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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

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Washington, DC

Defenders Opposes Current Version of House Farm Bill

In response to the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Agriculture release of its draft Farm Bill, Defenders of Wildlife is voicing its opposition to the legislation. As drafted, the bill includes several key elements of that would detrimentally affect the nation’s ability to combat the biodiversity and climate crises and, further, severely weakens landmark environmental laws that support wildlife and eliminate key climate safeguards from Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding.
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Snow Geese
Chapel Hill, N.C.

Conservation Groups Ask Court to Protect Migratory Bird Sanctuary

Conservation groups today asked a federal court to protect an iconic sanctuary for migratory birds from a government plan to spread a chemical that could
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A wolverine lays in the snow in Montana
Denver, Colo.

Defenders applauds Colorado law bringing wolverine closer to reintroduction

Colorado today is one step closer to reintroducing the North American wolverine. Governor Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 24-171, authorizing Colorado Parks and Wildlife to
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Dunes Sagebrush Lizard
Washington, DC

Defenders Welcomes Dunes Sagebrush Lizard Endangered Listing

In a long-awaited victory for the dunes sagebrush lizard, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced the species will be listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
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2022.11.10 - Landscape - Carson National Forest - New Mexico - DOW
Washington, DC

Defenders Joins One Hundred Groups Supporting Establishment of National Interagency Seed and Restoration Center

Defenders of Wildlife and more than one hundred other organizations and businesses today sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Bureau of Land Management Director Tracy Stone-Manning thanking them for their leadership promoting native plants in ecological restoration and for their commitment to establish a National Interagency Seed and Restoration Center.
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