Image
2021.11.26 - A small herd of caribou in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge - Alaska - Katrina Liebich-UWFWS.jpeg
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA

DOI Trades Away Alaskan Refuges, Sells Out Public Lands

The Trump administration dealt a blow to the National Wildlife Refuge System by removing protections from the Arctic and Izembek National Wildlife Refuges. During what
Image
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
Image
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

Press Releases

Image
Gray wolf howling
Portland, Ore.

Oregon Works to Combat Wildlife Poaching After Agency Reports Multiple Incidents in 2020

The Fish and Wildlife Division of Oregon State Police issued a notice in late October announcing a second wolf poaching in Baker County. The wolf, a sub-adult female from the Pine Creek pack, was found in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.
Image
Rep. Deb Haaland
Washington, DC

Biden Administration Makes Historic Appointment for Interior Secretary Post

The following statement is from Jamie Rappaport Clark, president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife, on President-elect Biden’s nomination of Rep. Deb Haaland to serve as the first Native American Secretary of the Department of the Interior as reported by The Washington Post.
Image
Polar Bear family, Churchill, Manitoba
Anchorage, AK

Indigenous, allied groups go to court to stop issuance of Arctic Refuge leases

The Gwich’in Steering Committee and 12 allied groups filed a motion in U.S. District Court today requesting a preliminary injunction to stop the U.S. Bureau of Land Management from issuing any leases sold in the Jan. 6 sale of the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and from authorizing seismic exploration activities.
Image
A young polar bear walks down the rocky coast towards the water in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.
Anchorage, AK

Bureau of Land Management Racing to Permit Destructive Seismic Exploration in Arctic Refuge

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a draft environmental assessment (EA) today regarding a seismic exploration project proposed in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge this winter.
Image
Photo of the White House in Washington, DC
Washington, DC

Trump Administration Finalizes New Rule That Weakens the Endangered Species Act

Tomorrow the Trump administration is slated to finalize a rule that further erodes the Endangered Species Act, the one of the nation’s most effective and most popular laws.
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