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Hundreds Speaking Out for Wolf Protections -- Join Us

Gray wolfIt's a momentous week for wolf advocates around the country -- in the past few days hundreds packed hearings in Denver (Tuesday) and Albuquerque (last night) to speak out against the Obama administration's plan to end protections for nearly all wolves in the lower 48 states. Pro-wolf voices were by far the majority at the hearings -- in Albuquerque there were more than twice as many pro- vs. anti-wolfers, with about 70 lobo supporters at the podium.

The Center for Biological Diversity is hoping for similar results at another hearing -- tomorrow.

We're planning for hundreds more people to rally with us at a new wolf hearing in Sacramento tomorrow, and we'd love to have you there. Wolves now occupy a mere 5 percent of their historic habitat in the lower 48 -- it's not the time for us to walk away from their recovery.

Learn more about our Sacramento rally tomorrow and be sure to RSVP if you plan to attend (there's also a public hearing Dec. 3 in Pinetop, Arizona). If you can't make it, submit your comments online in favor of wolves and the vital role they play in the wild. Then read this Center op-ed in the San Jose Mercury News and get the scoop on last night's rally in the Albuquerque Journal.


Intl. Body Urges Investigation of Canada's Refusal to Protect Polar Bears

Polar bearsA key NAFTA body announced Monday that, in response to a 2012 petition from the Center, it's recommending a formal investigation into Canada's denial of concrete protections to its polar bears. The relatively large numbers of polar bears living in Canada are at high risk from melting sea ice and other fast-moving ravages of climate change, yet the country only lists the polar bear as a "species of special concern" under its endangered species law -- which gives it no real protection.

This week's decision identifies several main questions to scrutinize, including whether Canada used the "best available" climate science when it declined protections in 2011. High-level environmental authorities from Canada, the United States and Mexico will consider the issue and have 60 days to make a final decision to initiate a full investigation into Canada's polar bear listing.

"Arctic warming and disappearing sea ice threaten to push polar bears off the planet," said Sarah Uhlemann, our international program director. "Canada needs to acknowledge the scientific facts and take action to protect these amazing animals from extinction."

Read more in The Ecologist.


"Pardon the Polar Bear" Campaign Hits D.C., Gears Up for West Coast

Pardon the Polar BearEverywhere President Obama goes this Thanksgiving season, the Center's Frostpaw the Polar Bear will greet him with an urgent message: Don't just pardon a turkey; pardon the polar bear. We want the president to take action on climate change and reject Keystone XL -- because the last thing polar bears need is more global warming to melt their sea-ice habitat.

Just hours ago Frostpaw took up his position outside the White House for his weeklong vigil, where he'll be posing for photos with visitors standing alongside a cutout of President Obama and a sign saying, "Mr. President: Pardon the Polar Bear."

Frostpaw will also be on the West Coast next week greeting the president as he visits Los Angeles and San Francisco. Our "polar bear offensive" is part of a months-long campaign by Frostpaw to stop Keystone that included a trip to Martha's Vineyard this summer.

Learn more at our Pardon the Polar Bear website and check out this clip from The Rachel Maddow Show that ran after Frostpaw's visit to Martha's Vineyard.


Become a Member Today

Plastic-plagued Hawaiian Island May Become Superfund Site

Green sea turtleIn response to a Center petition, the EPA took a historic step this week when it agreed to investigate making a Northwestern Hawaiian Island into a Superfund site because of the profuse plastic pollution afflicting the archipelago.

Tiny Tern Island provides nesting habitat to millions of seabirds and is surrounded by colorful coral -- as well as plastic ocean litter that can kill rare animals like green sea turtles and Hawaiian monk seals. Plastic debris kills or injures thousands of animals annually through entanglement and drowning, strangling, lacerations and infection, and even starvation when the animals consume bits of plastic and feel falsely full. This can make toxins move up the food chain from small creatures to bigger ones -- including, eventually, seafood-eating people.

Our 2012 petition asked the EPA to do a preliminary Superfund assessment of all the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, plus a portion of the enormous Pacific Garbage Patch within U.S. waters.

Said the Center's Emily Jeffers, "We hope that what the agency learns from this investigation will lead to cleanup of all the islands -- and ultimately to policies that reduce the flow of garbage into our oceans."

Read more in the Los Angeles Times.


Sen. Vitter Takes Aim at Historic Agreement to Protect 757 Species

Scarlet honeycreeper ('i'iwi)Sen. David Vitter is pulling out all the stops to kill the Center's landmark agreement to speed up protections for 757 animals and plants. The Louisiana Republican is harassing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services over the lifesaving settlement with a clear intent: to cripple it.

It's no surprise, since the oil and gas industry is his top funder and has fought for decades to drill and destroy wildlife habitat from coast to coast. Vitter has put the Endangered Species Act in his crosshairs and is taking particular aim at our 757 agreement, which has already led to federal protection for more than 100 species, including rare butterflies, birds and plants.

Vitter's taking the Tea Party's anti-wildlife demagoguery to a new level, using his position as the ranking Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to intimidate the Fish and Wildlife Service and shut down badly needed protections for hundreds of species around the country.

Read more about our historic 757 agreement.


Announcing New Video, Webpage -- Watch These Stunning Wildlife Images

OcelotWhat would you do if, one by one, your friends began to disappear? Would you save them if you could?

The Center would, can, and is saving our friends. We've been doing it for almost 25 years.

Take a look at our vivid new video launched this week, which celebrates the endangered animals and plants we work to protect with portraits of a choice few whose striking, colorful glory is brought out by renowned nature photographer Joel Sartore.

Watch the video now and share it with your friends. Then check out our new Web page highlighting some of our other fun and enlightening vids. You can also buy some of Joel Sartore's amazing photos, and a portion of the proceeds will go to the Center.


Take Action

A Call to Halt California's Offshore Fracking

California fracking protestCiting the use of hazardous fracking chemicals and the release of oil industry wastewater off California's coast, the Center is calling on the state's Coastal Commission to halt fracking in state waters and press for stronger rules in federal waters.

Hundreds of recently revealed frack jobs in state waters violate the Coastal Act; some oil platforms are discharging wastewater directly into the Santa Barbara Channel, putting blue whales, sea otters, leatherback sea turtles and other species directly in harm's way.

This action comes amid a flurry of protests against fracking across the state, including some led by the Center. In fact there's still time for you to join us in Los Angeles tonight to keep the pressure on Gov. Jerry Brown to ban fracking throughout the Golden State.

Also, help the Center win $20,000 to keep fighting for a ban on fracking. Just visit Sungevity's website and vote for us. Hint: Earn us 10 extra votes if you live in a region that Sungevity services and sign up for a free quote on home solar.

Read more on our Coastal Commission action in MintPress News.


Help For Women's Health and Wildlife -- Take Action

Mother and babyEarth is home to more than 7 billion people, and counting. That rapidly growing number means some serious problems, including gobbled-up resources and wildlife being crowded out at an alarming rate. So what's one of the best ways to stem the tide and save our collective quality of life? Ensuring that women have the healthcare they need to make informed family-planning decisions.

But politicians have made it harder and harder for women to get access to that healthcare: Across the country, in the past three years, more than 160 restrictions have been passed limiting women's access to adequate medical care and safe, legal abortions.

Thankfully this past week Congress introduced the Women's Health Protection Act, a bill intended to stop the wave of attacks against women and their right to make independent medical decisions. But this bill will certainly face a lot of pushback.

Please take action now to help make sure this bill passes -- for women, families and our future.


Wild & Weird: The Hellbender Rock Anthem and Music Video

Ozark hellbenderWe've covered hellbenders here before, because we love them. But they're not the cuddliest of species, with their slimy bodies that look like the 2-foot-long lovechild of phlegm and a rock. Actually these critters -- also called "devil dogs" and "snot otters" -- are pretty much a PR nightmare for anyone trying to fight off their extinction due to water pollution and dams. The rallying cry "Save the Snot Otter" doesn't always go over well.

Happily for the hellbender, a band from St. Louis is now doing this salamander justice through song. They may yet make a rock 'n' roll legend out of North America's largest amphibian.  

We think there are few things more rockin' than raising a little hellbender.

Listen to the song in this music video we made (where you can also learn more about the species and our work to protect it). You can also thank the St. Louis band, FIRE DOG, for serenading these salamanders via its Facebook page.


Kierán Suckling
Executive Director


Photo credits: tiger salamander (c) Joel Sartore; gray wolf courtesy Wikimedia Commons/Retron; polar bears courtesy USFWS; Pardon the Polar Bear by Chelsea Tu; green sea turtle by Ursula Keuper-Bennett and Peter Bennett; scarlet honeycreeper ('i'iwi) courtesy Flickr/Turas Photos; ocelot (c) Joel Sartore; California fracking protest by Patrick Sullivan, Center for Biological Diversity; mother and baby courtesy Wikimedia Commons/Vera Kratochvil; Ozark hellbender courtesy Wikimedia Commons/Brian Gratwicke.

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Center for Biological Diversity

P.O. Box 710

Tucson, AZ 85702

1-866-357-3349