Newsroom

St. Petersburg, Fl.

September 23, 2024

Florida Manatees to Receive Nearly 2 Million Acres of Revised Protected Habitat

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on Monday proposed a revised critical habitat plan that would protect 1,904,191 acres of critical habitat for the Florida

CHARLESTON, SC

September 18, 2024

Defenders of Wildlife Statement on Dismissal of Challenge to Cape Romain Refuge Management

Defenders of Wildlife celebrates today the dismissal of a challenge by the state of South Carolina to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s authority to

Washington, DC

September 18, 2024

More Than 80 Conservation Groups Call on Members of Congress To Oppose New House Bill Targeting Endangered Species Act

More than 80 conservation groups representing millions of Americans are calling on members of Congress to oppose a new bill (H.R. 9533) targeting the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The “ESA Amendments Act of 2024,” which House Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) is proposing, would dramatically weaken the bedrock environmental law by decreasing protections for threatened and endangered species and rewriting key portions of it.

Press Releases

View of Pisgah National Forest through the trees

Asheville, NC

June 9, 2022

Conservation Groups Sue U.S. Forest Service Over Continued Refusal to Hand Over Trump-Era Rollback Records

Defenders of Wildlife and the Southern Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service on Wednesday, alleging that the agency is violating the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by continually denying requests to access records about new rules that reduce requirements for environmental analysis and public input.

Washington, DC

June 6, 2022

Defenders of Wildlife Encouraged by Proposed Rule to Strengthen Protections for Imperiled Species Affected by Climate Change

Today, the Biden administration proposed a new rule to significantly strengthen the federal government’s ability to protect threatened and endangered species in the face of

Washington, DC

June 6, 2022

More than 26,780 People Sign Defenders of Wildlife Petition to Protect Midwestern Wildlife Refuge from Industrial Threats

In a petition with more than 26,780 signatures, Defenders of Wildlife urged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to take swift action to protect

Milky way in the night sky Okefenokee NWR

Savannah, Ga.

June 3, 2022

Defenders of Wildlife Applauds Senator Ossoff, Army Corps Decision to Block Mine Threatening Okefenokee Swamp

Defenders of Wildlife applauded an announcement by the Army Corps of Engineers that it vacated the jurisdictional determination for a mining project threatening the Okefenokee Swamp in southern Georgia, following pressure from Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and the notification that the Corps had not fully consulted with or considered the wetland’s cultural and historical significance to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

Eastern bumble bees pollinating Joe pye weed

Sacramento, Calif.

June 1, 2022

California Court Paves the Way for Protection of Imperiled Bumble Bees and Other Insects

California's Third District Court of Appeal ruled that the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) can protect invertebrates, including four species of imperiled native bumble bees that the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (Xerces), the Center for Food Safety (CFS), and Defenders of Wildlife (Defenders) petitioned the State of California to protect in 2018.