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
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.
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

Greater_Sage-Grouse_male
Washington, DC

Trump Administration Rolls Back Sage-Grouse Protections Across the West

Revisions to the Obama-era plans will lessen protections for the sage-grouse on tens of millions of acres across the West.
Right Whale
Washington, DC

Trump Administration Targets Atlantic for Risky, Dangerous Drilling

Acting Secretary of Interior David Bernhardt announced that the Atlantic will be included in the 5-year offshore leasing plan for oil and gas development.
Scientists' Call to Action: The U.S.-Mexico Border Wall Threatens Biodiversity and Binational Conservation
Washington, DC

House Bill Aims to Repeal Waiver Authority for Border Wall

The bill will amend broad authority granted to the Secretary of Homeland Security to unilaterally waive “all legal requirements” to construct barriers along the border.
Bald eagle
Washington, DC

Nation’s Wildlife Faces Unprecedented Challenges, Extinction

Former president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife Jamie Rappaport Clark will testify on the state of wildlife in front of the House Natural Resources
Right Whale
Washington, DC

House Introduces the SAVE Right Whales Act

The legislation would support the recovery of the critically imperiled North Atlantic right whale.
Laura Sheehan
Laura Sheehan
Senior Vice President, External Affairs
lsheehan@defenders.org
(202) 772-3244
Maggie Dewane Headshot
Maggie Dewane
Communications Director
mdewane@defenders.org
(202) 772-0217
Jacqueline Covey
Jacqueline Covey
Communications Specialist
jcovey@defenders.org
Kayla Irby Headshot
Kayla Irby
Communications Specialist
kirby@defenders.org
(202) 772-3268
Ella Stern
Ella Stern
Communications Specialist
estern@defenders.org
202-772-0243