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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condemns the rule, which mirrors a 2020 regulation promulgated by the first Trump administration that was later withdrawn and replaced in 2024.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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Caribou on tundra in NPR-A
Washington, D.C.

Defenders Applauds Biden Administration's Move to Protect Western Arctic

The Biden administration released a new Record of Decision for the Integrated Activity Plan for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska today, reinstating protections that were pulled back by the Trump administration.
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Red Peak, Kodiak Refuge with Sitka Spruce forests
SEATTLE, Wash.

White House Old-growth Forest Strategy is Important First Step Toward Protecting Imperiled Wildlife

Defenders applauds President Biden’s leadership in issuing an executive order directing the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to define, inventory and identify threats to America’s last remaining old and mature forests.
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Grinnell Lake Overlook - Glacier National Park - Montana
Washington, DC

Defenders Applauds New National Nature Assessment Amidst Worsening Biodiversity Crisis

Defenders of Wildlife welcomed an announcement that the Biden administration is adopting two major initiatives – the National Nature Assessment and the Natural Capital Account – that will create a stronger scientific and economic foundation for curbing the acceleration of climate change and the extinction crises.
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Red Wolf Pups
Manteo, NC

First Wild Red Wolf Pups Born Since 2018

This week, Red Wolf Recovery Program staff confirmed a litter of six wild Red Wolf puppies, the first born in the wild since 2018. The pups, which include four females and two males, were found in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina.
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Gray Wolf Howling
Portland, ORE.

Defenders of Wildlife Calls for Increased Poaching Protections as Oregon’s Wolf Population Stalls

For the second time since wolves returned to Oregon in 2009, the population has not grown, according to the recently released 2021 annual report from
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