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Porcupine caribou making its way through deep snow on the East Fork of the Chandalar River
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Enough is Enough: Senate Blocks Yet Another Attempt to Prioritize Drilling in the Arctic

The Senate today blocked an attempt to pass S. 5438, introduced by Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK). The bill would have ratified and approved all authorizations, permits, verifications, extensions, biological opinions, incidental take statements and any other approvals or orders issued pursuant to federal law necessary for the establishment and administration of the Coastal Plain oil and gas leasing program, among other purposes.
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Juvenile California Condor
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Senate Permitting Deal Threatens Bedrock Endangered Species Protections

Defenders of Wildlife today strongly condemned Endangered Species Act provisions reportedly included in a Senate permitting package, warning they would weaken critical protections for imperiled wildlife.
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A gray wolf stand and peers at the remote camera. The grass is green and there is a forest of pines behind the wolf.
Sacramento

Gov. Newsom Signs Landmark Legislation Creating California Wildlife Coexistence Program

Governor Gavin Newsom today signed into law Senate Bill 1135, establishing the California Wildlife Coexistence Program within the Department of Fish and Wildlife to better

Press Releases

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North Atlantic Right Whales
Washington, D.C.

Biden Administration Sinks Emergency Petition to Shield Right Whale Moms, Calves From Vessel Strikes

NOAA Fisheries today denied an emergency petition that sought to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales from being struck and killed by vessels in their calving grounds off the coast of the southeast United States. The species is down to about 70 reproductive females.
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Alligator moving through the grass to water - Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge - Georgia
Washington, DC

Defenders Urges Georgia to Reject Okefenokee Mining Permits as Comment Period Opens

Today, Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division opened a 60-day comment period on Twin Pines Minerals’ application to mine near the Okefenokee Swamp.
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Right whale Catalog #2791 and her less than 2-week-old calf sighted 10 nautical miles off Fernandina Beach, FL — January 6, 2019. Photo Courtesy of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, taken under NOAA permit 20556–01

Right Whale Calves Bring Hope for the Species, but They Face an Uncertain Future

The birth of 11 North Atlantic right whale calves this breeding season so far is an encouraging sign for one of the most endangered whale species in the world. However, this time of year is one of the whales' most vulnerable, as ship strikes account for many calf deaths.
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Cook Inlet beluga whale looking above water
Anchorage, AK

Alaska Receives One Bid On Cook Inlet Lease Sale

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (BOEM) opened and read the bids this morning for Cook Inlet federal offshore oil and gas lease sale #258. After offering close to one million acres for lease, there was only one bid. Hillcorp Alaska LLC bid $63,983 for one block.
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Biodiversity in Glacier National Park's Alpine region
MONTREAL, Canada

Biodiversity Crisis Needs Greater Global Commitment to Ending Extinction

With the conclusion of the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal, Canada, the global community has now laid out the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF): a set of targets for combatting the biodiversity crisis that countries will aim to meet by the end of this decade
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