Gulf Conservation Area at the boardwalk of Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge in Vero Beach, Florida.
Vero Beach, Fla.

New Refuge System Designation Expands Florida Wildlife Protections

Defenders of Wildlife joined today with conservation groups and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to celebrate the official designation of the Everglades to Gulf
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Spawning Coho Salmon - Lagunitas Creek - California - Martha Ture.JPG
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA

Environmental and Fishing Groups Raise Alarm About Ongoing Killing of Federally Protected Fish by the Central Valley Project and State Water Project

On March 6, a coalition of environmental and fishing groups reiterated their request that a federal court modify federal agencies’ proposed interim plan for operating
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