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2023.04.22 - Burned Terrain from SpaceX Explosion - Texas - Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program (CC BY-ND 2.0).jpg

Defenders Calls on Service to Pull Out from Habitat-Degrading Land Swap

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently outlined its proposed land deal with SpaceX that would divest hundreds of acres across two national wildlife refuges
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right whale calf
Washington, D.C.

Trump Administration Announces First Step in Rolling Back Rule Protecting Whales

The Trump administration today took the first official step in rolling back a 2008 regulation vital to protecting critically endangered North Atlantic right whales from
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2025.03.08 - SW - Ocelot Fest - Jacqueline Covey-DOW (1).jpg

Ocelot Conservation Day Returns to the RGV

On March 7, the annual celebration of Texas’ beloved native cat, Ocelot Conservation Day, returns to the Rio Grande Valley. Now in its 29th year

Press Releases

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Endangered Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus), Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, Florida

High Manatee Death Rate Sounds Alarm on Biodiversity Loss

More than 400 Florida manatees have died since the start of 2021, fueling concern for the iconic and federally threatened species' future.
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solar farm from the air
Long Island, N.Y.

New Solar Roadmap Shows How Long Island Can Produce More Electricity Than the Region Uses Each Year

The Long Island Solar Roadmap (the Roadmap), a new report and i nteractive online map from The Nature Conservancy and Defenders of Wildlife, demonstrates how
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Lesser Prairie Chicken
Washington, DC

Lesser Prairie-Chicken Under Threat Due to Continual Habitat Loss

Defenders of Wildlife recently released a white paper detailing habitat loss for the lesser prairie-chicken, a bird that was listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as threatened in 2014 but was stripped of this protection by a federal court in 2015. The
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Solar arrays in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Washington, DC

Chesapeake Bay Restoration, Conservation to Benefit from New Approach to Data Mapping

Defenders of Wildlife and Chesapeake Conservancy have made a dataset available for the first time that will benefit the restoration and conservation of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and will have implications far beyond.
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Horseshoe Crabs - Charles River Bleeding
Cape Romain, SC

Conservation Organizations File Motion to Suspend Horseshoe Crab Harvest

Today, conservation groups asked a federal district court judge to halt a planned blood harvest of thousands of horseshoe crabs in Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, arguing the annual harvest violates multiple landmark conservation 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
kirby@defenders.org
(202) 772-3268