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Beaver in grand teton
Washington, D.C.

Defenders Denounces Administration's Alarming Proposed Budget Cuts to Wildlife Conservation

Defenders of Wildlife today condemned the Trump administration’s reckless FY27 budget proposal that calls on Congress to slash critical funding vital to wildlife conservation.
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View of Pisgah National Forest through the trees
Asheville, N.C.

Federal court rules Forest Service unlawfully relied on flawed analysis to create Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan

In a major victory for the communities and wildlife that depend on North Carolina’s Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests, the U.S. District Court for the
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Rice's Whale
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Defenders Slams Unlawful God Squad Vote to Strip Endangered Species Act Protection from Wildlife in the Gulf

Defenders of Wildlife strongly opposes today’s vote by the Endangered Species Committee, or God Squad, to condemn species to extinction in the name of a fictitious “national security emergency.”

Press Releases

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Salmon
Salem, OR

Oregon Governor Kate Brown Says Restoring the Snake River Must be Part of Plan to Save Salmon and Orcas

Late last week, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown sent a letter to Washington Gov. Jay Inslee supporting the restoration of the Snake River, saying that removing the four federal dams on the lower portion of the waterway must be part of a comprehensive plan to save endangered salmon, steelhead and orcas.
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Jaguar

Greater Protections Proposed for Jaguars, Sharks at International Wildlife Convention

This week, representatives from 130 countries are gathered at the meeting of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP13) in Gandhinagar, India.
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Polar bears Arctic
Washington, DC

Oil and Polar Bears Don’t Mix: Trump Administration Asks Public to Review Peer-reviewed Polar Bear Study

On Tuesday, February 18, the Trump administration will open an unprecedented 60-day comment period asking the public to comment on a study authored by its own scientists at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) entitled “Seismic survey design and potential impacts to maternal polar bear dens.” The study is intended to support decision making on potential fossil fuel development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, though such research is not typically offered for public comment.
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Royal Tern
Washington, DC

Commonwealth of Virginia Announces Steps Towards Protecting Migratory Birds

The commonwealth of Virginia announced today that it will take actions to ensure the protection of migratory birds in the face of the Trump administration’s abandonment of enforcement of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). The state announced that the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF) will begin a process to promulgate state-wide regulations to establish a permitting process to minimize the incidental take of migratory birds by commercial, industrial and construction projects.
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Polar bears
Washington, DC

Presidential Budget Abandons Programs Supportive of Wildlife and Climate Science

Yesterday, President Trump released his proposed federal budget for 2021 that significantly cuts programs that conserve wildlife, support science and address climate change.
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