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Salt Marsh - Cumberland Island
ST. MARYS, GEORGIA

NPS Land Swaps and Visitor Plan Open the Door to Devastating Impacts at Cumberland Island

In advance of a public hearing on proposed land exchanges on Cumberland Island National Seashore, Defenders of Wildlife called on the National Park Service to remedy a host of management issues facing one of the largest undeveloped barrier islands on the East Coast.
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2019.08.07 - Florida Panther looking straight at camera - MS 45 - fStop Foundation
WASHINGTON, D.C.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Memo Underscores Trump Administration’s All-Fronts War on Wildlife

Brian Nesvik, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, issued a memorandum explaining to FWS staff that the Endangered Species Act’s prohibition on unauthorized “take” applies only to affirmative acts intentionally and purposefully directed at a particular animal. This follows the Trump administration’s rescission of the regulatory definitions of “harm” under the ESA, which took effect this week.
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A close up of the face of a Sierra Nevada Red Fox at the edge of a forest in Deschutes County, Oregon.
Washington, D.C.

Court Rules Habitat Must Be Protected After FWS Attempts to Waive Protections for Less Than 40 Sierra Nevada Red Fox

Defenders of Wildlife earned a significant victory for the Endangered Species Act today when a federal district court found that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to not designate critical habitat for the endangered Sierra Nevada red fox was a violation of the law.

Press Releases

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Ocelot #2
Boca Chica, Texas

Defenders of Wildlife Demands In-depth Environmental Review for SpaceX Launch Site After Rocket Fire Burns 68 Acres of Wildlife Refuge

Defenders of Wildlife calls for a more in-depth environmental impact study (EIS) after a fire, caused by a SpaceX rocket, scorched 68 acres of protected refuge surrounding the launch site.
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Right Whale Catalog #3101- Harmonia with her Newborn Calf approx. 7 nautical miles off Cumberland Island, GA
Washington, D.C.

Court Upholds Federal Action to Protect Right Whales From Deadly Entanglements in Lobster Gear

A federal court has rejected a lobster industry attack on the science supporting recent federal efforts to protect critically endangered right whales from deadly entanglements in lobster gear. The industry sued NOAA Fisheries, and Defenders of Wildlife, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Conservation Law Foundation intervened to defend the science.
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golden cheeked warbler
Washington, D.C.

New Study Highlights More Than Three Decades of Suitable Habitat Decline for Golden-Cheeked Warbler

A new study by Defenders of Wildlife's Center for Conservation Innovation, “Spatiotemporal patterns in Golden-cheeked warbler breeding habitat quantity and suitability," was published last week in the scientific journal Avian Conservation and Ecology.
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Florida panther
Juno Beach, Fla.

Defenders of Wildlife Encouraged by Photos of Florida Panther at Renewable Energy Project

Newly captured images of a Florida panther, taken by a remote camera set up at the Florida Power & Light Company Sawgrass Solar Energy Center in Hendry Co., show that renewable energy projects can be designed in ways that allow wildlife to continue to share the landscape.
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southern resident orca
Seattle, Wash.

Energy, Fishing, and Conservation Groups Respond to Washington Lawmakers' Presumptive Plan for Snake River Dam Replacement

Defenders of Wildlife and groups across the Northwest are calling on elected leaders from the region to fulfill their commitment to salmon restoration in the Columbia Basin, including breaching the four lower Snake River dams as soon as possible.
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
Communications Specialist
estern@defenders.org
202-772-0243