Publications

The 2,000-mile u.s.-mexico border passes through several conservation hotspots, including the coastal area of southern California and northern Baja California, Mexico, known as the Californias. Seventy-two percent of the border here is already blocked by fencing. Adding even more would have devastating consequences for wildlife, people and binational conservation efforts and investments.

The Puget Sound is home to a diverse marine ecosystem and several endangered species, including southern resident orcas and their primary prey, chinook salmon. The sound is also home to an active boating community, which comes with an unfortunate downside: abandoned and derelict vessels. Owners who have either lost interest or can no longer afford to operate and maintain their vessels often leave them to sit and deteriorate. Over time, decay and storms set many abandoned vessels adrift. These derelict vessels wash ashore or sink and are a major source of pollution harmful to orcas, salmon and other marine wildlife.

After decades of studying southern resident orcas, we now know much about their behavior, culture—the learned behaviors unique to this population—and what they need to survive. We also have answers to some of the most pressing questions about the population’s decline, including the impact of toxic chemicals found in the orcas’ food supply.

This bi-annual newsletter is prepared by the co-chairs of the Species Survival Network Shark Working group, Alejandra Goyenechea (Defenders of Wildlife) and Rebecca Regnery (Humane Society International). The newsletter provides a summary of the latest international and regional shark news, and an analysis of the latest actions and regulations regarding sharks.

North American species feeling the effects of climate change

Defenders has been working to conserve jaguars in Mexico and the United States for more than a decade. In Mexico, we played a major role in creating, supporting and guiding the Northern Jaguar Project, which works to sustain the most northern known breeding population of jaguars in the Americas.

This white paper evaluates every section 4(d) rule issued under the Endangered Species Act through May 2016. It also describes Defenders' position on the use of those rules and recommendations for better ways to implement the rules.

Defenders provides you with our co-sponsored newly-published book on Freshwater rays (Potamotrygonidae), where you will find exquisite details of the latest research from Carlos Lasso (Humboldt Institute from Colombia) on these magnificent and forgotten species in the mega-diverse countries of South America. Freshwater rays have been a topic of discussion in CITES since 2004 and, in 2016, Colombia and Brazil listed some species of the Family in Appendix III.