Newsletter Archives - Endangered Species Coalition

Elections, Activist Training Lab, Grizzlies, Pollinators, 30×30, and more in the Saving Species Newsletter

Endangered Species Coalition — Sun, 08 Dec 2024 14:45:22 +0000

The last few weeks have not been easy. I hope everyone is doing well. I have been reaching out to friends and family – and doing a lot of hugging.

And our community is coming together. I was recently so grateful to you all for your tremendous generosity on Giving Tuesday. Thanks to you, we smashed our goal of $10,000, bringing in a total $13,401.

It has also been helpful to reflect on ESC’s history.

The Endangered Species Coalition was born in 1981 — a time of grave danger for wildlife. Concerned about efforts to weaken the Endangered Species Act during its 1982 reauthorization, conservation leaders from the National Audubon Society, Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife, Environmental Defense Fund, Earthjustice, and World Wildlife Fund realized that we needed to foster a grassroots force for endangered species. Thus, the ESC was born, and this synergistic movement has grown to over 400 member organizations, 500,000 supporters, and sentinels, defeating every major effort since to undermine the ESA.

We are not afraid of a fight.

And we know one is coming. During the last Trump Administration, we saw new regulations to delist gray wolves across the U.S. and to weaken habitat protections. With a pliant Congress and an even more radical agenda, we know that bedrock laws critical to wildlife are on the chopping block.

But I have hope. Here at ESC our amazing staff is dedicated to one thing, protecting biodiversity. Last week we met for three days to plan our strategy. We have champions in Congress, groups around the country and a powerful community of 500,000 members — we will be mobilizing them all.

This is what gives me hope: our collective love of wildlife, belief in humanity, and commitment to our community. We know that 84% of Americans support a strong Endangered Species Act. We are in this together.

Thank you for your continued support. Together, we are stronger.

Hugs,

Susan

Endangered Species Policy in 2024 and Beyond

By Endangered Species Coalition

After the consequential United States 2024 elections, one thing remains unchanged – human activities are driving over one million species to extinction. President-elect Trump and the Congressional majority are no friends to wildlife. They will seek to end protections for vulnerable species like wolves, grizzlies, and whales, and roll back the Endangered Species Act itself. Endangered Species Coalition commits to educating, organizing, and mobilizing people who love wildlife so together we can stop their extinction agenda before cherished plant and animal species are lost forever.

Organizing for Biodiversity – ESC’s Activist Training Lab and New National Grassroots Organizer

By Dalton George, National Grassroots Organizer

Greetings from the mountains of beautiful Boone, North Carolina. Since our last newsletter, I’ve joined the Endangered Species Coalition team as the new National Grassroots Organizer! I am excited to contribute to the work of the ESC team and coalition.

This Fall, I joined other ESC staff and several member groups in Washington, D.C., for a rally supporting the Tribal Heritage and American Bison, Grizzly Bear, and Wolf Restoration and Coexistence Act. Joining with member groups, I met with North Carolina legislators to discuss critical legislation to protect and improve biodiversity.

I’ve also been hard at work leading the Activist Training Lab. Read more…

The Northern Rockies—Grizzly Bears and a Farewell

By Derek Goldman, Northern Rockies Representative

At the time of this writing, fall is (finally) settling in here in western Montana. Following an extended dry summer, it has begun to snow in the high country. No doubt, grizzly bears are deep in hyperphagia—the annual biological cycle where bears seek to consume as many calories as possible to prepare their bodies for a long winter of hibernation.

The Endangered Species Coalition is also preparing. We anticipate an announcement from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the next few months that could change the trajectory of grizzly bear recovery in the western U.S., and we are raising the alarm. Read more…

Biodiversity in 30×30 at the America the Beautiful for All Coalition inaugural conference

By Jewel Tomasula, Policy Advisor

With only five years left to achieve the national and global goal to conserve 30% of lands and waters by 2030 (“30×30”), the America the Beautiful for All Coalition held its inaugural conference to discuss top priorities for conservation justice in 2025 and beyond. The Endangered Species Coalition was involved in planning the conference and leading two breakout sessions.

The “Equity-centric Biodiversity Conservation Planning” session highlighted how unjust planning practices have shaped biodiversity loss and discussed how our movement must center the needs of disenfranchised communities in participatory science and biodiversity restoration. Then, the session “More than Acres: Ensuring Effective and Equitable Conservation Beyond 30×30 in Ocean and Coastal Stewardship” called attention to the need for management plans, endangered species and clean water protections, and other tools to ensure that designated protected areas support the biodiversity that communities rely on.

Throughout the conference, people spoke of protecting lands and waters for the wildlife cherished by our communities and sacred to many cultures. We look forward to the new era of bringing the conservation and environmental justice movements together with the America the Beautiful for All Coalition.

Endangered Species Coalition Member Group Highlight

By Tara Thornton, Director of Institutional Engagement

ESC leads the grassroots movement to protect threatened and endangered species and to defend the Endangered Species Act. We believe power is an abundant resource that grows as it is shared.

In each newsletter, we highlight one of our over 400 member organizations and their incredible work to save species and habitats

One of ESC’s newest member groups, Species Unite, is leading the way in lessening animal suffering and promoting coexistence. Read more…

Colorado Border Buffer Zone

By Ryan Sedgeley, Southern Rockies Representative

Wolves don’t understand political boundaries. They need to roam to ensure genetic diversity and to follow prey. Soon, it is likely that Colorado’s state-protected wolves find their way to Wyoming, where they lack any protection. Last year’s horrifying incident in Daniel, Wyoming, where a young female wolf was tortured and killed, illustrates the potential fate for Colorado’s wolves that cross the state border.

That is why the Endangered Species Coalition is calling for the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to ban the killing or harassment of gray wolves on their lands. Specifically we want to see these protections in the Medicine Bow National Forest and the land managed in the Rock Springs Field Office.

The agencies have the power to do this, and they should. We hope you will join us in calling for a protective buffer zone for wolves in Wyoming along the northern border of Colorado.

Pollinator Protectors Case Studies

By Jeanne Dodds, Creative Engagement Director

We’re enthusiastic about sharing 2024 Pollinator Protectors campaign success stories with you. What does Pollinator Protectors do, and who benefits from this program? Through Pollinator Protectors, ESC creates native habitat for pollinators and provides outreach and education experiences for communities. Pollinator Protectors allocates small grants for native plant material and related supplies, enabling our partners to create habitat and provide educational events. These projects benefit imperiled native pollinating species, native plants, and communities. Read more…

Endangered Species Coalition Leads in Keeping Washington Wolves Protected.

By John Rosapepe, Pacific Northwest Representative

A seventeen-month fight to strip Washington State wolves of protection afforded under the state endangered species act was finally defeated by a 5 to 4 vote at the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission’s July meeting.

Endangered Species Coalition staff and our Washington State volunteers led the grassroots efforts in opposition to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s proposed downlisting of the wolf’s status from endangered to sensitive.

State protection for wolves is important as wolves are only protected in the western two-thirds of the state under the Endangered Species Act. Read more…

Creative Engagement – Announcing Collaborating for Biodiversity

By Jeanne Dodds, Creative Engagement Director

It’s never been more important for people and communities to collaborate to ensure that our shared future is biodiverse. That’s why ESC has developed a new creative opportunity for youth grades K-12: Collaborating for Biodiversity. Building on the success of our 2023 Collaborating for Wildlife and Plants call to youth artists in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, we are expanding with a new collaborative call to youth artists during the current academic year.

Later this year and in early 2025, we will be sending out updates about how educators and students can join the Collaborating for Biodiversity project, including opportunities for youth artists grades K-12 to collaboratively create works of art in a range of media. The platform for artwork submissions will open in January and close in April 2025. Collaborating for Biodiversity will center species listed, proposed for listing, or recovered from the Endangered Species Act. We will emphasize the creation of artworks increasing awareness of the importance of biodiversity. Read more…

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Congressional Attacks on Endangered Species, New ESC Film on Colorado Wolves, Honoring Pete McCloskey and Chalk Art Contest Winners and More – The Saving Species Newsletter – Summer 2024

ESC — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 17:39:33 +0000

At the Endangered Species Coalition, we love wolves. Sharing the same genetic background as the dogs we welcome into our families, wolves are intensely social, curious, and form deep family bonds. They are also keystone species with the power to heal damaged ecosystems like Yellowstone. After being almost entirely gone in the lower 48 states, wolves are returning. This month, we are celebrating new pups from the wolves recently reintroduced to Colorado. Today, over 6,500 gray wolves live in the West’s wild open spaces, filling the night with their howls.

But, at the same time, we are seeing an epidemic of cruelty and killing that threatens to reverse this wildlife comeback story – one of the most important successes in the history of conservation.

In Wyoming, the tragic torture and killing of a young female wolf have shined a spotlight on the state’s indiscriminate killing of wildlife. 85% of the state is a designated “predator zone.” That means wolves and other predators can be killed without a hunting license, using almost any method, including hounding, baiting, neck snares, leg-hold traps, M-44 cyanide bombs, and running over with a snowmobile.

In Wisconsin, a state-managed wolf hunt in 2021 took place during the breeding season, killing pregnant females and disrupting family packs when it was critical for pups to survive. More than 85% of the wolves who lost their lives in this hunt were killed by hunters using packs of dogs. Hunters and trappers killed 216 wolves in fewer than three days – 20% of the state’s population and far above the state-imposed quota of 119 wolves.

In Idaho and Montana, it is the 1800s all over again. State leaders have passed laws to allow hunters to use chokehold snares, night goggles, aerial gunning, all-terrain vehicles, bait stations, hounds, and even bounties in the pursuit of killing wolves. In 2022 and 2023, Idaho hunters and trappers killed more than 560 wolves. In Montana, during the same period, over 450 wolves were killed. The average lifespan of a wolf in the Northern Rockies outside of Yellowstone is only 2-3 years.

In this month’s newsletter you will read more about our work to protect wolves including the premiere of the ESC film “Welcome Home,” in Colorado, and the launch of our National Wolf Recovery Campaign. With these new efforts we will ramping up our wolf work and advocating for new national and state policies to end wolf persecution and to promote recovery of wolves to wild ecosystems across the U.S.

We could not do this without your continued support. Thank you for helping us bring back the howl of the wolf and for keeping the world a little more wild!

Susan Holmes, Executive Director

Pete McCloskey – Endangered Species Champion and Environmental Giant

Susan Holmes – Executive Director

Pete McCloskey, a Republican member of Congress, co-author of the Endangered Species Act, longtime Endangered Species Coalition supporter, and member of our Advisory Board, passed away on May 8th at the age of 94.

A liberal Republican who represented an area south of San Francisco for fifteen years, Pete rose to national prominence in 1969 as an opponent of the Vietnam War. Bold and visionary, the following year, he co-authored the Endangered Species Act (Rep. Dingell was lead and Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Fish and Wildlife; Pete was the Ranking member) and co-founded Earth Day. During his time in Congress he was a champion for many strong environmental laws, including the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts.

But what I love most about Pete is that he made protecting the environment and endangered species a winning political issue. In his first race – a special primary against the childhood actor Shirley Temple Black – Pete won by mobilizing young voters in support of open space protection and the environment.

I first met Pete when he came out of retirement in 2006 to run a campaign to unseat Representative Richard Pombo, Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee. Pombo had pledged to weaken the ESA and we knew that if he returned to Congress wildlife protections were on the chopping block. Although Pete lost the primary challenge to Pombo, he succeeded in winning 32% of the vote on a conservation platform. He went on to endorse Representative Jerry McNerney, a Democrat, who then defeated Pombo. The Sierra Club recognized Pete in 2006 for his work to unseat Pombo with their highest honor for public officials, the Edgar Wayburn Award.

Pete McCloskey wrote for the 40th Anniversary of the ESA, “…I consider co-authorship of the Endangered Species Act as the greatest contribution I have made in my lifetime to the welfare of this nation.” Thank you Pete! Endangered species, from alligators to whooping cranes, and all of us are so grateful for your life and legacy!

ESC and Member Groups Take Wolf Protection Message to Capitol Hill

In June, the Endangered Species Coalition organized Capitol Hill meetings in Washington, DC, for wolf advocates to let their elected officials know about the epidemic of wolf cruelty taking place in the U.S.

We met with dozens of Members of Congress, including Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) pictured left, to educate them on the horrific treatment of wolves in the Northern Rockies where wolves are not protected under the Endangered Species Act. Several policymakers expressed interest in helping secure better treatment for wolves, such as stopping “wolf whacking” (running down wildlife with motorized vehicles like snowmobiles), securing greater protections for wolves on federal lands, and protecting predators like wolves with animal cruelty laws.

Susan Holmes speaks at wolf rally in Washington, DC

Joining the wolf advocates were Jonas Black and fellow bikers, the Hogs for Hope, who organized a ride for wolves from his hometown of Austin, TX, to Daniel, WY (the location of the recent wolf torture) and then onto Washington, DC.

ESC and member groups participated in a rally with the Wild Beauty Foundation on the lawn outside the Capitol building. Dozens of people joined from across the country to show their support for wolves.

Take action to protect wolves from cruelty.

Wolf Pups in Colorado and the Premiere of ESC’s film, “Welcome Home”!

Ryan Sedgeley – Southern Rockies Field Representative

Colorado has wolf pups! Our first wolf family, the “Copper Creek Pack,” is now established with the confirmation of pups being born to one of the reintroduced wolves from Oregon. For months, the momma wolf has been exhibiting all the right signs, including a den. We welcome our new bunch of Colorado-born wolf puppies, the next generation of wolves in Colorado.

Along with this happy development, we are excited to announce the completion of a new 20 minute film celebrating the success of Colorado wolf reintroduction efforts by award winning . Director Alan Lacy. Called “Welcome Home,” the film will premiere in Denver on Thursday, July, 18th at 6pm. To see the trailer and to attend the premiere, please visit our Welcome Home webpage. Stay tuned for details on how to view the film online. Read more…

Fundraising Match Campaign for Wolves LIVE NOW

Any donation made between now and the 31st of August to our wolf campaign will be matched. Wolves are facing multiple challenges and threats. The Administration recently declined to protect them in the Northern Rockies and a legislation from Lauren Boebert that would slash their protections nationwide passed the House of Representatives and could be voted on by the Senate as a part of funding legislation soon.

We are working with our member groups and allies to stop that legislation and to support legislative and regulatory solutions to prevent wolf-whacking (killing wolves with snowmobiles) and to shape future policy for wolf recovery nationwide.

Please make a matched gift today to help us reach our goal.

Congressional Attacks on the Endangered Species Act Increase Ahead of 2024 Election

Jewel Tomsula – Policy Advisor

The Endangered Species Coalition serves as an important resource for wildlife champions in Congress. We work to track legislative attacks, provide the most up to date information, coordinate on strategy to shore up opposition to attacks and activate public support for the ESA.

This Spring we worked closely with the Congressional ESA Caucus to request full funding for the Endangered Species Act. This year’s request was signed by 137 Members of Congress, an increase from previous years and a testament to the dedicated outreach of our advocates. This is the good news.

Unfortunately, leaders on the House Appropriations Committee continue to ignore the widespread support for the Act and for wildlife conservation, instead catering to industry interests. Rep. Simpson’s (R-ID) FY25 Department of Interior Funding bill slashes money for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and contains at least 15 anti-wildlife poison pill riders—the largest number of policy amendments that has ever been included in the base bill in the 50-year history of the Endangered Species Act. One of the poison pill amendments would delist the gray wolf across the continental United States, while others would block grizzly bear reintroduction, protections for wolverines, and stop improving the management of National Wildlife Refuges. Other funding bills include poison pill riders that would harm salmon recovery efforts in the Pacific Northwest and risk extinction of the North Atlantic right whale.

Attacks on the Endangered Species Act have also been proposed for other must-pass legislation – including the five-year Farm Bill and the annual National Defense Authorization Act. Ultimately, what passes into law will come down to negotiation among the leaders of the House, Senate and White House – and all signs indicate that these negotiations will happen after the November elections when new Congressional leadership will be determined. Take action to stop these harmful amendments.

Endangered Species Day Chalk Art Contest Engages Schools and People to Learn about At-Risk Wildlife

Tara Thornton – Director of Institutional Engagement

Art contests are one of the highlights of our annual Endangered Species Day celebration. We’ve been asked, why chalk art? We use chalk art because it’s a medium people of all ages and skill sets can relate to. It’s inexpensive and can be done anywhere- a school playground, a sidewalk, or a rooftop.

This year, on Endangered Species Day, we received 180 chalk art submissions from across the US and as far away as India through our social media channels.

At ESC, we use art in our work on Endangered Species Day and throughout the year. We believe art can be a powerful tool for the many individuals who may not identify as traditional activists. Art provides an entry point into civic participation, and communicates a powerful story to the public. Engaging people in this way helps shift our culture toward a more profound respect for nature.

Schools and zoos across the country and even overseas have participated in our art competitions. This is our fourth year using chalk art to engage students and the public. Virginia Preparatory School had this to say about their participation: “We like celebrating the beauty of the endangered and threatened animals (or plants) and raising awareness of their plight in a fun and creative way. The impermanent nature of chalk art speaks to the threat of extinction these species face.”

And from Immaculate Heart Academy of NJ: “ The AP Bio students are in their final academic unit on Conservation Biology and Global Change and are excited to be featuring a threatened or endangered species of their choosing in their chalk art to… raise awareness for these organisms that are threatened with extinction.”

While all the works are amazing, we could only recognize a few…

Tiger, Nithya

Grand Prize Award went to Nithya for her Tiger. “I am an artist of Indian origin. The Bengal tiger is an iconic symbol of India and I have seen the decline of this species to around 2500 tigers. I felt that art has the power to inspire change and advocate for these magnificent species.”

Red Panda, Phoebe

With 309 “likes” on social media for her chalk art the People’s Choice Award went to Phoebe for her Red Panda. “I mostly did this for fun and to help spread awareness about the endangered species of animals. The red panda really speaks to me, and I love its beautiful design, so that’s why I drew it!”

To learn more go to: https://www.endangered.org/chalk-art-contest-winners-chosen/

Member Group Highlight – Wyoming Wildlife Advocates

Tara Thornton – Director of Institutional Engagement

This month, we are highlighting our member group, Wyoming Wildlife Advocate (WWA), for their leadership in fighting for endangered and keystone species. WWA is advocating for permanent grizzly protection, ethical, science-based elk management, and returning wolves to their rightful place in Wyoming’s ecosystem. They work to inform, educate, and empower communities across Wyoming to protect wildlife and modernize wildlife management.

WWA’s work on wolves came to a head when a yearling female wolf was cruelly tortured and killed in late February. Run down by a Daniel, Wyoming, resident on his snowmobile. Her mouth was taped shut, and she was paraded around a local bar for hours before finally being shot.

Local and state laws allow this behavior. Wolves are considered predators in 85% of the state, and it is legal to kill them on sight, year-round, without a license, using any method. Wyoming Wildlife Advocates is working to change these laws. They are working with state legislators, who have formed a stakeholder committee to review the treatment of “predatory” animals. We’re hopeful that significant changes for wolves and other predators will be made in the state’s next legislative session, and we will continue to work with WWA and our member groups in the region to protect wolves.

ESC Uses Bear Awareness Week to Send a Message to Department of Interior

Derek Goldman – National Field Director

ESC projected a message on US Department of Interior

This year, national Bear Awareness Week fell in mid-May, and we decided to use that opportunity to raise awareness about grizzly bears, in a most unique way. ESC worked with the Backbone Campaign and a few of our conservation partners to project the image of a grizzly bear onto the wall of the U.S. Department of Interior. The following day, our staff returned to Interior and delivered over 100,000 petition signatures Sec. Haaland and FWS Director Martha Williams, urging them to keep grizzly bears protected.

ESC and member organization staff delivering petition

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is considering removal ofESAt protections for two populations of grizzly bears—the Yellowstone and the Northern Continental Divide (think: Glacier) populations. While progress has been made towards recovering these bears from a century of persecution, they still face threats from expanding development and recreation in their habitat. More recently, states like Montana and Idaho have passed aggressive, anti-carnivore policies that could jeopardize future recovery and progress so far. Some politicians and government bureaucrats in these states are hostile to grizzlies and other carnivores, and they have demonstrated intent to reduce the grizzly population once FWS oversight is removed. That’s why ESC is opposing efforts to delist grizzly bears at this time.

Add your name to tell the US Fish and Wildlife Service to keep grizzly bears protected under the Endangered Species Act.

The Grizzly bear is an American wildlife icon, and a key component of our unique Western wildlife heritage. Lewis and Clark wrote about encountering grizzly bears when they explored the West more than 200 years ago. As one of the slowest-reproducing mammals on the planet, grizzly bears will always be sensitive to mortality, and will require continuous, strong conservation measures. We need to keep ESA safeguards in place until the science shows grizzly bears are fully recovered, and until the states have adequate rules in place to ensure grizzly bears will thrive for future generations.

Celebrating and Conserving Sonoran Desert Species

Jeanne Dodds – Creative Engagement Director

Saguaro cactus. Agave. Monarch butterflies. These are just a few of the iconic plant and animal species of the Sonoran Desert spotlighted at one of our recent community events for biodiversity conservation, in Arivaca, Arizona. On April 20th, we celebrated and raised awareness of imperiled species, through visual art, community outreach, native plantings, science lectures, and youth activities. In partnership with the Arivaca Pollinator Pathway Project, and with a generous donation of agaves from member organization Bat Conservation International, the Endangered Species Coalition installed agave and other native plants to create a night blooming garden for nighttime pollinator specialists, including pollinating bats and moths.

While community members installed the native plants, including the agave along with night blooming yucca, datura, and others, Tohono O’odham artist Paul ‘Nox’ Pablo painted a representative mural, illustrating the nighttime garden species and the plants on which they rely. The center panel of the mural features a whirlwind design, which has significance in the Tohono O’odham culture as a representation of the wind and is an important symbol of pollination and the element of air. Read more…

Art and Storytelling Move People to Protect Orcas

John Rosapepe, Pacific Northwest Field Representative

On the evening of June 12th, tribal members, whale activists, salmon researchers, and so many more gathered at the Seattle Aquarium for All Our Relations: Tribute to the Orca. It was the Endangered Species Coalition’s honor to sponsor the commemoration and to be in the presence of so many people who bring us immense hope for the future of our Southern Residents. The energy and inspiration of the night will not soon be forgotten.

There was reflection and grief for the passing of the mother orca Tokitae, Tahlequah, and all the orca mothers who have lost their children. But there was hope for healthy orcas, returning salmon, and a free-flowing Snake River. The program opened with a statement from Duwamish Tribal Council Member Ken Workman. His words went beyond the Duwamish, thanking the many tribes of the Salish Sea for their millennia of stewardship.

In addition to the main program speakers and education tables from organizations, artwork was a key piece of the event’s focus. Part of Gabriel Newton’s Superpod collection, acrylics of the Southern Residents painted on driftwood pieces, were hung on the walls. And Cyaltsa Finkbonner’s striking welded sculpture, filled with its symbolism and imagery, was center stage. They served to remind us of the power art has to make connections and tell stories. Read more…

The post Congressional Attacks on Endangered Species, New ESC Film on Colorado Wolves, Honoring Pete McCloskey and Chalk Art Contest Winners and More – The Saving Species Newsletter – Summer 2024 appeared first on Endangered Species Coalition.

Saving Species Newsletter Spring 2024

Endangered Species Coalition — Fri, 22 Mar 2024 16:09:50 +0000

My family, which includes me, my husband, two teenage girls, and a bouncy terrier, loves holidays. Preparing special meals, decorating the house, and gathering together are always our favorite times.

Here at ESC, we are getting ready for our biggest holiday of the year, Endangered Species Day. Founded by ESC in 2006, this global celebration of wildlife on the third Friday of May has grown to include thousands of events in the U.S. and around the world. I love this day because it is an opportunity to reflect on our successes, reconnect with nature, and honor the people in communities who are working so hard to protect wildlife.

And, this year there is a lot to celebrate! Colorado has reintroduced wolves and is now voting on legislation that would bring back the elusive wide-ranging wolverine, the first federal grants have gone out to states and Tribes to help build underpasses and overpasses for animals to navigate roads and the Biden Administration has proposed a plan to restore grizzlies (one of my favorite animals) to Washington’s North Cascades!

This is also a day to recognize and thank the amazing wildlife champions in our 425-member groups and our partner organizations – including Tribes such as the Nez Perce who are working to restore wolves, salmon, and condors, the Hawaii Plant Extinction Program that is successfully safeguarding some of the world’s most endangered plants and the Sea Turtle Conservancy whose research is showing us how to mitigate the impacts of lighting and fishing on these beautiful sea creatures.

So, on Endangered Species Day, I invite you all to join the party! Look for an Endangered Species Day Event in your community, plan one yourself (we have lots of materials on our website), or spend the day in nature in communion with the wildlife you love. And, recharge your batteries – there is still plenty of work to do!

Thank you for your support and for helping make the world a little more wild.

Susan Holmes, Executive Director

Susan Holmes
Executive Director
Endangered Species Coalition

Grizzly Bear Recovery in the West: What’s on Tap in 2024

Unfortunately, these bears were all but wiped out during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Despite its rugged image, the grizzly bear is more vulnerable to industrial development and other human activity than most other wildlife species in the Northern Rockies. Roughly 2,000 grizzlies now inhabit the lower-48 states (with most living in and around Yellowstone National Park and Montana’s Continental Divide), down from as many as 100,000 in the early 1800s. Read more…

Endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales Get Love and Much Needed Help from Oregon Junior High School Students

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission was surprised at its February hearing when thirty junior high school students filed into the room mid-morning.

They were there to urge the commission to list the Southern Resident Killer Whales as endangered under the state’s Endangered Species Act.

Ten students gave testimony, four individually and the others as two groups of three. They were poised, cited scientific research and talked about the Southern Residents Killer Whales matriarchal cooperative culture. Read more…

Colorado’s New Wolves are Exploring Their New Home

It has been three months since Colorado made history by beginning the process of restoring wolves to our mountains. Now, once again, the howl of wolves can be heard (if you are lucky) in Colorado. These first ten wolves mark an inflection point in history where the wrong of extirpating wolves and other wildlife is made right.

So far, the wolves have been doing well and avoiding any trouble with livestock or cars. There are reports that the wolves are starting to pair up and as we enter mating season, we can only hope that pups will be on the way offering their adorable promise of new life and a brighter future for wolves and wildlife in Colorado.

This is not to say this process is without its challenges. While safe in Colorado, wolves can be killed if they cross into Wyoming where there are no federal protections.s. We are working to find ways to safeguard this significant conservation success. We don’t want to lose a single wolf to hunting or trapping across the state border. As we enter the spring, we will work with the promise of new life and a brighter future for wolves as we continue to advocate for these remarkable animals.

Mural Brings the Rusty Patched Bumblebee Back to Ohio

Across the tallgrass prairies of the midwestern United States, rusty patched bumblebees (Bombus affnis) once thrived in a landscape rich with native plants providing nectar and shelter. Today, the rusty patched bumblebee is listed under the Endangered Species Act. Since 2003, it has rarely been observed in the landscapes where it historically ranged. As a result of habitat loss and conversion of land to agriculture, the habitat that the rusty patched bumblebee needs has been dramatically altered.

Through the power of visual artwork for biodiversity conservation, the rusty patched bumblebee is once again visible in Ohio. As part of the Endangered Species Act 50th Anniversary National Mural Project, artist Kenia Lamarr created and installed a rusty patched bumblebee in the Linden neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. Read more…

Support Pollinators and their Habitat

What do bats, bees, butterflies, moths, and birds have in common? All of these animals can help to pollinate native plants. Endangered Species Coalition’s Pollinator Protectors campaign helps to create habitat for pollinating species of each of these animals. So far in 2024, the Endangered Species Coalition has funded restoration work for a greenhouse propagating agave for native pollinating bats in Texas, the purchase of a locally rare native pollinator plant for bees at an urban restoration project in Washington, and a native pollinator garden at a farm in Maryland. You can support these incredible projects by donating to Endangered Species Coalition’s Pollinator Protectors campaign. Please help ESC fund the vital work of creating pollinator habitats across the US. Thank you for your support!

Endangered Species Day is May 17th–Make Plans at endangeredspeciesday.org!

The Endangered Species Coalition and David Robinson started Endangered Species Day in 2006 and it has grown to become a global event in the 18 years that have followed. We organized a unanimous U.S. Senate resolution marking the day; we have generated media coverage from large national news networks to local newspapers; the White House has tweeted; and activists like you and me have come together to celebrate the work and the successes those works have led to and to keep doing more to save species. New events are being added to our Endangered Species Day map every day.

Join us on the 3rd Friday in May (May 17th) to be a part of Endangered Species Day. Learn more at endangeredspeciesday.org.

America the Beautiful for All Coalition (AtB4All)

The Endangered Species Coalition is proud to be a member of the AtB4All Coalition, a broad and diverse coalition of hundreds of organizations across the country. All working to advance two of President Biden’s initiatives on 30X30 and Justice40.

30×30: Conserve, connect, and restore at least 30% of land, water, and ocean in protected areas by 2030 to avoid massive species loss, secure equitable access to nature’s benefits, and prevent and repair the impacts of the climate crisis for all communities.

JUSTICE40: Implement a Justice40 metric for the America the Beautiful Initiative to ensure at least 40% of the investments are made in communities of color and frontline communities that have historically seen little to no investment in conservation and equitable access to nature.

ESC staff co-chair the wildlife working group and have advanced several priorities for the coalition to work on this year, including a National Biodiversity Strategy for the U.S., supporting wildlife corridors both at the federal level and in states, and expanding the National Wildlife Refuge system. For a look at the full 2024 Policy Priorities: 2024 Policy Agenda | America the Beautiful for All

Saving Species on Capitol Hill

The Endangered Species Coalition has an exciting update on our policy work: Jewel Tomasula, Ph.D., came on board as our new Policy Advisor! With Jewel joining us, we visited Capitol Hill to share our Top 10 Stories of Hope Report, discuss our concerns with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) about Congressional attacks on the ESA, and advocate for a National Biodiversity Strategy and for protecting wildlife corridors. We met with several offices: Senator Collins (ME), Senator Merkley (OR), Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Senator Carper, Congresswoman Dingell (MI-06), Congressman Beyer (VA-08), Congressman Molinaro (NY-19), and Congressman Buchanan (FL-16). importantly, we are recruiting more legislators to the Congressional Endangered Species Act Caucus.

With a deal to fund the federal government for Fiscal Year 2024, we are breathing a huge sigh of relief that none of the anti-ESA amendments proposed by House conservatives are in the final budget. It is disappointing that funding for ESA implementation took cuts, as did many other environmental protection programs across federal agencies. In the face of the largest number of anti-ESA amendments in the 50-year history of the Endangered Species Act, our movement successfully fended off these attacks, helping keep intact protections for the gray wolf, grizzly, long-eared bat, North Atlantic right whale, Rice’s whale, and more. When the Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations process begins, we will remain vigilant to defend endangered species and mobilize to restore funding for ESA implementation.

Endangered Species Coalition Member Group Spotlight

Photo: ESC’s Susan Holmes led a discussion about living with wildlife in Africa with Alais Moridat, a Maasai elder from Tanzania at the organization African People and Wildlife.The event at the Georgetown Club in Washington, DC, explored a model to protect lions and how we can learn from their success as we explore ways to protect wolves, grizzlies, and other large carnivores.

Our strength comes from all our wonderful member groups working together to protect threatened and endangered species and their habitats. We now have almost 500 members! In upcoming editions of our newsletter, we will highlight some of the great work of those groups. We also have bi-weekly member calls on Wednesdays at 2 pm ET. If you have a great story to tell, a victory you would like to share, or a cool tactic your group is employing, we want to know about it!!

In this edition, we want to welcome some of our newest members: African People and Wildlife, HYNCharity, Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance, Gotham Bat Conservancy, and the Conservation Angler. Their work ranges from protecting a specific species to protecting a mountain range to creating sustainable, resilient communities. Our members are incredibly diverse. Please visit their websites to learn about the awesome work they are doing.

If you feel your group would be a good fit to become a member of ESC, please use this link to join us!
Endangered Species Coalition Member Groups Application – Endangered Species Coalition

Do you know? How many subspecies of wolves are there in North America?

Here are five subspecies of the gray wolf (Canis lupus) in North America.

Canis lupus baileyi – the Mexican wolf (lobo)
Canis lupus nubilus – the Great Plains or buffalo wolf.
Canis lupus occidentalis – the Canadian or Rocky Mountain wolf.
Canis lupus lycaon – the eastern or Algonquin wolf. Some scientists believe this wolf is a separate species, Canis lycaon.
Canis lupus arctos- the arctic wolf.

Thanks to ESC Member Organization, Wolf Conservation Center for the answer to that question.

The post Saving Species Newsletter Spring 2024 appeared first on Endangered Species Coalition.

Saving Species

Endangered Species Coalition — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 14:24:29 +0000

What an extraordinary three months! Since joining Endangered Species Coalition in September, I have seen up close the passion and expertise of our staff and the effect that ESC can have on the recovery and restoration of wildlife across the US. I cannot thank you enough for your support.

It is a pivotal time for wildlife. Globally, we have lost nearly 70% of vertebrate animals since 1970, and in the USA, roughly one in five animals is at risk of extinction. That is why the Endangered Species Coalition is working in communities across the US to build a national movement for biodiversity.

Today we are launching our inaugural newsletter! Below, you will read some of the many stories about how our staff and coalition partners are using bold and creative strategies to advocate for species. Next month in Colorado, we are celebrating the return of the wolf– but our advocacy is not stopping with “paws on the ground.” We are mounting an education campaign to ensure that the public and policymakers continue to understand and value wolves. In Arizona, we are working with community volunteers, including teens, to plant pollinator gardens. You will also learn how our Activist Training Lab teaches advocates to be effective biodiversity campaigners and find out about our new online organizing tools. You can look forward to receiving these newsletters on a quarterly basis.

Finally, December 28 marks the 50^th Anniversary of the Endangered Species Act — our nation’s most important tool for protecting wildlife — and we are celebrating! This year, we have worked with our partners to paint street murals in cities across the country, bring over 100 activists to Washington, DC, and we have recognized three of our member organizations, Sea Turtle Conservancy, Pollinator Extinction Prevention Program in HI, and Bat Conservation International, for their leadership in protection endangered species.

These are challenging times for wildlife, but there are so many reasons for hope. 99% of all species protected by the ESA are still with us; wolf packs will howl in Colorado for the first time since the 1930s, and people like you care. Thank you for being part of the Endangered Species Coalition Team.

Susan Holmes, Executive Director

The Howl is Coming Back to Colorado

Ryan Sedgeley, Southern Rockies Representative

This holiday season, the howl of wolves will return home to the heart of Colorado. When their paws hit the ground, it will be the first step in recovering a healthy wild wolf population to the state. After years of advocating for the wolves’ return, Endangered Species Coalition will continue our efforts to ensure that people in Colorado know that peaceful coexistence with wolves is possible. We will continue to educate the public about the value of wolves and guard against anti-wolf misinformation that has advanced wolf-killing policies in the Northern Rockies.

The Endangered Species Coalition is working on the western slope of Colorado to secure a welcoming home for wolves for the long term. To achieve this, we have been meeting with leaders and policymakers to make sure they understand how we got here, what resources are available for ranchers, and how wolf-watching could bring additional sources of revenue to rural areas and outfitters. We also hold information sessions for the public and stakeholder groups to answer questions and ensure people understand how much has gone into the process and the resources available to those impacted. Finally, we are watching the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Commission to make sure they continue to support wolves and everyone’s wildlife values, not just hunters and outfitters.

With public and state leadership, Colorado can be a shining example of wolf reintroduction done right. Read more….

Endangered Species Coming to a Wall Near You

John Rosapepe, Pacific Northwest Representative

A three-story high tiger overlooks lower Manhattan while in Cerrillos, New Mexico, Mayahuel, the Aztec goddess of fertility, emerges from an agave plant between Mexican long-nosed bats. These are a couple of the ESA@50 murals across the country that Endangered Species Coalition helped bring to life.

This year, in conjunction with the ESA@50, artists painted street murals that spotlighted regional ecological and cultural diversity within the United States. These murals gave a face to local threatened and endangered animals and plants and highlighted the loss of biodiversity and the accelerating extinction of species.

Artists at some sites chose to highlight individual species, including the Eastern Black Rail in Washington, DC. Muralist Yulia Avgustinovich, creator of the Washington DC painting, said, “I want to bring nature back into our concrete cities. With my art, I try to convey its complexity and its beautiful essence.”

In St Petersburg, Florida, the mural honors native mangrove forests and their abundant wildlife, and in Portland, the painting celebrates the beauty of Oregon’s native fish, wildlife, pollinators, and plants. The Dona Ana, New Mexico mural highlights the Boreal Owl, Gila Monster, and two endangered fish species – the Chihuahua Chub and Roundtail Chub. The ESA@50 mural page features photographs and videos of the artists at work, their paintings, and how communities interact with the featured species.

Celebrating 50 Years of Saving Species
Tara Thornton, Director of Institutional Engagement

Late in 2022, Endangered Species Coalition brought together our member groups to begin working on a year-long celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ESA passed on December 28, 1973, with bi-partisan support and is still celebrated publicly as favorable legislation that has saved hundreds of species from the brink of extinction.

Since the beginning of 2023, Endangered Species Coalition and our allies have showcased ESA@50 in various creative ways to increase visibility and knowledge about the ESA and its accomplishments. The ESA@50 team held several activities and events throughout the year, including Career Panels, Mural Projects, a Fly-in, an Award Reception, a dedicated website, a highlight video, an Endangered Species Essay Contest, and much more. This year’s Endangered Species Day and our Annual Top Ten report also followed the theme of ESA@50. Throughout our planning, the team has engaged with and supported communities and organizations of diverse backgrounds committed to conservation and biodiversity. Read more…

Endangered Species Coalition Member Groups Saving Species
Tara Thornton, Director of Institutional Engagement

The Endangered Species Coalition’s strength lies in our member organizations’ collective power. The conservation community recognized three remarkable groups at the ESA@50 reception for their dedication and leadership in protecting endangered species. These groups have made tremendous progress in protecting endangered species.

Sea Turtle Conservancy: is the world’s oldest sea turtle conservation and research organization. Since 1959, the organization’s research programs have yielded much of what is now known about sea turtles and the threats they face, to improve conservation and recovery of these marine and coastal species. The Sea Turtle Conservancy has a strong focus on research and public education. They are working to understand and combat significant threats to sea turtles, such as impacts on beach lighting, coastal armoring, international harvest for consumption, and bycatch in fisheries. They have worked to educate the public on the importance of sea turtles and how individuals can help protect them. More information: https://conserveturtles.org/

Pollinator Extinction Prevention Program (PEPP): No plant has gone extinct since PEPP’s inception. The Hawaii PEPP is a highly successful program that focuses on emergency actions, captive propagation, and reintroduction efforts for those species closest to the brink of extinction — Hawaiian plants that have 50 or fewer individuals left in the wild. More than 200 of the rarest plant species in the world receive emergency-room actions under this program. PEPP has already saved dozens of species from extinction and helped reintroduce more than 110 species into native forests.

PEPP employs unique methods in their work, such as; rock-climbing, rappelling, and using drones to locate and collect species. More information: http://www.pepphi.org/

Bat Conservation International: working with a diverse network of partners to bring the federally endangered Mexican long-nosed bat (Leptocerids nivalis) back from extinction. By protecting roosts and increasing nectar forage resources along their migratory pathway from the Southwest U.S. to Mexico, their initiatives work at a landscape scale to protect and restore healthy, functioning, biodiverse ecosystems that support local livelihoods through community enterprises and sustainable agriculture.

The Agave Restoration Initiative, a binational collaboration of diverse partners, works to save bats, restore agave corridors, and support communities in sustainable agricultural and business practices. More information: https://www.batcon.org/

Check out our new YouTube channel: @ActivistTrainingLab

Sarah Starman, National Grassroots Organizer

Whether you’re new to grassroots organizing or a seasoned campaigner, our @ActivistTrainingLab YouTube channel is made for you! You can explore dozens of short videos on the YouTube channel covering fundamental organizing and advocacy skills, like campaign planning, power-mapping, strategy, creative tactics, recruitment, and leadership development. Through these videos, we hope to help you build new skills and use those skills to launch and win grassroots campaigns.

One million plant and animal species are facing extinction. We urgently need elected officials, government agencies, corporations, and institutions to pass bold policies that meet the extinction crisis at the scale of the problem. Grassroots organizing is one of the most powerful tools in our toolbox for securing the bold policies we need. Check out the @ActivistTrainingLab YouTube channel to learn about using grassroots organizing to create transformative change for wildlife and wild places.

These short videos are training that you can do anytime, anywhere, at your own pace, for free. Take advantage of this resource and other training services provided by the Activist Training Lab by visiting https://www.youtube.com/@ActivistTrainingLab or https://www.endangered.org/activist-training-lab/.

Read and Share the New Top 10 Report on December 6th

Derek Goldman, National Field Director and Northern Rockies Field Representative

On December 6th, Endangered Species Coalition will release our 2023 Top 10 Endangered Report. The report is released at a great time of year to share stories of inspiration with others you know and share your passion for protecting endangered species. Beginning in 2008, Endangered Species Coalition began compiling an annual “Top 10 Endangered” report—with a different theme each year. Our member groups nominate species for the reports, and a committee of distinguished scientists reviews the nominations and chooses the finalists.

This year’s report is entitled Ten Stories of Hope: The Endangered Species Act at 50, and it tells inspiring stories of wildlife conservationists using different strategies to protect and recover imperiled fish, birds, plants, and mammals in the US. From engineering innovative bat houses in Miami to botanists rappelling cliffs as they hunt for rare plants in Hawaii, this report showcases the people, agencies, and organizations who are working to recover species the Act protects, including the Florida grasshopper sparrow, Chinook salmon, and the sea otter, to name a few. Previous years’ reports are also available on our website.

Mobilizing Activists Put Pressure on Oregon to END Wildlife Killing Contests

John Rosapepe, Pacific Northwest Representative

This September, the Oregon Fish & Wildlife Commission banned wildlife killing contests in the state. This makes Oregon the ninth state to put an end to these cruel killing derbies. The Endangered Species Coalition’s Pacific Northwest Representative testified twice in support of this ban and we mobilized hundreds of Oregon activists to speak out.

Wildlife killing contests serve no scientific or management purpose and disrupt wildlife families and communities. Endangered and threatened species–such as gray wolves–can mistakenly be killed in these contests, which often target coyotes.

These events do not provide a public good, and an extreme minority of hunters support them. And they are not an effective management tool. Researchers have found that coyotes increase their birth rates in response to mass killing–resulting in greater numbers. These events do not prevent conflicts with livestock growers either. In short, there are no benefits and many costs to these events.

Oregon joins Arizona, California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Vermont, and Washington in banning wildlife killing contests. The New York state legislature passed a bipartisan bill in June outlawing killing contests in the state. That bill is waiting for Governor Kathy Hochul’s signature.

Endangered Species Coalition launched a Pollinator Protector Project in 2016 with a handful of milkweed plantings for Monarch habitat in California. We now partner with local groups in 24 states and Mexico to increase critical native plant and pollinator habitat. Below is information from one of the teams Endangered Species Coalition partnered with last year.

The Arivaca Pollinator Pathway Project

Emily Bishton, project coordinator

In early 2023, a team of community volunteers came together, including members of the Arivaca Library Teen Advisory Board (TAB), to create a linked pathway of habitat gardens for butterflies, bees, and other pollinators in the small village of Arivaca, AZ. In addition to growing pollinator gardens, this project is growing local knowledge on how to provide good habitat for pollinators through its educational signage, brochures, free. classes, a mural, and more.

We are very grateful to the Endangered Species Coalition for providing project funding through their Pollinator Partners Program, and to the TAB teens who have raised funds through making nature crafts! This has enabled the volunteer team to build raised-bed gardens filled with native flowering shrubs and perennials at five local businesses this year and to add more native perennials to the library and dancehall gardens, which were all instantly visited by multiple species of pollinators.

In late summer, the Endangered Species Coalition, ESA@50, and the Arivaca Dancehall funded the creation of a beautiful mural to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. The mural wraps around a building in the middle of the dancehall’s pollinator garden and depicts bats, butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, and other desert wildlife in their natural habitat.

Plans are to build at least two more pollinator gardens on main street in the coming year, along with several large pollinator beds inside the town’s new public park. Who knows how far this pollinator pathway will lead!

We are so grateful to the Endangered Species Coalition, ESA@50, and the Arivaca community for supporting this project. For more information, photos, and lists of the pollinator plants that thrive in this high-elevation desert region, visit the Arivaca Pollinator Pathway website.

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