Defenders of Wildlife Blog

Our national forests can provide vital habitat for endangered animals like lynx. Unfortunately, a new decision by the Obama administration would roll back forest protections that have been in place since the 1980s.

For lynx and other wildlife, it could be a forest foreclosure—one that denies these mysterious forest creatures and other wildlife the habitat protections they need to survive.

In an outrageous move, the Obama administration has proposed a new plan for our national forests, setting aside vital measures that have protected the homes of lynx and other imperiled wildlife since the days when Ronald Reagan was president.

Don’t let President Obama turn back the clock for our wildlife. Urge federal officials to stand up for wildlife protections in our national forests.

Plenty is at stake. The U.S. Forest Service manages 175 national forests and grasslands spread across 190 million acres in 42 states and Puerto Rico.

These magnificent landscapes support diverse ecosystems and an incredible array of fish, wildlife and plants including iconic animals such as lynx, antelope, bison, bighorn sheep, elk and cutthroat trout. In all, our national forests provide habitat for more than 5,000 species of fish and wildlife and more than 10,000 plant species.

Our national forests are worth protecting. The deadline for submitting public comments on the Obama forest plan is May 16th.

Take action now to speak out for these special places and save something wild.

The proposed plan would:

• Roll back existing safeguards for wildlife conservation and no longer require the Forest Service to maintain healthy and sustainable fish and wildlife populations for every species in our national forests;
• Leave the decision of whether or not to maintain healthy, viable populations of many imperiled wildlife species at the discretion of individual forest managers, leaving the fate of hundreds of species uncertain; and
• Allow individual forest managers the discretion to “give up” on protecting many needy species without facing accountability to the public.

Our national forests are the inheritance of our children and grandchildren. Please take action now to protect these special places… and the wildlife that calls them home.

Africa's lions are in serious decline. We need to act now to save them.

Can you imagine Africa without the lions?

Unfortunately, these mighty beasts are in serious trouble. In just a couple of decades, the African lion population fell from an estimated more than 75,000 to fewer than 40,000 — a staggering decline of nearly 50%.

If we don’t take dramatic action right now, Africa’s lions could disappear in the wild.

Fortunately, it’s not too late to save the king of the beasts.

Please take action now to save something wild: Urge Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to help save lions by listing these great cats under the Endangered Species Act.

Habitat loss, decline in prey and conflicts with humans are all taking their toll on these beloved big cats. In fact, lions have largely disappeared from three quarters of their historic African range.

Worse, African lions are still being hunted as trophies despite these threats, winding up stuffed and mounted rather than living in the wild.

The U.S. is the world’s largest importer of African lion products — and the number of lion trophies imported into this country is increasing.

Will you join our effort to save African lions? Please sign our petition today.

Earlier this week, Defenders and our conservation partners petitioned the U.S. Department of the Interior to list African lions as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

This listing would provide a critical first step to help save lions by prohibiting U.S. imports of lions and lion parts, increasing conservation funding and helping foreign governments conserve lions.

Interior Secretary Salazar needs to hear from you: Sign our petition today urging him to list African lions as endangered.

The decline of one of the world’s most iconic animals can be stopped. With your voice, you can save something wild — and help ensure the lasting survival of Africa’s lions.

Until states are ready to secure the long term survival of wolves in the region, federal protections are vital to the survival of Northern Rockies wolves. Please take action now.

It’s outrageous.

Last weekend, the U.S. House of Representatives passed harmful legislation that threatens the future of America’s wolves… and represents the worst anti-environmental agenda in the last 15 years, undermining protections for clean air, clean water and endangered species and other wildlife.

Take action now: Urge your senators to oppose efforts to eliminate vital protections for wolves and other wildlife.

States like Idaho and Montana are taking a hostile stand against wolves—threatening the very future of these magnificent animals. This scorched-earth, anti-environment bill would also block the Environmental Protection Agency programs that protect the air we breathe, and severely limit efforts to help our nation adapt to the threats posed by climate change.

It’s not just wolves at stake. If a House-like bill succeeds in the Senate, it would be the first time in history that a single species was exempted from the Endangered Species Act—setting a dangerous precedent and putting our most vulnerable wildlife at risk.

The need for action is urgent. Please speak out now.

Legislation like the bill passed by the House is bad for wolves, bad for the Endangered Species Act, and bad for the future of all America’s wildlife.

We need your voice to speak out for wolves and other wildlife struggling to survive. Send your message right now.

A new bill in Congress puts wolves and other wildlife at risk.

It may be Valentine’s Day, but there is little love for wolves and other wildlife on Capitol Hill today.

Some in Congress are trying to use a must-pass spending bill to eliminate lifesaving protections for gray wolves across the U.S., opening the door to widespread trapping and poisoning of wolves in the Northern Rockies and Greater Yellowstone.

Worse, they are proposing deep funding cuts that could be disastrous for wildlife protection in the U.S.

You can help protect our wildlife. Please send a message to your representative right now and urge him or her to reject these anti-wildlife provisions.

The spending bill, called a continuing resolution, is designed to ensure that military and government workers continued to get paid, that social security recipients receive their checks and that the government continues to function.

Unfortunately, some in Congress are using this legislation as a vehicle to attack protections for wolves and other wildlife. Specifically, the bill would:

• Eliminate Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in the Northenr Rockies and Greater Yellowstone area; and
• Deny the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change that’s driving America’s polar bears to extinction.
• Enact some of the deepest cuts in recent memory for the agencies that protect our wildlife and environment – a move that would have dire consequences across the country for your wildlife and for the quality of your environment.

Some of the crucial programs that will be slashed include those that protect imperiled species, acquire key habitat around the country, including for our national wildlife, refuges, parks, forests and other public lands, help state protect wildlife before they decline to the point where they are endangered, and assist wildlife in surviving climate change.

The U.S. House of Representatives will consider the continuing resolution this week, and we need to make a strong showing against this assault on our wolves, wildlife and environment.

Can we count on your help to be a voice for wildlife?

Speak out for wildlife. Take action now.

Each winter, thousands of the last genetically pure wild bison face harassment and slaughter. You can help save them. Please take action now!

All they wanted was some food. Now some of the last true, wild bison in America face slaughter simply for leaving Yellowstone National Park.

Urge U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to find an alternative to killing these amazing animals.

Harsh winter conditions have buried vegetation deep under snow,  and these majestic animals – some of the only pure descendants of America’s original bison herds – are leaving Yellowstone Park for lower elevations to find food.

Nearly 400 Yellowstone bison have been rounded up and are now being held in corrals near Gardiner, Montana where federal officials will determine whether they will live or die.

The bison are being tested for the disease brucellosis. Those that test positive will be slaughtered… soon.

Since the corrals are only designed to hold 400 bison and federal agents have been aggressively rounding up all the animals that stray from Yellowstone National Park, even brucellosis-free bison may be killed as well.

Help stop the bison slaughter. Send your message now.

America’s wild bison can play an important role in balanced, natural ecosystems. They once numbered in the millions, but now only a few thousand true bison remain – mainly confined to Yellowstone.

Bison scientists tell us we need multiple herds of at least 1,000 bison to assure their long term survival, and larger herds to resume their role in nature. The Yellowstone area is one of the only places we can accomplish this, yet our own National Park Service and Forest Service are partners in hazing – and often killing – bison whenever they leave the park.

Without additional habitat, the terrible cycle of corralling and slaughter will continue. Our bison need more places to roam free.

Send your message to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and urge them to stop the slaughter and give our bison the space they need to survive.

These incredibly important animals are among the only bison to carry the bloodlines of our historic herds. They should be allowed to roam free beyond Yellowstone, not executed over exaggerated fears.

Mexican gray wolf (Photo: Jim Clark, FWS)

Just 50 Mexican gray wolves are left in the wild… in the entire world.

These wolves—found in the wild only in Arizona and New Mexico—face plenty of threats, including illegal killing by anti-wolf extremists. But now a Montana Congressman is taking aim at the life-saving protections these and other rare and beautiful animals need to survive.

Take action to save America’s wolves. Urge your U.S. Representative to oppose legislation to eliminate life-saving protections for gray wolves.

Congressman Rehberg’s two bills would eliminate Endangered Species Act protections for every single wolf in the Southwest, Midwest and Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies.

The result? A no-holds-barred approach to wolf killing that would end efforts to stop wolf killings in the Southwest and could see Idaho lawmakers make good on their promise to “remove wolves by whatever means necessary.”

If passed, this legislation would also be the first ever to exempt a single species from the Endangered Species Act—setting a dangerous precedent for removing protections for other imperiled wildlife.

Take action today to help prevent these bills from becoming law.

Make no mistake: These bills are bad for wolves, bad for the Endangered Species Act, and bad for the future of all America’s wildlife.

Help safeguard the future of wolves and other wildlife in America. Send your message right now.