Image
gray wolf walking with paw raised and looking at camera
Olympia, WA

Washington State 2025 Wolf Count Increases, Depredations Decrease

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife today released the state’s 2025 minimum count for gray wolves at 270 individuals, a 17% increase from 2024
Image
gray wolf
Salem, OR

Oregon Releases 2025 Annual Wolf Count, Numbers Up

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife today issued its 2025 gray wolf annual report, announcing an increase in the wolf population for a new
Image
Offshore Oil Rig
Washington D.C.

Defenders of Wildlife Challenges Unprecedented “God Squad” Exemption Allowing Unchecked Gulf Oil Drilling

Defenders of Wildlife today announced it is taking legal action to overturn an unprecedented and unlawful decision by the Endangered Species Committee, known as the “God Squad,” to exempt federal authorizations of oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico through a blanket exemption from the Endangered Species Act’s protections.

Press Releases

Image
pinyon Jay
Washington, DC

Conservation Groups Reach Settlement Requiring Bureau of Land Management to Abandon Rule Allowing Destruction of Pinyon-Juniper Habitats

Defenders of Wildlife and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) have reached a court-approved settlement agreement requiring the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to abandon a decision authorizing extensive destruction of native pinyon pine and juniper habitats across the American West without requiring prior analysis and public disclosure of possible environmental impacts.
Image
Mojave Desert Tortoise
SACRAMENTO, CA

Defenders of Wildlife Applauds New Effort to Protect California’s Biodiversity

Defenders of Wildlife applauds State Sen. Dave Min for the introduction of State Senate Bill (SB) 337, which would establish a statewide goal to conserve
Image
Three Gray Wolves in the Snow
Portland, ORE.

Defenders of Wildlife Concerned By Oregon Wolf Population Stagnation as Poaching Increases

Today, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) announced that Oregon’s population of gray wolves saw a minimal increase from 175 wolves to 178. This concerning population stagnation is partially attributed to increased poaching incidents and state-sponsored lethal control efforts in response to livestock predations.
Image
North Atlantic Right Whales
Washington, DC

Defenders of Wildlife Urges Support for RESCUE Whales Act To Protect Critically Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales

Introduced by Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.), the bill would repeal a section of the FY2023 omnibus appropriations bill that significantly delays court-ordered regulatory action under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). This is needed to help prevent the extinction of the North Atlantic right whale in the face of unsustainable lethal entanglements in the American lobster/Jonah crab fishery.
Image
lesser prairie chicken
Washington, DC

Defenders of Wildlife Opposes Congressional Attacks Seeking to Remove Lesser-Prairie Chicken and Northern Long-Eared Bat Protections

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries held a second hearing in as many months on bills sponsored by pro-extinction members attacking the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
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