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Dunes Sagebrush Lizard
Washington, DC

Defenders Welcomes Dunes Sagebrush Lizard Endangered Listing

In a long-awaited victory for the dunes sagebrush lizard, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced the species will be listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
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2022.11.10 - Landscape - Carson National Forest - New Mexico - DOW
Washington, DC

Defenders Joins One Hundred Groups Supporting Establishment of National Interagency Seed and Restoration Center

Defenders of Wildlife and more than one hundred other organizations and businesses today sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and Bureau of Land Management Director Tracy Stone-Manning thanking them for their leadership promoting native plants in ecological restoration and for their commitment to establish a National Interagency Seed and Restoration Center.
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Mojave Desert Tortoise
St. George, UT

Federal Agencies Release Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on a Highway Right-of-Way Through Red Cliffs National Conservation Area

Today the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) released a draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to reconsider a

Press Releases

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Southern Resident Orca Calf

Southern Resident Orcas Receive Oregon Endangered Species Protections

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted today to protect Southern Resident orcas under the state’s Endangered Species Act, responding to a February 2023 petition
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A dead right whale floating about 20 miles offshore of Tybee Island, Georgia on February 14, 2024. Two sharks swim close by.

Critically Endangered Whale Dies Due to Inaction of Biden Administration

The North Atlantic right whale reported dead on Feb. 13 off the coast of Georgia was likely hit and killed by a vessel strike, NOAA
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 Adult Male Florida Panther in Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge
Washington, DC

Federal Court Strikes Down EPA Approval of Florida Wetlands Program 

A federal court ruled in favor of environmental groups today, determining that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) violated
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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

Fishing Gear That Killed Endangered Right Whale Traced Back to Maine Fishery

NOAA Fisheries today announced that the fishing gear entangling the body of a juvenile female North Atlantic right whale that washed ashore on Martha’s Vineyard
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Piping Plover sitting on beach with chick
Washington, DC

Defenders Staunchly Opposes “ESA Flexibility Act” Which Would Gut Imperiled Species Conservation Efforts

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries today will hold a hearing on the ESA Flexibility Act, a bill that if passed would catastrophically undermine key foundational elements of the Endangered Species Act.
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
hhammer@defenders.org
(202) 772-0295
Communications Specialist
jpetrequin@defenders.org
(202) 772-0243