Defenders Magazine
Get Defenders Headlines
Get the latest wildlife conservation news and information... right when we post it online.
Defenders Magazine
Defenders News Briefs Winter 2006
Defenders Heralds Yellowstone Grizzly Success
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced in November that grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park had recovered and should be removed from the federal endangered species list. Since grizzlies were listed as threatened in 1975, their numbers in the Yellowstone area have grown from around 200 to more than 600. Defenders hailed the proposed 'de-listing' as evidence of the Endangered Species Act's success, but noted that rollbacks in national forest protection by the Bush administration continue to pose a threat to the grizzly's recovery.
States Plan to Save Species and Habitats
Officials in all 50 states recently drafted comprehensive plans to help safeguard wildlife inside their borders. This effort, developed with significant Defenders’ input, seeks to focus money and attention on nature, animals and plants before they end up on the endangered species list. The program marks the first time that the states have taken such a broad look at the needs of their wildlife, and will be a boon to thousands of species, including golden eagles, burrowing owls, wolverines, bobcats, martens and countless others. Now it’s up to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to decide which state plans pass muster and which need more work.
Defenders Moves to Save Endangered Squirrel
Defenders of Wildlife in October petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to put the Mohave Desert ground squirrel on the federal endangered species list. The Mohave ground squirrel is a small, lively, pinkish-brown squirrel that is found nowhere else in the world but in California's harshly beautiful West Mojave Desert. Most of the areas where this rare creature lives have been destroyed or are threatened by a building boom. The petition seeks to spur federal efforts to save this special animal.
Defenders to Hold Carnivore Conference
Defenders will hold its sixth biennial conference on carnivore conservation November 12-15, 2006, in St. Petersburg, Florida. Carnivores 2006 will bring together academics, activists and wildlife professionals to discuss a wide array of issues involved in carnivore conservation. Defenders is accepting oral and poster presentation submissions until June 1, 2006. Visit www.carnivoreconference.org to learn more.
