Famed Jaguar Shows Up Again in Sonora
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Remote cameras in Sonora, Mexico, just picked up new images of El Jefe, a jaguar the Center for Biological Diversity and allies made famous in 2015 after releasing footage of him near Tucson, Arizona. We worked with students at a Tucson middle school to name this jaguar celebrity — “El Jefe” is Spanish for “The Boss” — and soon the video had enthralled millions of people, appearing in every major U.S. news outlet.
El Jefe lived in the Santa Rita Mountains from 2011 to 2015, traveling hundreds of miles and crossing the U.S.-Mexico border at least twice. The new photos of him prove that northern jaguars have an enormous range; that they’re part of one population, which spans the border; and that the Sky Island mountains in Arizona should be protected as key to the species’ survival.
Thanks to Center work, in 1997 jaguars won protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and now have a federal recovery plan and 750,000 acres of critical habitat. We’re still fighting to protect that habitat from threats — including the border wall and a massive planned copper mine.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling to learn that El Jefe is still alive — 12 years old now — and could one day return to the Santa Ritas,” said the Center’s Russ McSpadden.
Help us save jaguars and other species with a gift to our Saving Life on Earth Fund.
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Help Protect Minnesota’s Boundary Waters
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Northern Minnesota's breathtaking Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is home to endangered species like wolves and Canada lynx. Every year it welcomes more than 150,000 visitors, drawn to its unspoiled landscapes, gorgeous lakes and rivers, and solitude.
For years the Boundary Waters has been threatened by a proposed sulfur-ore copper mine. The U.S. Forest Service recently released an environmental study on mining in this fragile watershed. It officially states what we’ve always known: This destructive mine would put the area’s pristine waters and crucial wildlife habitat at great risk, sacrificing the region's future to short-term private profit.
Based on the study, the Forest Service is now recommending a 20-year ban on mining adjacent to the Boundary Waters.
Help save this precious place — sign our petition supporting the ban.
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Geothermal Plant Halted to Save Rare Nevada Toads
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The Center for Biological Diversity has been fighting for Dixie Valley toads since 2017, when we first petitioned to protect them under the Endangered Species Act. They were already critically imperiled due to invasive species, climate change and groundwater depletion when we learned that a geothermal energy plant was about to destroy their only habitat — a patch of hot-spring-fed wetlands in the midst of the dry Great Basin.
In April we won emergency protection for these big-eyed, black-freckled amphibians. And this week, for the second time, our legal work has won an agreement stopping the plant’s bulldozers from breaking ground in the toads’ last home.
“We support geothermal energy, but it can’t come at the cost of biodiversity,” said Patrick Donnelly, the Center’s Great Basin director. “Every toad, every wildflower, every snail and every songbird ... humans need them for our survival. The extinction crisis puts our own existence at risk.”
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Whale Win: Saving Right Whales From Collisions
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Dozens of North Atlantic right whales have died from ship collisions since 2017 — only 340 are left on Earth. Mothers and calves, who spend time near the surface, are especially at risk.
At long last, after a 2012 petition and 2021 lawsuit by the Center and allies, the federal government plans to strengthen ship-speed rules to save these critically endangered animals from brutal collisions. NOAA Fisheries just proposed to improve and expand speed-limit rules over parts of the ocean off New England, the mid-Atlantic and Florida.
“Right whales are spiraling toward extinction,” said the Center’s Kristen Monsell. “They just can’t wait any longer for protections against getting run over and killed by vessels.”
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The Climate Emergency Is Here; Let the People Lead
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Bringing Back California’s Bears
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Grizzly bears roamed California for thousands of years before it became a state. Less than 75 years after that, humans had hunted, trapped, poisoned and shot them into local extinction. The last killing of a wild grizzly in California was in August 1922 — 100 years ago this month.
Yet the grizzly is the state animal — the proud icon on California’s flag. How can we honor this species decades after obliterating it in the state? We’re calling on the federal government to consider reintroducing grizzlies into the California ecosystem.
You can help: Sign our petition to bring back the bears. Then read more in this Los Angeles Times op-ed featuring the Center’s Noah Greenwald.
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Welcome Our New Florida Director
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The Center is excited to announce Elise Bennett as our new Florida director. A born-and-raised Floridian and a Center attorney since 2016, Elise will now oversee our conservation work throughout the Sunshine State, including reducing water pollution and recovering endangered species like manatees and Florida pine snakes, among her favorite animals.
“It's such a huge honor to continue working with the countless Floridians who throw their hearts into protecting the wild and natural wonders of this place we love,” said Elise. "Growing up here, I saw firsthand how quickly we can lose our unique wildlife and the places they live to unchecked sprawl and water pollution if we don't fight for them day after day. I'm committed to that fight.”
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Check Out Our Summer Membership Newsletter
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This summer's Endangered Earth, the Center's print newsletter, is now available online. Learn about the species we defended during the first half of the year, from California condors to ghost orchids. Also in this issue: securing a safe haven for manatees, why pesticides are racist, an article by our Carnivore Conservation Director Collette Adkins on winning for wolves — and much more.
We make this members-only newsletter available to online supporters to thank you for taking action — but please consider becoming a member today and helping even more. Just call us toll free at 1-866-357-3349 x 323 or visit our website to learn more and donate.
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Revelator: Another Dam Extinction
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That’s Wild: Could Fish Poop Help Save Corals?
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The coral reefs that sustain one-quarter of the ocean’s life are part animal and part plant, with microscopic algae, or plants, living inside corals, who are animals. But how do the algae get inside those corals?
One Rice University researcher, Adrienne Correa, has an idea that some of those life-sustaining algae are brought to the corals in fish feces — the same way anemones get theirs.
According to Hakai Magazine, Correa is about to take a deep dive into the question at a research site in French Polynesia.
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Center for Biological Diversity
P.O. Box 710
Tucson, AZ 85702
United States
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