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Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle is on his way home after being released from a cold-stun rehab center.
New Orleans, LA

Defenders Celebrates U.S. Appeals Court Ruling to Protect Imperiled Sea Turtles from Drowning in Fishing Nets

A federal appeals court upheld the rule requiring shrimp trawling vessels to use turtle excluder devices so that sea turtles can avoid getting caught in nets.
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pale gray north atlantic right whale swimming in dark blue ocean with an entangled string wrapped around the top of its head and seen underneath it's lower body
Washington, DC

House Gambles with Survival for North Atlantic Right Whales in Latest Vote to Delay Protections

The House of Representatives voted to pass H.R. 9436, a bill that will delay conservation protections for critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.
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 Izembek National Wildlife Refuge - Izembek Volcanoe
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA

District Court Okays Bulldozing a Road to the Doorstep of Izembek Wilderness

A federal district court in Alaska today allowed construction to begin on a 2.8-mile road segment on KCC lands to connect to a 10.5-mile road within Izembek.

Press Releases

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Right Whale
Washington, DC

Statement on Maine Congressional Delegation’s Letter to President Trump on Right Whale Regulations

Today, the Maine Congressional Delegation sent a letter to President Trump asking him to prevent the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from developing new science-based regulations to protect the North Atlantic right whale from deadly fishing gear.
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Right Whale
Washington, DC

Canadian Government Takes Baby Steps to Mitigate Endangered Right Whale Deaths

In the week following the documentation of three separate entangled North Atlantic right whales in Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced several new measures to try to prevent additional deaths of this endangered species.
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Grizzly bear with cubs
Washington, DC

Despite False Claims, Trump’s Environmental Agenda is the Worst in Recent History

Today, President Trump will hold a White House press conference to greenwash his terrible environmental record. The Trump administration has attempted to roll back, undermine and obliterate our nation’s bedrock environmental laws, like the Endangered Species Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act and National Environmental Policy Act among others in an effort to appease the oil and gas industry and other extractive industries making it easier to develop on our nation’s public lands.
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Condor with wings outstretched
SACRAMENTO

Lead Ammunition Officially Banned for Hunting Use in California

Today marks the official end of lead ammunition use in hunting in the state of California.
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Right Whale
Washington, DC

Pro-Wildlife Package Sails Through House; House Defeats Bad Arctic Refuge, Right Whale Riders

The House has approved key natural resource sections in the Interior-Environment and Commerce-Justice-Science funding bills, of H.R. 3055, the second minibus of fiscal year 2020 appropriations bills. The Interior Appropriations bill provides an extraordinary $37 million increase for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s endangered species program to support recovery efforts for our most vulnerable species.
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