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brown bear
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA

Trump Administration Opens Door to Bear Baiting, Den Hunting in Alaska Preserves

The National Park Service finalized a regulation that abdicates the agency's responsibility to manage wildlife in Alaska's national preserves, deferring instead to state regulations. Defenders of Wildlife condemns the rule, which mirrors a 2020 regulation promulgated by the first Trump administration that was later withdrawn and replaced in 2024.
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Washington, DC

BLM Prepares Illegal Move to Open Ouray National Wildlife Refuge to Oil & Gas, a Dangerous Precedent for Wildlife

Defenders of Wildlife is calling on BLM to withdrawal an unprecedented proposal to open Ouray National Wildlife Refuge in Utah to new oil and gas leasing.
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Jake Li Testimony at EPW
WASHINGTON, D.C.

A Much-Needed Win for Wildlife: Senate Introduces Bill to Improve Endangered Species Act Implementation

Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Pete Rickets (R-NE) today introduced the Improving Species Recovery Act, an important bipartisan bill that would improve implementation of the Endangered Species Act.

Press Releases

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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.
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Great Egret in flight in Okefenokee NWR
Savannah, Ga.

Defenders of Wildlife Disappointed by Reversal of Okefenokee Oversight

In response to the announcement by the Army Corps of Engineers that they settled a lawsuit filed by the mining company, Twin Pines Minerals, Defenders of Wildlife released the following statement.
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Florida panther
Tallahassee, Fla.

In Victory for Wildlife, Florida Department of Transportation Shelves Last M-CORES Toll Road

After three years of overwhelming public opposition, the Florida Department of Transportation shelved the third and final proposed toll road of the M-CORES program.
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