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Bobcat
Washington, D.C.

Defenders of Wildlife Partners with Rep. Don Beyer on Monumental Corridors Act

Defenders of Wildlife today celebrated the introduction of the Wildlife Corridors and Habitat Connectivity Conservation Act of 2026, a landmark bill that would establish a national framework for identifying, designating and protecting wildlife corridors across the country.
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Wild Red Wolf
Washington, D.C.

House Leadership Pulls Historic Vote Following Intense Public Pressure

The GOP Leadership in the House of Representatives today pulled its scheduled vote on Rep. Bruce Westerman’s (R-AR) ESA Amendments Act of 2025 — more aptly called the Extinction Act.
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Public Domain
Washington, D.C.

House to Vote on Gutting Bedrock Endangered Species Act

As the nation celebrates Earth Day this week, the House of Representatives will cast an historic vote on a bill to eviscerate the Endangered Species Act, which was enacted more than 50 years ago to protect America’s wildlife from extinction.

Press Releases

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North atlantic right whale
Washington, D.C.

Federal Proposal Aims to Protect Endangered Right Whales From Ship Strikes

NOAA Fisheries proposed a rule today to better protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales from being run over and killed by vessels in U.S. waters. Vessel strikes are one of the two primary threats to right whales; the other is entanglement in fishing gear.
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Red knots and horseshoe crabs
Cape May, NJ

Conservation Groups Demand Transparency on Horseshoe Crab Proposal Ahead of Commission Vote

Conservation groups sent a letter to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission this week strongly urging the body not to move forward with a proposal that would likely renew the killing of female horseshoe crabs for use as fishing bait.
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Williamson’s Sapsucker on a branch
Riverside, CA

California Legislators Introduce Bill to Establish One of the Nation’s Largest Urban Wildlife Refuges

Today, Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) introduced legislation to establish the Western Riverside National Wildlife Refuge in one of the fastest growing counties in the nation.
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Sea Otter floating
Sacramento, Calif.

Defenders Supports Conclusions of Federal Feasibility Assessment on Sea Otter Reintroduction to Northern California and Oregon

After a year-long study and six months of internal review, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today released its assessment of the potential restoration of sea otters to historical areas of California and Oregon.
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White-Fronted Parrot sitting on branch
Tamaulipas, MEXICO

New Defenders of Wildlife Report Highlights Success of Mexico’s Parrot Trade Ban

A new report by Defenders of Wildlife found that tens of thousands of parrots have been saved from poaching following Mexico’s parrot trade ban in 2008.
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