Defenders of Wildlife Blog

Robert Dewey, Vice President of Government Relations

We knew it was coming, and now it’s here. The multi-front attack on the Endangered Species Act (ESA) initiated in the last Congress has been renewed with a vengeance. Although the current Congress is less than five months old, more than a dozen bills and amendments have already been drafted to undermine our nation’s landmark wildlife protection law and conservation of the creatures it so effectively saves.

Piping plovers are one of several bird species that benefit from the beach’s protection.

One attack advancing quickly in both the House and Senate (H.R. 819 and S. 486) would overturn urgently needed and highly effective protections for federally endangered nesting turtles and threatened shorebirds at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, located along the North Carolina coast. Protections from off-road vehicles were established by the National Park Service after an extensive public process, with input from a variety of stakeholders. There is significant evidence that the Park Service’s protections are working: wildlife populations have rebounded, visitation to the seashore has increased and the local economy is improving. Nevertheless, members of the North Carolina congressional delegation are pressing this damaging legislation, which to date has passed out of committee in the House and is likely to be considered by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in June.

In March, the Senate budget resolution, which establishes the blueprint for all the federal government spending, became a magnet for anti-wildlife amendments. In all, five separate damaging amendments were developed, including ones to block particular species from being added to the endangered species list or to force their removal. Both the iconic greater sage-grouse and the Gunnison sage-grouse were a particular focus of these amendments. Fortunately, following strong opposition from Defenders of Wildlife and other groups, all but one of these efforts ultimately failed.

San Joaquin kit fox

The House and Senate farm bills have also become an intense legislative battleground for preserving imperiled species and the ESA. The Senate may soon vote on an amendment to the farm bill by Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) that would delay the listing of the lesser prairie chicken, an imperiled species that has already been waiting fifteen years for federal protection. Other amendments that have been proposed would remove Endangered Species Act protections from species found only in one state, such as the critically endangered Hawaiian monk seal, San Joaquin kit fox and key deer, and require burdensome economic analysis before protecting species.

Meanwhile the House farm bill (H.R. 1947), now awaiting floor consideration, would bar the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from taking action to protect endangered species from harmful pesticides without the voluntary agreement of a pesticide manufacturer. Another provision would result in the direct application of pesticides into streams and rivers without any oversight under the Clean Water Act. Commonly used pesticides continue to harm endangered salmon, frogs, sea turtles and pollinating bees, and kill more than 67 million birds every year. By continuing to rely on the ESA’s science-based procedures and following the recommendations of expert biologists, the EPA can prevent the unnecessary poisoning of endangered creatures and preserve the economic benefits that those animals provide.

As if this record pace of attacks wasn’t enough, some members of the House recently announced the formulation of a new Endangered Species Working Group composed of numerous legislators known to be hostile to the Act. We are bracing ourselves for the damaging legislative proposals this group may propose.

Just months into the new Congress, it is clear that we will have our work cut out for us in defending endangered species. These recent developments make our new Conservation Crossroads campaign all the more important. If you haven’t already joined our expanded effort to recover listed species and defend the ESA, please consider doing so. Given the current challenges facing endangered species, we need all the help we can get to protect the 2,000 species that depend on the ESA for their very survival and recovery.

Yaron Miller, Director of National Outreach

Wow – what an incredible couple of days! Last week over 30 Defenders’ citizen advocates flew to Washington, D.C. to ask Congress to speed the recovery of endangered wildlife, and to kick off our exciting new grassroots campaign “Conservation Crossroads: Extinction or Recovery?” And what a kick off it was!

Two supporters from Colorado arrive on Capital Hill.

Advocates from across the country, from California and Montana to Florida and New York, arrived at Defenders’ headquarters for a day of lobby training and a legislative briefing by our talented Government Relations team. The room was buzzing as folks swapped advice, shared information, and related to one another why they made the trip to D.C. It was clear that each participant had a unique background and story to tell their elected leaders about the importance of recovering endangered wildlife.

We had members of the military, including a retired Marine Corps Lt. General, a Marine veteran, and an active duty CA Air National Guardsman, who talked about protecting endangered species on military bases, emphasizing that defending our way of life includes wildlife. We had two priests from Arizona and New Mexico and a wildlife enthusiast who started an environmental lecture series in her church speak about the need to be good stewards of God’s planet. And we had educators, wildlife photographers, writers, and health care professionals – folks who could be our neighbors – speak about why protecting and recovering endangered wildlife is a value shared by all Americans, regardless of political party.

Equipped with printed materials and important conservation messages, we headed to Capitol Hill to ask our elected officials for two things: 1) to provide increased funding for key wildlife management agencies to accelerate the recovery of endangered species, and 2) to vote against any attempts to weaken the Endangered Species Act, a law that has seen a 99% success rate in preventing extinctions.

We met with legislators of both parties to educate and encourage them to support wildlife recovery, especially those freshmen who were just recently elected six months ago. While some of our meetings were to thank our greatest champions for wildlife recovery, such as Representative Mike Thompson (D-CA) and Representative Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA), we also met with legislators who do not always vote consistently on behalf of endangered wildlife. Those meetings are especially important, and having constituents speak directly to their members of Congress and key staff members makes a profound impact. Legislators take their direction on what issues to focus on and how to vote from constituent input – especially when the constituent has flown across the country for the meeting! And while face-to-face meetings are the most direct way to share the pulse of the district with members of Congress, there are many ways to let your voice be heard.

Ambassador wolf Atka was our guest of honor at the Hill reception.

Once our marathon day of 70+ meetings was over, our weary but empowered group of citizen advocates gathered with volunteers, congressional staff, and other guests to recap the day and celebrate 40 years of the Endangered Species Act. We were joined by some long-time friends of wildlife: Representatives Mike Thompson (D-CA), Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Jim Moran (D-VA), Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and one of the original authors of the Endangered Species Act and Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives Rep. John Dingell (D-MI). Each of them spoke to the crowd about the tremendous successes the Endangered Species Act has spurred, and the importance of protecting it against legislative attempts to undermine it. Hopefully the rest of Congress will heed their call!

After inspiring words from these notable legislators, the reception moved outside to greet our guest of honor: Atka, the ambassador Arctic wolf from the Wolf Conservation Center (WCC) in New York! Joined by Maggie Howell and Rebecca Bose of the WCC, we learned all about arctic wolves, how they survive in such harsh conditions, and why Atka was so excited to roll in perfume sprayed on the grass (so he can share the smell with his pack back home and cloak his scent from prey!). We tried our best to make Atka howl, but I think he was more interested in lounging in the sun. Many thanks to the men and women of the Capitol Police Department and Sergeant-at-Arms office for making Atka’s visit possible!

Although this Congressional lobby day is over, the campaign is just beginning. In the coming weeks and months, we will need as many concerned citizens as possible to help support the recovery of endangered species. If you’re interested in joining our stellar team of citizen advocates at home or during our next Capitol Hill grassroots lobby day take a minute to sign up and join our campaign today and become part of our growing team. There are many ways to get involved at home or in DC: letters to the editor, meetings with your elected leaders in your district, writing and calling Congress, and many more. I hope we’ll hear from you soon!

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Lobby Training

Before we went to the Hill, our Government Relations team sat down with volunteers for a day of lobby training.

Lobby Training

Lobby Training

Two supporters from Colorado arrive on Capitol Hill.

Two supporters from Colorado arrive on Capitol Hill.

Our Delegation of Volunteers from California

Senator Bennet from Colorado Talks to our Volunteers on Capitol Hill

Brad Orsted meets with Senator Tester from Montana

The Florida Delegation

Brian Call, Paul Shannon and Tara Thornton meet with Rep. Ros-lehtinen from Florida

Getting Down to Business

Colorado volunteer Alicia Miers and Defenders' Outreach Representative Caitlin Balch-Burnett

Brian Call Meets With Rep. Radel from Florida

The Colorado Delegation

Kathie Broyles, Alicia Miers and Caitlin Balch-Burnett meet with Congressman Polis of Colorado

Volunteer Janet Hoben Meets With Rep. Adam Schiff from California

The Florida Delegation Meets With Rep. Radel

The Guest of Honor

Ambassador wolf Atka from the Wolf Conservation Center in New York

Atka meets Rep. Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania

Atka meets Senator Stabenow from Michigan

©Pauline I. Stacey

Laurie Macdonald, Florida Program Director

Last month, we celebrated the First Annual Everglades Day, designated by the Florida legislature in recognition of America’s unique and intriguingly diverse Everglades ecoregion. The date, April 7th, was also the birthday of the late Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, an iconic heroine and newspaper reporter who spent many years writing about and advocating for Everglades protection.

The Everglades region is recognized as an International Biosphere Reserve, a World Heritage Site and a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. The area encompasses three national parks, and a dozen national wildlife refuges and marine preserves, as well as a host of state, regional and local parks, forests and wildlife management areas. Extensive private land holdings in the region are also an integral component of valuable wildlife habitat ranging from 100,000-acre ranches to thousands of one-acre lots.

Biodiversity here is among the highest in the nation, with many species found nowhere else in the U.S. Many of Defenders’ key species are in the region, including Florida panthers, manatees, sea turtles, gopher tortoises and other listed species such as the Everglade kite, wood stork, Big Cypress fox squirrel, American crocodile and Key deer.

The Everglades are truly a national treasure and deserve the utmost protection and management. Without adequate funding, we’d be unable to acquire the habitat and linkages that species like panthers and bears need, protect water quality or work to protect natural systems from degradation and invasive species.

Throughout the month of April, we took action to protect south Florida’s Greater Everglades region. Defenders’ Florida Representative Elizabeth Fleming, our lobbyist Travis Moore and I, as well as other Everglades Coalition members, met with volunteers from around the state in Tallahassee to speak with our state senators and representatives who were in the midst of the Florida legislative session. Our message: The state budget needs to provide adequate funding for Everglades protection and restoration projects that protect our water and wildlife. One third of all Floridians rely on clean water from the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, and more than 120 federal and state endangered and threatened species depend on the region’s varied wetland, upland and marine habitats. The health of the Everglades brings economic health to the region. Quite simply, what’s good for the Everglades is good for southern Florida and beyond, because its visitors and migratory wildlife come from around the globe.

Staff and volunteers on the steps of the Florida Capitol.(©Pauline I. Stacey)

This was the first trip to the state capital for Will Johnson, a Defenders volunteer who made the nearly 7-hour drive to Tallahassee from Naples, who said, “Everglades Action Day is a great opportunity to engage with legislators and a wonderful group of activists to help preserve and protect the beauty and wildlife of Florida.”

Another volunteer, Magdalena Braker, took the long ride by joining others on a chartered bus that the Everglades Coalition reserved for the event, starting in Miami and picking up activists along way. Magdalena urged legislators to provide funding and support for the Everglades with this message: “La riqueza natural y servicios ambientales de los Everglades se están marchitando debajo presiones urbanas y venimos para emfátizar la importancia de los Everglades tanto para las especies silvestre como para los ciudadanos del sur de la Florida.” Which means:

“The natural resources and ecosystem services of the Everglades are withering under the pressures of urbanization, and we come here to emphasize the importance of the Everglades, not only for the native wildlife, but for South Floridians.”

The nearly 60 volunteers who made the trip from around the state to Tallahassee attended more than 30 meetings with their elected officials, asking them to make funding for the Everglades a priority. And it made an important contribution to Everglades protection! Just last week, as the 2013 legislative session concluded, the Florida Legislature designated $70M for Everglades restoration projects. Thanks for all who participated in our action day! If you’re in Florida, join us next year for lobby days at the state capital! And no matter where you live, get to know your state representative and senator back in your district. It always makes a big difference when elected officials hear directly from their constituents.

Fl. Representative Powell meets with volunteers and activists (©Pauline I. Stacey)

Defenders launches a new campaign to accelerate endangered species recovery.

Robert Dewey, Vice President of Government Relations

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), so we should all be celebrating its many successes. But don’t get too carried away—we need your help now more than ever.

Bald eagles were nearly wiped out in the 1970s due to the harmful effects of the pesticide DDT. Photo courtesy US Military

In the 1960s, America stood at a crossroads. Our rivers were polluted, our skies were choked with smog, and hundreds of species were on the brink of extinction. As a result, concerned citizens from coast to coast came together to demand stronger environmental protections. Politicians in Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, responded by giving overwhelming approval for the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act. Then, on Dec. 28, 1973, President Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act.

Since then, Defenders has been a leading champion for the Act and all our nation’s most vulnerable plants and animals. We have fought in Congress to adequately fund the ESA, battled efforts to weaken it, advocated ways to make it more effective for wildlife and people, and, when necessary, gone to court to defend it.

Our staff and committed volunteers have worked tirelessly in support of this landmark law, and we have done so for good reason. The ESA has been incredibly effective in rescuing species from extinction. Only 10 out of more than 2,000 listed species have been formally declared extinct – a success rate of more than 99 percent! Moreover, many iconic species, such as the bald eagle, American alligator, peregrine falcon and brown pelican have made impressive recoveries—so impressive that federal protections for those species have been safely removed. These animals were able to make a strong comeback because of our nation’s bipartisan commitment to good stewardship of our natural treasures.

Unfortunately, our nation once again stands at a crossroads. Climate change, habitat loss and reckless energy development all threaten to reverse many of the conservation gains our country has made over the last four decades. Congressional sneak attacks on individual species, frontal assaults on the ESA itself, and severe funding cuts for wildlife conservation all pose profound threats to the continued recovery of imperiled wildlife. If we surrender to these new and significant challenges, hundreds of species will quickly slip closer to extinction, making it even harder to help them recover.

We can and must reinforce our commitment to saving imperiled wildlife. In fact, if we respond effectively to today’s threats, increase federal funding and smartly target those resources, we can significantly boost the number of protected species on the road to recovery. By doing so, we believe that in five years the majority of listed species can be on track for recovery, and many more will follow in the years to come.

But, as with passage of the ESA itself, no single group has a strong enough voice to achieve this historic conservation goal alone.

That’s why we’re launching our new Conservation Crossroads campaign – to empower wildlife supporters of all stripes to rally together. Our goal is to accelerate the recovery of imperiled species and help concerned citizens share their voice by educating policymakers about actions that must be taken to renew the nation’s commitment to saving wildlife. It’s a simple choice: extinction or recovery?

Endangered wildlife need more champions in Congress, more funding for conservation efforts vital to their survival, and more legislators who will support policies to combat climate change and oppose attempts to weaken the Endangered Species Act.

As we celebrate the ESA’s successes we must also affirm our commitment to conserving wildlife for future generations. There is no better way to do so than by working together to speed recovery efforts for imperiled species. Visit www.defenders.org/crossroads to learn more.

Suzanne Stone, Northern Rockies Representative

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind for wolf advocates in the West. My colleagues and I have been traveling from city to city and state to state organizing wolf supporters to attend meetings set by state wildlife commissions and agencies. Some of these were set to vote on proposals  that could be particularly dangerous to wolves, while others opened up a broader conversation about wolf management. But for all of these meetings, it was important that people who care about the future of wolves in the region were in attendance to testify, to question, and to learn.

Boise, Idaho
On January 16, the Idaho Fish and Game Commission held a public hearing. There were many important issues on the docket, but we were most concerned about agenda item #6 – a measure to set aside $50,000 exclusively to have the federal government kill more wolves in order to boost elk numbers for hunters. We sounded the alarm to our members in the area, and they answered the call.  I met a group of them at a reception before the meeting, and we talked about the challenges that often come with advocating for wolves in an area where myth and misconceptions about these animals are still widely regarded as fact.

The hearing was amazing. The first hour of public testimony on agenda item #6 was nothing but 100% positive support for wolves.  In fact, everyone who spoke about this issue opposed the measure and supported more protection for wolves. Our members were respectful, eloquent and well-informed, and the commission was visibly blown away by their testimonies. When my turn came, I was able to focus on specific concerns with the measure, including the fact that the proposal could allow for the use of more controversial “management” practices, like aerial gunning. And the fact that lethal control fails to work in the long term – no matter what the reason for wanting more elk, killing wolves is not a solution. I spoke about our Wood River Wolf Project and its success in protecting 27,300 sheep living among three resident wolf packs with only one incident that resulted in the loss of 4 sheep. I asked them to use the $50,000 for nonlethal methods of preventing predation on livestock instead of just continuing this endless and wasteful cycle of loss and killing.

Sadly, when it came to the vote the following morning, the commission approved the proposal. Even though they heard that so many residents were staunchly against it, they still designated $50,000 for federal wolf killing.  Defenders is working to raise twice that amount to put toward protecting wolves and other wildlife in the region. Though the commission approved the proposal, I think our collective testimony surprised them. To have so many people willing to speak out on behalf of wolves here in Boise is unprecedented, and at a public hearing like this one, it showed the decision-makers that the people of Idaho care about how wolves are managed, and we’re watching their actions closely. The days of passing awful management proposals without public opposition is over.

Seattle, Washington
Later the same week, I set out for Seattle. After the fiasco with the Wedge Pack last summer, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is making an effort to keep the public better informed about their management methods. We let our members in the area know about this great opportunity to learn more about wolves in their state and to ask questions of the agency in charge of managing them.

The meeting was a bit of a challenge. First, the location of the meeting was moved, so we sent out an update. Then, the new location proved very difficult to find, so we posted signs along the road to point the way. Once WFDW arrived they quickly realized the space was far too small and moved the meeting to a warehouse across the street for the more than 300 people who attended! It was incredible to see so many people interested in wolves in a state that is still welcoming the species back to parts of its native range that have been wolf-free for over a century. Carter Niemeyer, retired wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, was one of the key speakers and did a great job answering questions and providing an expert overview of the challenges and opportunities of restoring wolves in Washington.   Similar meetings took place in Spokane and Olympia, and we were able to have someone from Defenders attend each one.

We have some great supporters here in Idaho, out in Washington, and across the nation who are invested in the future of wolves in the U.S. Wolves are still looking at a tough year ahead, with premature hunting paring down their numbers, and dangerous legislation in most states in the region threatening to strip them of their remaining protections. But it’s encouraging to know that despite the misinformation out there about wolves, and the many industries and agencies interested in halting their recovery, there is still a growing number who want to see these majestic animals protected and restored to their rightful place in the ecosystem. We’re going to have to unite with other like-minded residents in the West and build a great network of activists who will work together to safeguard the future for wolves in the region.