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Stefan Ekernas
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Defenders of Wildlife Welcomes Stefan Ekernas as New Vice President of Species Conservation & Coexistence

Defenders of Wildlife is proud to announce Stephan Ekernas as its new Vice President of Species Conservation and Coexistence, where he will oversee Defenders’ field conservation programs.
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brown bear
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA

Trump Administration Opens Door to Bear Baiting, Den Hunting in Alaska Preserves

The National Park Service finalized a regulation that abdicates the agency's responsibility to manage wildlife in Alaska's national preserves, deferring instead to state regulations. Defenders of Wildlife condemns the rule, which mirrors a 2020 regulation promulgated by the first Trump administration that was later withdrawn and replaced in 2024.
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Washington, DC

BLM Prepares Illegal Move to Open Ouray National Wildlife Refuge to Oil & Gas, a Dangerous Precedent for Wildlife

Defenders of Wildlife is calling on BLM to withdrawal an unprecedented proposal to open Ouray National Wildlife Refuge in Utah to new oil and gas leasing.

Press Releases

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

Defenders and Allies Call on Biden Administration for Overdue Right Whale Protections

Conservation groups have asked a federal court on Feb. 13 to lift a stay and allow paused litigation to proceed, in pursuit of a deadline
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Swamp Lined with Trees
Washington, DC

Draft Mining Permits Spell Danger for Okefenokee Refuge

A damaging strip-mining plan threatening the country’s last intact freshwater ecosystem has moved one step closer to reality. On Feb. 9, the Georgia Environmental Protection
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2021.03.27 - Gray Wolf Laying in Snow - Yellowstone National Park - Wyoming - John Morrison
Washington, D.C.

Defenders Decries U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Inaction to List Gray Wolves

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced it will not relist gray wolves of the Northern Rocky Mountain population to the Endangered Species Act.
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A Mountain Landscape, featuring Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina
Asheville, NC

Logging project in Nantahala National Forest violates federal law, new lawsuit alleges

On Wednesday, a coalition of conservation groups filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service, alleging the agency’s plans to log a sensitive area
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A dead North Atlantic right whale is seen stranded at Joseph Sylvia State Beach in Edgartown, Mass. Found on Sunday, the whale is a juvenile female, a devestating loss to the population.
Washington, DC

Young female endangered right whale found dead on Martha’s Vineyard beach

A North Atlantic right whale was found dead on a Martha’s Vineyard beach off the coast of Massachusetts on Sunday, Jan. 28. This juvenile female
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