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A Fresh Look at Our Work to Save Freshwater Systems |
Streams, rivers, and wetlands are in trouble across the United States. The lower 48 states alone have lost 50% of wetlands since the 1780s, and the rate of wetland loss has accelerated by 50% since 2009. And in a devastating ruling last year, the U.S. Supreme Court erased 50 years of federal wetlands protections, leaving most of these ecosystems even more vulnerable. That’s terrible news for birds, fish, frogs, snakes, insects, and plants — including scores of imperiled species.
The Center for Biological Diversity is working hard to save freshwater ecosystems and all the wild creatures who depend on them. We just launched an amazing new webpage highlighting our campaigns, complete with stunning photos, videos, and interactive maps. As you tour the map, you can help defend some of the wetland species most at risk of extinction, from bog turtles to swamp pink flowers to salt marsh harvest mice. Explore our webpage and take action now. |
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Petitions Filed to Save Rare Bird, Two Fishes |
The Center recently petitioned to protect three rare U.S. species under the Endangered Species Act: a California bird and two fish, in Alabama and Nevada.
Threatened by logging, grazing, fire suppression, climate change, and hunting, Mount Pinos sooty grouse survive in a shrinking portion of the Sierra Nevada. Male sooty grouse have beautiful bright-orange “eyebrows” and attract females by hooting from tall trees.
Stippled studfish are sparkling, freckly fish who need cold, clear water with clean sand and gravel to lay their eggs and perform their unique spawning ritual: diving into the sand and depositing eggs that incubate there for several days until hatching.
Oasis Valley speckled dace are tiny, short-lived fish who eat small invertebrates and sometimes algae. They’re threatened by numerous proposed gold mines that could dry up their home — the springs that feed the Amargosa River in Beatty, Nevada. |
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Florida News: Piney Point, Speak Up for Panthers |
After a lawsuit by the Center and allies, Florida’s environmental protection department has agreed to issue a permit requiring better oversight of pollution from the Piney Point phosphate facility.
That phosphogypsum stack was at the heart of a disastrous toxic water discharge event three years ago that wiped out vast numbers of fish and continues to threaten seagrass that manatees need to survive. The new agreement will put enforceable limits on harmful effluent discharged into Tampa Bay.
Meanwhile, a proposed development called Kingston, farther south in the state, would bring 10,000 homes into prime habitat for Florida panthers — of whom only about 200 are left alive.
Take action: Tell the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to say no to this destructive project. |
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Vote to Help Us Win This Important Award |
We’re excited: The Center has been nominated for Charity Navigator’s Community Choice Awards, which celebrate the exceptional work of top-rated charities.
We earned this nomination with our four-star rating — the highest available, of course — and commitment to transparency, accountability, and effectiveness. It wouldn’t have been possible without your support and trust.
The next step? Winning. But we need your help.
Vote for us now to help get even more eyes on our crucial work to save life on Earth.
Then share the link with everyone you know on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn (and everywhere else).
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Species Declines: Early Intervention Beats Triage |
Halting the extinction crisis isn’t just about saving a species when it has dwindled to a precious last few. It’s vital that we track animals and plants as they begin to decline so we can intervene with solutions before it’s too late.
A recent study offered a sobering global assessment of where things stand with all types of species. Among the findings were that 63% of amphibian species are in decline, as are 56% of mammals and 53% of birds.
The Center fights those declines by protecting habitat, reining in pollution and exploitation, and battling industrial agriculture and climate change. Thank you for being our partner in saving species. |
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The Revelator: Protecting Fireflies |
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That's Wild: Leeches That Leap ‘Like a Cobra’? |
Since at least the 14th century, observers of the natural world have speculated about the existence of flying leeches.
Well, it turns out the rumors are probably true, as U.S. researchers just published in a paper: Madagascar’s terrestrial leeches, who live in the rainforest, have been caught in the act.
Learn more and watch a video of these blood-sucking, airborne worms. |
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Center for Biological Diversity | Saving Life on Earth
Donate now to support the Center's work.
Photo credits: Bog turtle by Gary Peeples, salt marsh harvest mouse by William Thein/USGS; sooty grouse by James Bland, speckled dace courtesy Bureau of Land Management, Oasis Valley stippled studfish by Philip Gentry; Florida manatee courtesy USFWS, Florida panther by Rodney Cammauf/NPS; bald eagle by Brian J. Geiger/Flickr; wildlife decline graphic courtesy Center for Biological Diversity; forest leech by Kramthenik27/Wikimedia.
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Center for Biological Diversity
P.O. Box 710
Tucson, AZ 85702
United States
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