No. 1247, May 30, 2024

Help Free Point Reyes Tule Elk

Tule elk are majestic, highly social animals native to California — and were once hunted to the brink of extinction. Now Point Reyes National Seashore is the only national park where they live. But instead of letting them move around naturally, the National Park Service has maintained a fence that artificially confines a herd to Tomales Point at the park’s northern end, causing large elk die-offs during drought.

Finally, thanks to public outrage and a flood of comments from Center for Biological Diversity supporters, the Park Service is proposing to tear down this lethal fence, letting elk roam freely in the park once again.

The agency is also proposing a management plan for Tomales Point that would collaborate with the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, harnessing cultural resources while enhancing habitat for the elk and for endangered butterflies.

Tell the Park Service you support a free-roaming elk herd and collaborative management plan.

Habitat Wins for Northwest Martens, Nevada Toads

Capping 14 years of legal work by the Center and allies, this week the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service protected more than 1.2 million acres of critical habitat for Humboldt martens in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon. We first petitioned to protect these cute, cat-sized weasel relatives in 2010, finally winning them Endangered Species Act protection a decade later. Now fewer than 400 remain on Earth.

And seven years after we first petitioned for Dixie Valley toads, last week the Service proposed to protect 930 acres of habitat for these small, speckled amphibians. They live in only one place on Earth: a spring-fed wetland in Churchill County, Nevada — which could be dried up and destroyed by a geothermal power plant.

Help fund our fight for other species across the globe with a gift to our Saving Life on Earth Fund. Tomorrow is the last day to get your donation doubled.

Argentinian Scientist Tours U.S. Jaguar Habitat

This month Center staff traveled with renowned scientist Sebastián Di Martin of ReWilding Argentina to explore historical and occupied jaguar habitat in Arizona and New Mexico.

Sebastián and his team have successfully reintroduced jaguars into formerly occupied habitat at the species’ southern range in Argentina’s Iberá. The last jaguar in the area was killed in 1953. But thanks to ReWilding Argentina, now 25 jaguars thrive there.

“Sebastián’s groundbreaking work to bring jaguars back to their southern range is an inspiration for efforts here in their northern range in the U.S. Southwest,” said the Center’s Russ McSpadden.

Check out recent wildlife-cam footage of an Argentinian mama jaguar and her three beautiful cubs on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube.

Colorado Restores Wetlands Protections

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis just signed into law a bill to restore protections for wetlands and seasonal springs left vulnerable since a U.S. Supreme Court decision gutted safeguards last year. Wetlands in Colorado are home to more than 120 species, from San Luis Valley sandhill cranes to northern leopard frogs, but more than half this essential habitat has disappeared since the 1800s.

“With this legislation, Colorado is leading the nation by implementing environmental policy grounded in science,” said the Center’s Alli Henderson.

If you’re a Coloradan who took action with us on this issue, thank you.

We’re Suing to Help Save Horseshoe Crabs

Denizens of Earth for 450-plus million years, horseshoe crabs are older than dinosaurs. But these marine arthropods are now in sharp decline due to habit loss and harvesting by the pharmaceutical industry. Biomedical companies use the animals’ blood to manufacture diagnostic tests, even though synthetic alternatives exist: a needless, cruel, and destructive practice.

To save a species, we need to understand what’s driving its extinction. Maryland collects data on how companies and fishermen kill, bleed, or injure thousands of horseshoe crabs annually. But the state won’t share that information — so we’re suing to get it.

As the Center works to shed light on what’s happening to Maryland’s horseshoe crabs, we’re also fighting to get these ancient earthlings protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Watch and share this mind-blowing video of horseshoe crab eggs hatching on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Revelator: Will Brazil’s Flooding Cause Extinction?

Catastrophic flooding in Brazil has already displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Now we have a warning that it could also cause species extinctions.

Read more in The Revelator. And if you don’t already, subscribe to the free weekly Revelator e-newsletter for more wildlife and conservation news.

That’s Wild: The Screaming of the Frogs

In the Atlantic coastal rainforest of Brazil, clay robber frogs emit ultrasonic screams.

Parts of those distress calls are audible to humans, while other parts are at too high a frequency for us to hear. Scientists hope to find out which other species may be the targets of the calls (predators? The predators of predators?), as well as which other frog species may make their own silent screams.

Learn more and watch a video of a screaming clay robber frog.

Have a friend who'd like this email?

Follow Us

Center for Biological Diversity | Saving Life on Earth

Donate now to support the Center's work.

Photo credits: Tule elk by austlee/Flickr; Humboldt marten by Ben Kazez/Wikimedia, Dixie Valley toad by Patrick Donnelly/Center for Biological Diversity; jaguar mother and cubs screenshot from video courtesy ReWilding Argentina; horseshoe crab eggs screenshot from video courtesy Heidi Cleven; Marinheiros Islands by Rafael M. Pinheiro, greater guinea pig by Klaus Rudloff, estuarine grass snake by Fernando M. Quintela, red-bellied toad by Jorge S. Bernardo-Silva; clay robber frog by Felipe Gomes/Wikimedia.

View our privacy policy.

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