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Gray Wolf in the Snow
Denver, CO

Colorado Announces No Wolf Release This Winter

Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced today that it will not be translocating additional gray wolves this winter season, and will instead begin to plan for
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Sierra Weaver , VP of conservation law
WASHNGTON, DC

Defenders of Wildlife Announces Sierra Weaver as New Vice President of Conservation Law

Defenders of Wildlife is proud to announce Sierra Weaver as its new vice president of conservation law and director of the Biodiversity Law Center.
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Close up of a wolverine with it's face in focus.
Washington, DC

Colorado Releases Wolverine Reintroduction Plan, Defenders Stands Ready to Support

Colorado Parks and Wildlife today released a landmark plan to reintroduce wolverines to the state’s high country regions, some of the best remaining habitat in

Press Releases

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Humpback whale breaching Stellwagen Bank MA
Washington, D.C.

Vessel Strikes to Blame for Series of Whale Deaths?

On a cold winter beach in New Jersey, onlookers huddled around a 30-foot dead humpback whale lying on the sand. This was one of more than a dozen whales that have washed up on beaches along the U.S. East Coast since the beginning of December 2022. Five of these whales washed up in New Jersey, two in New York and others on the coasts of states from Maine to Florida. A total of 178 humpback whales have washed up along East Coast beaches since 2016, leading the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to declare an “unusual mortality event.” An investigation is underway.
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North Atlantic Right Whales
Washington, D.C.

Biden Administration Sinks Emergency Petition to Shield Right Whale Moms, Calves From Vessel Strikes

NOAA Fisheries today denied an emergency petition that sought to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales from being struck and killed by vessels in their calving grounds off the coast of the southeast United States. The species is down to about 70 reproductive females.
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Alligator moving through the grass to water - Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge - Georgia
Washington, DC

Defenders Urges Georgia to Reject Okefenokee Mining Permits as Comment Period Opens

Today, Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division opened a 60-day comment period on Twin Pines Minerals’ application to mine near the Okefenokee Swamp.
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Right whale Catalog #2791 and her less than 2-week-old calf sighted 10 nautical miles off Fernandina Beach, FL — January 6, 2019. Photo Courtesy of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, taken under NOAA permit 20556–01

Right Whale Calves Bring Hope for the Species, but They Face an Uncertain Future

The birth of 11 North Atlantic right whale calves this breeding season so far is an encouraging sign for one of the most endangered whale species in the world. However, this time of year is one of the whales' most vulnerable, as ship strikes account for many calf deaths.
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Cook Inlet beluga whale
Anchorage, AK

Alaska Receives One Bid On Cook Inlet Lease Sale

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (BOEM) opened and read the bids this morning for Cook Inlet federal offshore oil and gas lease sale #258. After offering close to one million acres for lease, there was only one bid. Hillcorp Alaska LLC bid $63,983 for one block.
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
jpetrequin@defenders.org
(202) 772-0243
Communications Specialist
kirby@defenders.org
(202) 772-3268