Join Us for the Youth Climate Strike Around the Country

Starting tomorrow people around the globe will join together to demand transformative action on the climate crisis — and we hope you'll be part of it.

Inspired by Greta Thunberg, young people have been leading the global climate-strike movement calling for science-based policies that end the era of dirty fossil fuels, protect wildlife and people, create jobs, and save life on Earth.

The Climate Strike is one of the most powerful and important climate actions this year, and all are welcome. There are hundreds of events planned around the country and world.

Find an event near you and join the movement. The future of the planet depends on it.

West Coast Orcas Could Win New Habitat Protections

Great news: On Wednesday the feds proposed to dramatically expand critical habitat protection for endangered Southern Resident killer whales, whose population has dipped to only 73 individuals. The plan would protect more than 15,000 square miles along the West Coast.

This decision follows a Center lawsuit against the Trump administration for failing to provide habitat protections required by the Endangered Species Act.

"Expanding orcas' habitat protection will help save these extraordinary animals and their prey from pollution, harassment and habitat degradation," said Center Senior Attorney Catherine Kilduff. "Orcas are in crisis. We need immediate, bold action to prevent their extinction."

Get more from our press release.

New Bill Could Roll Back Trump's Endangered Species Attacks

You spoke, and Congress listened. On Tuesday members of Congress introduced a bill to roll back Trump's gutting of the Endangered Species Act. If passed into law, it'll swiftly restore wildlife protections and ensure a future for our nation's most vulnerable animals and plants.

More than 800,000 people — including Center members like you — raised their voices against Trump's attacks on the Act, along with 250 scientists and 160 conservation groups. Thank you.

Now we're pushing on to the next phase: Making sure the bill gets through the U.S. House of Representatives. Take a moment to tell Congress to approve this bill; then sign up for a campaign call to learn how to do more.

U.S. agriculture is now 48 times more toxic for insects than it was just 20 years ago, due largely to the use of a class of pesticides called neonicotinoids, which are banned in Europe. Learn more from this short video on Facebook and YouTube, plus this new article at The Revelator.

Win for Oregon's Humboldt Martens: No More Trapping

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted late last week to ban trapping of Humboldt martens. Thanks to everyone who spoke out in favor of the ban — there are fewer than 200 left in the state. Meanwhile the Center has also petitioned for federal protection for these elusive furbearers.

"I'm so relieved Humboldt martens can now scamper wild and free in our coastal forests without fear of dying in a trap," said Tierra Curry, a Center scientist. "Banning trapping is a big first step toward safeguarding these cute creatures. Now we need wildlife crossings on highways and reconnected forest habitats."

Read about it at OregonLive.

Courtroom Roundup: Protecting Rare Birds, Clean Air, Climate

This week the Center's lawyers have been fighting to protect threatened wildlife and natural resources from coast to coast.

We secured a commitment from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to make a decision about Endangered Species Act protection for imperiled lesser prairie chickens by May 2021.

We reached a key agreement in our fight over a warehouse project in the Southern California city of Fontana. The deal will bring new efforts to protect living space for tiny, imperiled gnatcatchers and reduce air pollution.

We're working for clean air in North Carolina with a lawsuit against UNC-Chapel Hill for violations of the Clean Air Act: The university's outdated coal-burning boilers spew harmful pollution.

We also sued Trump's Bureau of Land Management for failing to consider the climate pollution from 130 oil and gas leases on Utah public lands. We're calling on the court to nix all the leases, covering 175,500 acres.

Take Action: Ban the Import of Trophy-hunted Lions

For the first time since lions were protected under the Endangered Species Act, the Trump administration has approved a trophy-import permit for a threatened lion killed in Tanzania.

This disgusting decision is likely just the tip of the iceberg, as it signals the potential for Trump to greenlight more lion trophy imports — maybe even elephant trophies too.

But there's hope: The House Natural Resources Committee just approved the Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large Animal Trophies (CECIL) Act. It would ban U.S. imports of elephant and lion trophies from Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Tell your representative to support this important legislation as it moves forward.

Speckled Dace Is Saved by the Endangered Species Act

A fish called the Foskett speckled dace is being rightfully removed from the rolls of the Endangered Species Act — the 42nd species to be recovered by the law.

In 1985, when it got protected, this fish lived in just one spring in eastern Oregon, threatened by grazing. The Bureau of Land Management acquired that spring in a land exchange and kept out cattle while working collaboratively to save the fish.

"The Endangered Species Act works," said the Center's Noah Greenwald. "But I'm very worried about the Trump administration weakening the law that stopped this little fish from going extinct."

Get more from Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Wild & Weird: Footage Taken of Rare Polka-dotted Zebra

A zebra foal with a dark coat and white polka dots has been spotted in Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve. The youngster's unique coat is due to a condition called pseudomelanism: a rare genetic mutation in which animals display an abnormality in their stripe pattern.

Find photos and video of the beautiful polka-dot zebra baby at National Geographic.