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Washington monument - cherry blossoms
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Defenders of Wildlife Unveils 2025 Conservation Report Card for 119th Congress

Defenders of Wildlife today released its 2025 Conservation Report Card for the 119th Congress, measuring members’ commitment to upholding federal laws that protect wildlife conservation during its first session.
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Joshua tree sunset
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Defenders of Wildlife Sues FWS Over Extensive FOIA Request Delays

Defenders of Wildlife today filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, citing the agency’s extensive delay in fulfilling eight Freedom of Information Act requests related to land exchanges within the National Wildlife Refuge System.
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08.22.25 - Bear backlit 2 -  Lake Clark National Park - Running Wild Media.jpg
WASHINGTON, DC

Trump Administration Turns its Back on Wildlife – Again

The National Park Service today proposed a regulation that would abdicate the agency from its responsibility to manage wildlife in Alaska’s national preserves and to

Press Releases

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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.
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Biodiversity in Glacier National Park's Alpine region
MONTREAL, Canada

Biodiversity Crisis Needs Greater Global Commitment to Ending Extinction

With the conclusion of the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal, Canada, the global community has now laid out the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF): a set of targets for combatting the biodiversity crisis that countries will aim to meet by the end of this decade
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Right Whale #2360 “Derecha” with Injured Calf January 8, 2020
Washington, D.C.

Defenders of Wildlife Slams Shameful Extinction Riders and Anemic Spending for Endangered Species in Omnibus

Just a day after 200 countries at the Convention on Biological Diversity agreed to stem biodiversity loss by protecting 30% of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030, the U.S. Congress released a draft omnibus spending bill that paints a grim picture for endangered species.
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Bald eagle sitting at the top of an evergreen tree
Washington, DC

New Research Shows 80% of Voters Polled Support Big Funding Increases for the National Wildlife Refuge System

New public opinion research from Defenders of Wildlife reveals that 80% of voters polled support increasing funding for the National Wildlife Refuge System, the nation’s only system of lands dedicated to wildlife conservation.
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