Protect Whales From Deadly Entanglement

Alarming, tragic news: Federal data shows 33 whales reportedly entangled in commercial fishing gear last year — plus nine so far this year — off the U.S. West Coast alone. Most of these whales were humpbacks. (And since not all entanglements are reported, scientists say, the actual entanglement numbers may be five times higher.)

Entanglements happen when whales, sea turtles, and other sea creatures get caught in vertical ropes running from buoys at the ocean surface to fishing traps on the seafloor. The ropes can starve, suffocate, wound, and drown animals.

Fisheries can prevent suffering and save lives by using pop-up gear (aka “on-demand” or ropeless gear), which stops entanglements by eliminating the need for vertical ropes used in traditional commercial gear. Pop-up gear works and is readily available. But to truly succeed, it needs state and federal support.

Rally around whales: Sign our petition urging NOAA Fisheries and other decisionmakers to protect whales in key habitat — while still allowing fishing with safer, whale-friendly gear.

Suit Launched Against Massive Montana Logging Project

The Center for Biological Diversity and allies just filed a notice of intent to sue two federal agencies for illegally approving a 135,000-acre logging project in Montana’s Bitterroot National Forest.

The project allows clearcutting, roadbuilding, prescribed burning, and other industrial activities that will wreak havoc on habitat for federally protected animals like grizzly bears and wolverines.

“The Forest Service calls this an ‘emergency’ wildfire-risk response but says it'll take at least two decades to implement,” said the Center's Kristine Akland. “This spectacular forest and its endangered species deserve protection — not reckless acquiescence to the logging industry.”

Help fight for forest wildlife with a gift to our Future for the Wildlife Fund — doubled if you donate now.

Court Win: Endangered Wildlife Protected From Coal

Following a lawsuit from the Center and our partners in Appalachia, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has ruled that the federal government’s attempt to undercut Endangered Species Act protections to “streamline” coal mining was illegal.

“This is an incredibly important victory for the streams and rivers of Appalachia and the people and wildlife who rely on them,” said Center Senior Attorney Jared Margolis. “It will require coal mines to fully account for their threats and harms and do more to ensure that imperiled wildlife aren’t pushed to extinction for dirty fossil fuel profits.”

Video: Stopping the SpaceX Land Grab

ICYMI: The Center and allies are now in court to block a deal that would give SpaceX more than 700 acres of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge in south Texas. Congress created the refuge in 1979 to protect endangered ocelots, threatened piping plovers, and other vulnerable wildlife — not so Elon Musk could trash it while playing with his rockets. SpaceX’s nearby rocket explosions have already scattered debris across refuge lands, damaging wildlife habitat and harming shorebird nests and eggs.

Watch our new YouTube video to learn more and see the refuge before and after SpaceX’s rocket launches.

And keep an eye on your inbox tomorrow for a chance to take action.

Two California Salamanders Closer to Help

The Center petitioned for the protection of critically imperiled Kern Canyon and relictual slender salamanders in 2012; later we sued when the government dragged its feet. Now we’ve secured an agreement requiring decisions on both species’ protection to be finalized by December.

Salamanders are among California’s most vulnerable amphibians. Decades of livestock grazing, logging, and building have taken their toll.

“These little salamanders could be one disaster away from extinction, so protection is crucial for them and for this stunning slice of California,” said the Center’s Tara Zuardo.

New Podcast Episode: Can Joshua Trees Survive Us?

Joshua trees have stood watch over the Mojave Desert for millions of years. But now they face existential threats as climate change, wildfires, and development propel them toward an uncertain future.

In the newest episode of our Sounds Wild podcast, cohost Vanessa Barchfield and the Center’s Conservation Director Brendan Cummings head to Joshua Tree National Park to explore what's happening on the ground and why some populations may not survive — at least not without help.

Listen to the latest episode on our website or find it on Apple or Spotify.

Revelator: Smuggled Alive

The U.S.-Mexico border is an unexpected hotspot for turtle and tortoise trafficking. As wildlife biologist and podcaster Natalie Jane Cibel writes, the species disappearing into this illegal pipeline aren’t generic “turtles.” They’re some of the most ecologically irreplaceable reptiles in the Western Hemisphere.

Read more in The Revelator.

And if you haven’t yet, subscribe to The Revelator’s free weekly newsletter for more wildlife and conservation news.

That's Wild: First-Ever Photos of Unique Cozumel Fox

Mammals isolated on islands often evolve to be smaller than the mainland creatures from whom they’re descended. In North America, foxes are a good example: On California’s Channel Islands, six subspecies of island fox have grown smaller than their gray fox ancestors.

The island of Cozumel, Mexico, has its own fox too, shown by fossil records to have lived there for some 5,000 years. Cozumel’s foxes have been very rarely seen and never described taxonomically, but in 2023 one was found wandering disoriented before being taken in, studied, and released into a nature preserve — and a new study shares photos that prove it.

See the dwarf fox for yourself at Nautilus.

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Photo credits: Humpback whale courtesy NOAA; grizzly bear by Jim Peaco/NPS and Canada lynx courtesy NPS; candy darter by Ryan Hagerty/USFWS; screenshot of SpaceX video courtesy Center for Biological Diversity; Kern Canyon slender salamander © Andreas Kettenburg; Joshua trees by Sierra Willoughby/NPS; Mesoamerican sliders by Laura Wolf; Cozumel dwarf fox © Rafael Chacón.

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