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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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2011.06.21 - Caribou Roaming Across Field - Alaska - Lois Epstein.JPG

Continuing its Arctic Plunder, Trump Administration Strips Protections in Western Arctic Reserve

The Department of the Interior has gutted protections for millions of acres of ecologically and culturally significant lands known as “Special Areas” in the National
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2019.08.30 - Red Fox at Izembek Lagoon - Izembek National Wildlife Refuge - Alaska - Lisa Hupp USFWS.jpg
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA

Defenders of Wildlife Challenges Interior’s Secretive Refuge and Wilderness Sellout on Alaskan Peninsula

Defenders of Wildlife today filed suit in federal district court to challenge Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s unlawful land exchange in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and
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Bar-tailed Godwits in marsh in NPR-A
Washington, D.C.

Senate Vote Threatens Protections for Alaska’s Western Arctic

The Senate today approved a resolution utilizing the Congressional Review Act to rollback Biden-era protections for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. This misuse of the CRA
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Horshoe crabs
Dewey Beach, DE

Fisheries Commission Adopts Short-Term Protections for Delaware Bay Ecosystem

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission today set a two-year pause on the bait harvest of female horseshoe crabs in Delaware Bay, declining to adopt
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2021.11.26 - A small herd of caribou in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge - Alaska - Katrina Liebich-UWFWS.jpeg
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA

DOI Trades Away Alaskan Refuges, Sells Out Public Lands

The Trump administration dealt a blow to the National Wildlife Refuge System by removing protections from the Arctic and Izembek National Wildlife Refuges. During what
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