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Leatherback sea turtle
Center for     Biological     Diversity   

Vaquita, Sea Turtles Among Mexico's Top 10 At-risk Species

The Center for Biological Diversity has just released a report highlighting the 10 most iconic endangered species in Mexico. It calls for better protection of them and for Mexico's government to study 2,600 other species around the country.

The top 10 iconic species at risk of extinction are the vaquita porpoise, leatherback sea turtle, Mexican gray wolf, ajolote salamander, scarlet macaw, monarch butterfly, elkhorn coral, sea cucumber, white nun orchid and jaguar.

"Some of Mexico's most treasured species desperately need our help," said Alejandro Olivera, the Center's Mexico representative. "There are fewer than 30 vaquitas left in the world, and Mexico's leatherback sea turtles have recently declined by 97 percent. Saving these species requires real change, including by protecting them from habitat loss, climate change and illegal trade."

Read more in our press release.

Food waste

Top Grocery Stores Get Rock-bottom Grades on Food Waste

Checked Out, a new report by the Center and The "Ugly" Fruit and Veg Campaign, found that most of America's big grocery companies neither report their total food waste nor have made a public commitment to food-waste reduction.

The report looks at the 10 biggest grocery companies — including Albertsons, Costco, Kroger, Publix, Target, Trader Joe's, Walmart and Whole Foods Market — and grades them on their food-waste commitments, policies and actions. Most received a D or F.

"Food waste squanders water and land, hurts wildlife and puts food security at risk," said the Center's Senior Food Campaigner Jennifer Molidor. "We can stop this, but only if supermarkets are part of the solution."

Get more from National Public Radio.

Center Files Suit for Tiny, Rare Songbird

Tinian monarch

Tinian monarchs live on a 39-square-mile island in the western Pacific, severely threatened by plans to expand military-training activities in their last forest habitat.

Following a Center petition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service identified the little songbird as critically imperiled — but then missed its deadline to grant protection. So we've sued to get the pending decision back on the table, and we'll keep fighting for this rare bird.

Get more from Radio New Zealand.

Cropdusting

Lethal Farm Bill Rider Would Let Pesticides Harm Wildlife

A rider to House Republicans' Farm Bill would let the Environmental Protection Agency approve pesticides without consulting experts on their harm to thousands of endangered species nationwide, including salmon and California condors. If approved, this would be one of history's most aggressive attacks on the Endangered Species Act.

The bill echoes a request by Dow Chemical for embattled EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to stop work analyzing the harm of three pesticides, like the neurotoxin chlorpyrifos, on endangered plants and animals — work that would've created reasonable species protections.

"This will accelerate extinctions for some of our most vulnerable species," said the Center's Lori Ann Burd. "The pesticide industry has contributed a million dollars to the House Agricultural Committee and is cashing in on its investment."

Read more in the Houston Chronicle and tell your representative to oppose this dangerous bill.

Help Us Boot Pruitt for Earth Day

Protester

There's a lot of great stuff you can do for Earth Day this Sunday, from tree-planting to litter cleanup. But we have a different task in mind — maybe one of the most powerful Earth Day actions you can undertake.

The Center's Ignite Change grassroots network is focusing on firing EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who's been filling the agency with Big Ag and Big Oil bigwigs and squandering public money on just about everything but environmental protection. Sign up to gather petition signatures this Earth Day to boot Pruitt.

The Revelator: Elephant Poachers vs. Poop

Elephants

Can elephants' dung help us save them? Yes, says biologist Samuel Wasser, whose pioneering work is now featured in The Revelator.

Elephant feces, Wasser discovered, contain elephant DNA. This has allowed him and his colleagues to create a genetic map showing which African elephant populations live where — letting them pinpoint the sources of poached ivory tusks (which also contain an elephant's DNA) to identify poaching hotspots for law-enforcement targeting.

Read the whole story and subscribe to The Revelator's newsletter.

Gray wolf

Help Wolves Return to Colorado

Wolves were once common in Colorado, as they were throughout the West. But government trapping and poisoning on behalf of the livestock industry drove them off the land and to the brink of extinction in the lower 48 states.

The Center is teaming up with other conservationists to return wolves to the mountains, canyons and forests of western Colorado through a coalition effort called the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project. The project disseminates science-based information and strives to generate appreciation for wolves in order to change policies, ensure the return of these vital animals, and restore the natural balance.

Please consider making a donation to the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project.

Center Scientists Speak at March for Science

Center scientist John Fleming

March for Science rallies, now in their second year, took place around the country last weekend — and in Los Angeles and Oakland, Calif., Center scientists John Fleming and Shaye Wolf gave inspiring speeches. The focus of these marches was the need to push back against Trump's anti-science administration, but John also spoke powerfully about how Gov. Jerry Brown should put his money where his mouth is on climate change and stop fossil fuel exploitation in the Golden State.

Read John's op-ed on Brown, climate and dirty fossil fuels in The Sacramento Bee.

American woodcock

Wild & Weird: The Funky Footwork of the American Woodcock

The male American woodcock is a bird with a beat — especially in the springtime, when seeking to woo woodcock ladies.

Check out our new video of a woodcock getting funky at Maine's Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter.

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Photo credits: Leatherback sea turtle by N. Pilcher/NOAA; food waste garbage can courtesy USDA; Tinian monarch by Devon Pike/Wikimedia; cropdusting courtesy Oregon Department of Agriculture; protester by Lorie Shaull/Flickr; elephant by Mario Micklisch/Flickr; gray wolf by Lou Gold/Flickr; Center scientist John Fleming by Harrison Weinberg; American woodcock video still by Keith Ramos/USFWS.

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