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Bison in field
Wolf Point, Mont.

Proposed Biodiversity Credit Pilot Program a First for Tribes, Healthy Grasslands

A new conservation pilot program will offer industry leaders the opportunity to contribute to the return of bison to tribal lands, which will in turn
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Southern Sea Otter on its Back with Tag on its Foot
Olympia, WA

Defenders Offers Reward for Information on Sea Otter Poaching

The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service confirmed that a federally protected sea otter was illegally tortured and killed in February 2025. Both FWS and Defenders
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20202.10.06 - Sandhill crane in flight over Llano Seco- Frank Schulenburg (CC BY-SA 2.0).jpg
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA

Newsom Signs Bill to Save Native Species from Federal Protections Rollbacks

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into state law Assembly Bill 1319, which was sponsored by Defenders of Wildlife and authored by Assemblymember Nick Schultz (D-Burbank), which

Press Releases

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At least five Atlantic Sturgeon swim along the bottom of the water body. Light filters in from the water's surface.
Chapel Hill, N.C.

Conservation Groups Win Lawsuit Challenging Elimination of Critical North Carolina Protections for Sea Turtles and Fish

In a new ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Cape Fear River Watch, North Carolina Wildlife Federation, and Defenders of Wildlife, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, succeeded in challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ unjustified decision to eliminate the agency’s longstanding practice of limiting hopper dredging at Wilmington and Morehead City Harbors to winter months.
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Pipeline cutting across landscape
Washington, DC

Defenders Applauds Exclusion of Manchin’s “Dirty Deal” from Government Funding Bill

After heavy pushback from Defenders of Wildlife and many other environmental groups, a broad spectrum of nonprofits, frontline communities, and members of Congress, Senate leaders announced that the permitting agreement championed by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), coined the “Dirty Deal,” will not be attached to the upcoming government funding bill.
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Swift foxes
Harlem, Mont.

Successful Swift Fox Reintroduction Program at Fort Belknap Celebrates Third Year

With the release of 25 swift foxes planned later this week, the Fort Belknap Indian Community celebrated the third year of its swift fox recovery program. The reintroduction program has, so far, returned 103 swift foxes to Tribal lands and monitoring show that the foxes are reproducing in the wild, a critical measure of success for a self-sustaining population.
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Sacramento, Calif.

California Supreme Court Upholds Ruling that Protects Bees Under State ESA

Four species of imperiled bumble bees native to California remain eligible for protection under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) after the state’s Supreme Court denied efforts by agricultural and pesticide interests to appeal a lower court's decision.
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Sea Otter Awareness Week 2022 logo
Sacramento, Calif.

Defenders Marks 20th Anniversary of Sea Otter Awareness Week

Defenders of Wildlife and Sea Otter Savvy marked the 20th annual Sea Otter Awareness Week with a series of events focusing on the path to coexistence that reflects the challenge of managing human efforts to sustain wildlife and habitat diversity.
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