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Red wolf
Center for     Biological     Diversity   

Our Latest Report: Here's Where to Reintroduce Red Wolves

With as few as 14 left in the wild, red wolves are among the world's most endangered mammals. If we're going to save them, we need to get more wolves in more places.

That's why the Center for Biological Diversity just issued a groundbreaking report highlighting 20,000 square miles of public land across six southeastern states that would be well suited to red wolf reintroductions.

The sites we identify in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia could support nearly 500 breeding pairs. We're urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to act immediately to return red wolves to these areas before they go extinct in the wild.

"Without more reintroductions, wild red wolves could disappear within five years," said Collette Adkins, the Center's carnivore conservation director. "These incredibly imperiled animals can't afford more delays."

Get more from KAIT News and consider making a donation to our Endangered Species Act Protection Fund.

Interior least tern

Endangered Species Act Success: The Tough Little Least Tern

After 34 years of Endangered Species Act protection, interior least terns have increased tenfold, rightly prompting plans to remove their federal safeguards.

These black-and-white midwestern birds almost went extinct in the 1800s, hunted for their feathers. They were further threatened by habitat destruction as dams and channelization destroyed the freshwater beaches and islands of rivers like the Missouri and Mississippi.

Up from fewer than 2,000 birds in 1980, they number more than 18,000 today, and computer models predict the population will stay stable.

The little birds' story, says the Center's Noah Greenwald, "shows that when we actually pay attention and care, we can reverse damage we've done in the past."

Read more in USA TODAY.

Suit Launched to Make EPA Tackle Smog From Oil and Gas

Hollywood sign and smog

More than 88 million people live in areas with dangerous levels of smog, from Maine to California, that the Environmental Protection Agency under President Donald Trump has failed to protect from pollution caused by oil and gas drilling.

Smog, or ground-level ozone, causes asthma and other serious respiratory illnesses. So the Center and allies have filed notice of our intent to sue to force Trump's EPA to get that dirty air cleaned up.

Get more from Air Quality Matters.

Arizona border wall construction

The U.S. Border Patrol is sucking up millions of gallons of groundwater to build Trump's wall in southeastern Arizona. This will devastate rare desert springs and the endangered species that depend on them. We traveled to the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge to see what's at stake. Watch our new video.

Little Colorado River gorge

Take Action: Help Stop Two Grand Canyon Dams

Located just upstream of Grand Canyon National Park, the Little Colorado River gorge is one of the most culturally and biologically sensitive places in the Southwest. Its cultural history spans thousands of years, and the river that flows through it supports the largest remaining spawning area for endangered humpback chubs.

But two dams have been proposed that would industrialize this remote area, flooding or harming sacred Hopi sites and all the chub's designated critical habitat in the river.

Speak up for this magnificent place: Tell the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to deny both dam proposals.

#ExtinctionIsScary participants

#ExtinctionIsScary

Today is Halloween, and on this spookiest of holidays, Center supporters are dressing up as their favorite endangered species and lighting endangered species–themed jack-o-lanterns. Why? To raise awareness about something truly scary: the Trump administration's gutting of the Endangered Species Act. If you're participating, don't forget to post your pics on social media with the hashtags #ProtectSpecies and #ExtinctionIsScary.

You still have time to get in on the action — download a printable mask or one of these printable stencils as a pumpkin-carving guide.

Countdown to the World's Biggest Dam Removal

Klamath River

This week The Revelator's Tara Lohan takes an intriguing look at the fieldwork of scientists preparing for the removal of four dams on the Klamath River — the largest dam-removal and river-restoration project in history.

What they learn could speed ecosystem recovery, boost salmon populations, and help guide future dam-removal efforts. But despite their project's magnitude, the scientists still lack dedicated funding to understand what will happen after the dams come down.

Read Tara's piece and sign up for The Revelator's weekly e-newsletter.

We're Suing Trump Over New California Drilling, Fracking

California oil drilling

On Wednesday the Center and partners sued Trump over his decision to unleash a frenzy of new drilling and fracking on 725,500 acres across California's Central Coast and Bay Area.

Our lawsuit says the Bureau of Land Management violated federal law by not considering potential harm to groundwater and the climate from oil and gas extraction — or the possibility of fracking-induced earthquakes.

Get more from KFGO News.

San Joaquin kit foxes

Report: 10 Protected Species Endangered by Pesticides

A new report from the Endangered Species Coalition highlights 10 species being pushed toward extinction by massive overuse of pesticides.

The species are the San Joaquin kit fox, Indiana bat, California red-legged frog, pink mucket pearly mussel, Chinook salmon, monarch butterfly, northern spotted owl, streaked horned lark, Crotch's bumblebee and Salado salamander.

"Pesticide use in the United States is out of control, and these beautiful and highly endangered animals are paying the price," said Lori Ann Burd, the Center's environmental health director.

Read the report.

Greta Thunberg

Wild & Wonderful: Beetle Named After Greta Thunberg

In recognition of Greta Thunberg's work to save the planet, a tiny beetle has been named for the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist who sparked the international Youth Climate Strike movement.

Dr. Michael Darby of the Natural History Museum, who named the beetle Nelloptodes gretae, said: "I chose this name as I am immensely impressed with the work of this young campaigner and wanted to acknowledge her outstanding contribution in raising awareness of environmental issues."

Read more at CNN.

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Photo credits: Red wolf by B. Bartel/USFWS; interior least tern courtesy USFWS; Hollywood sign and smog by pongle/Flickr; Arizona border wall construction by Russ McSpadden/Center for Biological Diversity; Little Colorado River gorge courtesy NPS; #ExtinctionIsScary participants courtesy Center for Biological Diversity; Klamath River by Tara Lohan/Center for Biological Diversity; California oil drilling by John Ciccarelli/BLM; San Joaquin kit fox courtesy USFWS; Greta Thunberg by Mattias Nutt/World Economic Forum.


Center for Biological Diversity
P.O. Box 710
Tucson, AZ 85702
United States