Ocelot
Center for     Biological     Diversity   

Center, Congressman Sue Trump Over Border Wall

We're taking Trump to court again. On Wednesday the Center for Biological Diversity and Arizona Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva sued the Trump administration over his proposed border wall and other border security measures that will divide communities and have disastrous consequences for endangered jaguars, ocelots, wolves and more than 100 species in the region.

The suit is the first targeting the Trump administration's plan to vastly expand and militarize the U.S.-Mexico border, including by constructing a "great wall."

This is what the resistance looks like. We've already filed 10 other lawsuits against Trump, including ones targeting his plans to ramp up coal mining on public lands and construct the Keystone XL pipeline. We're not stopping there -- stay tuned for other major actions and how you can help.

Read more in The Guardian and consider donating to our Trump Resistance Fund.

Coyote

Victory: Use of M-44 'Cyanide Bombs' Halted in Idaho

A big win in the Gem State: Responding to a petition from the Center and allies, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services program announced it will stop using exploding cyanide traps called M-44s on all private, state and federal lands in Idaho. The program has also removed all M-44s that were previously deployed there.

Our petition was filed two weeks ago in response to an incident near Pocatello, Idaho, where a 14-year-old boy was sprayed with cyanide and his dog was killed.

"We're glad to see these indiscriminate killing devices being pulled from Idaho -- that's an important step toward protecting wildlife, people and pets from these cyanide bombs," said the Center's Andrea Santarsiere. "We hope this ban becomes permanent not just in Idaho but across the country, because there's no place on Earth where these devices won't endanger the lives of innocent people and animals."

Read more in The Washington Post.

Environmental event

Earth Day 2017 -- Come See Us in More Than 250 Cities

There's never been a better Earth Day to speak up for the wild. This year -- thanks to a big group of amazing volunteers -- the Center will be present in more than 250 Earth Day cities in all 50 states. In more than 100 of those cities, we'll have tables where we'll offer petitions to sign, advice on actions to take, and pre-stamped postcards you can send to your member of Congress urging protection for endangered species, our climate and public lands. In some cities, we'll have volunteers distributing our Endangered Species Condoms; other volunteers will circulate at events with our Trump Pledge of Resistance for you to sign in person. (Actually you can sign the pledge with any Center volunteer.)

It's the first Earth Day since the election of Trump, so take a moment to make your voice heard. Come find us at one of these exciting events on Saturday, April 22.

Petition Seeks to Save Rare Belugas From More Oil, Gas Spills

Beluga

After two offshore pipelines -- one oil, one gas, both owned by the same company -- started leaking in the habitat of the world's single population of Cook Inlet beluga whales, the Center petitioned for inspection of all pipelines in Alaska's Cook Inlet for damage that could cause breaking. Only about 340 Cook Inlet belugas survive, threatened largely by pollution of their only home.

"To truly protect these whales, we need to stop offshore drilling," said the Center's Kristen Monsell. "Meanwhile the government must order the fix of faulty pipelines before another spill occurs." Read more.

Common snapping turtle

Nearly 4,000 People Ask Ohio to Ban Turtle Trapping

Supporters of the Center and Sierra Club Ohio have sent almost 4,000 letters calling on the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to end unchecked commercial collection of the state's wild turtles. Their letters support a January petition by the Center and allies to ban for-profit turtle trading.

Right now, Ohio turtle traders can legally collect and kill unlimited numbers of common snapping and softshell turtles to sell domestically or overseas -- despite the fact that freshwater turtles can't sustain any significant level of wild collection without declining.

"For-profit traders shouldn't be allowed to put turtles at risk," said the Center's Collette Adkins, who authored our petition. "Selling so many turtles is also bad for everyone who cares about the health of Ohio's waterways and wetlands."

Read more in our press release.

Oregon Pushes Weaker Protections for Wolves

Gray wolf

A report released this week shows that in the past year Oregon's wolf population has increased by just 1.81 percent, from 110 to 112 wolves, in dramatic contrast to previous annual gains of about 30 percent.

But instead of ramping up protections to help Oregon wolves, state officials want to weaken safeguards -- even allowing hunting and trapping -- according to the latest draft of the state's wolf-management plan.

"Oregon's wolves continue to need protection -- and we'll continue our work to defend them," said the Center's Amaroq Weiss. Read more.

Moose

Legal Protest Targets Plan to Frack 100,000 Acres in Colorado

The Center and allies this week filed an administrative protest challenging a federal decision to offer more than 100,000 acres of federal public land in northern Colorado for oil and gas industry fracking.

The leasing decision, being pushed by the Trump administration's Bureau of Land Management, threatens some of Colorado's most treasured and scenic landscapes and wildlife species, including Colorado River cutthroat trout, greater sage grouse, moose, Canada lynx and black-footed ferrets.

"Fracking these pristine public lands would come at the cost of imperiled wildlife, clean air and clean water -- meanwhile worsening climate change," said the Center's Michael Saul. "This is classic Trump corporate cronyism that sacrifices public values for oil-industry profits."

Read more at The Colorado Independent.

Get Involved -- Sign Up to Volunteer for the Center

Earth Day event

The Center is ready to meet the challenges of the next few years and do whatever it takes to protect our country's magnificent wildlife and wildlands. To get the job done, though, we need your help.

Do you love talking to people about conservation, doing education outreach with kids, or applying your art skills? These are just a few of the many ways you can contribute your time and energy to our cause.

Learn more and sign up to volunteer today. We'll reach out to you as opportunities become available.

Mosquito

Wild & Weird: A Close-up of a Dangerous Animal

Mosquitoes, like dragonflies, begin their life as wingless larvae, living underwater in pools and other freshwater ecosystems. They spend days -- sometimes weeks -- feeding on algae, plankton, fungi, bacteria and other microorganisms to help them build up the energy necessary for maturation into surface-floating pupae called "tumblers" (the mosquito equivalent of a butterfly's chrysalis).

Within one to four days, adult mosquitoes split the hard pupal casing of the tumblers and emerge at the surface of the water. It's an extraordinary transition.

Watch our new video of a mosquito emerging as a winged adult from a pupa on Facebook or YouTube.

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Photo credits: Ocelot by skibler/Flickr; coyote by rustybadger/Flickr; environmental event by Joe Brusky/Flickr; beluga whale by bodoluy/Flickr; common snapping turtle by Andrew DuBois/Flickr; gray wolf by charleshiggens/Flickr; moose in Mount Evans Wilderness, Colo., by imme/Flickr; tabling for the Center by Anna Mirocha/Center for Biological Diversity; mosquito by Alvaro Mendoza Productions.

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