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Caribou migrating through Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA

Defenders Slams Lease Sale in Arctic Refuge

The Bureau of Land Management today opened nine bids on five tracts regarding an oil and gas lease sale on the Coastal Plain of the
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Snowy Plover
Washington, D.C.

President Trump Rescinds Long Standing Executive Orders Designed to Conserve Wildlife and Federal Lands from Unmanaged Motorized Recreation

President Trump last Friday issued an Executive Order rescinding EOs 11644 and 11989 which guide the management of ATVs, dirt bikes, snowmobiles, jet skis and other off-road motorized vehicles on federal lands. President Trump also ordered federal agencies to rescind or revise regulations that implement the prior EOs.
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wolverine
Washington, D.C.

House Interior Bill Attacks Crucial Protections for Imperiled Wildlife and Public Lands

Defenders of Wildlife today slammed the House Appropriations Committee’s proposed Interior and Environment spending bill for Fiscal Year 2027, which includes numerous damaging policy riders intended to weaken the Endangered Species Act and undermine protections for individual species.

Press Releases

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Pair of ruby throated hummingbirds on a branch
Washington, DC

Trump Administration Pulls Protections for Migratory Birds

Despite nearly 200,000 public comments defending the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) and a decisive loss in the federal courts, the administration is still trying to cement into law its (now illegal) plan to strip protections from migratory birds.
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Polar Bear
Anchorage, AK

Bureau of Land Management Finalizes Western Arctic Drilling Plan

Today, the Bureau of Land Management released the Record of Decision for a revised Integrated Activity Plan for the 22 million-acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (Reserve), located in the state’s Western Arctic region.
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Polar Bears
Anchorage, AK

Groups rush to court to stop ConocoPhillips’ Willow project winter road construction and gravel mining

Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic and five allied groups filed a motion in the U.S. District Court today requesting a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order to stop ConocoPhillips from starting winter road construction and gravel mining for its Willow project.
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Black bears on rocks above Anan Creek Tongass NF
Juneau, AK

Lawsuit Takes Aim at Trump Administration Decision to Gut Tongass National Forest Protections

Alaska’s 17-million-acre Tongass National Forest, sometimes called America’s Amazon, has faced a grave threat since the Trump administration stripped away critical safeguards against logging by exempting it from the federal Roadless Rule just before the election. Today, a wide-ranging coalition of Indigenous Tribes from Southeast Alaska, businesses, and conservation organizations filed a lawsuit targeting the Trump administration rollback.
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Sage grouse
Washington, DC

Year-End Legislation Is Mixed Bag for Wildlife

Congress passed its $1.4 trillion Omnibus spending bill along with other year-end legislation which includes both wins and losses for wildlife. The legislation has some
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