Suit Seeks Truth Behind War on Endangered Species

The Center for Biological Diversity has just sued the Trump administration for failing to turn over public records of its evisceration of the Endangered Species Act.

In August we filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking information on how the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Interior Department are handling industry killings of endangered and threatened species (after the Service dramatically narrowed its definition of both “harm” and “take” under the Act and stripped rare animals of critical safeguards). But no records have been provided.

“The incompetence and cruelty underlying these changes could permanently harm animals and plants already on the brink of extinction, from whales to red squirrels,” said the Center’s Kristen Monsell. “Americans have a right to know how their government is implementing these horrible, unprecedented policies.”

Help us save the Act and the species it protects with a gift to our Future for the Wild fund.

Mud Turtles Near Extinction, Vaquitas Even Nearer

We have two updates from Mexico — one urgent and one more so.

Last Thursday we petitioned Mexico to list rare Cora mud turtles as endangered under NOM-059, the country’s law for saving at-risk species. Just identified in 2020, these turtles are already near extinction: Only 47 known individuals survive along Mexico’s Pacific coastal plain in Sinaloa and Nayarit, their wetlands threatened by toxic pollution and water withdrawals for agriculture.

And earlier last week, Mexico passed rules that weaken protections for critically endangered vaquitas, opening vast new areas in the upper Gulf of California to the deadly gillnet fishing that has almost wiped them out already. Scientists estimate that only about 10 of these tiny, shy porpoises remain on Earth, down from nearly 600 in 1997.

We won’t stop fighting for vaquitas, and it's more important than ever for you to raise your voice: Tell Mexico's government to reject any weakening of vaquita protections, enforce the gillnet ban throughout their habitat, and quickly transition to vaquita-safe fishing gear.

M-44s Killed 20 Times Less Wildlife During the Ban

According to new numbers, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services program poisoned about 200 animals with M-44 sodium cyanide traps — aka “cyanide bombs” — last year. That’s a 20-fold decrease from 2024, when deaths tallied more than 4,500.

The federal wildlife-killing program targets coyotes, wolves, foxes, and other animals for the benefit of agribusiness interests in the West. Under President Biden, in 2024, the Bureau of Land Management banned the USDA from using M-44s in its territory, clearing the way for this dramatic reduction.

But in 2026, under President Trump, the ban has been reversed — meaning we can expect to see cruel deaths skyrocket again.

“I can’t understand why anyone thought it was a good idea to lift the ban on these indiscriminate and deadly devices,” said Collette Adkins, the Center’s carnivore conservation director.

Help us get M-44s banned for good.

Use Your Ballot to Defend a Vital Environmental Law

For more than 50 years the California Environmental Quality Act, our state’s cornerstone environmental law, has protected water, clean air, and wild habitat. It's helped safeguard beloved species like California mountain lions, western burrowing owls, and Quino checkerspot butterflies.

Now a group funded by corporations, data center developers, and utilities is working with the California Chamber of Commerce to permanently dismantle this law through Proposition 45, which would weaken public input and loosen requirements for a range of polluting facilities and habitat-destroying projects — from industrial plants to freeway expansions and forest clearcuts.

Learn why you should vote “no” on this initiative in our new Medium article.

Then share it on Facebook to spread the word.

New Podcast Episode: Taking a Stand for Ancient Trees

The Center’s podcast, Sounds Wild, returns this fall — starting with a look back at some dramatic, heartbreaking events in the summer.

Contractors came to southern Arizona’s San Rafael Valley as part of the Trump administration’s project to build two parallel, 30-foot border walls through some of the most ecologically sensitive areas of the borderlands. Bulldozers ripped apart three ancient cottonwood trees. Before they reached the last standing tree, activists climbed high into its branches.

In the newest episode, cohost Vanessa Barchfield takes us inside the community of activists who put their bodies on the line in the name of a giant tree they called a grandmother of the cottonwoods.

Listen on our website or find the episode on Apple or Spotify.

Our Free Food Justice Film Festival Starts Today

Today kicks off our seventh annual virtual Food Justice Film Festival highlighting the links among Indigenous seed systems and seed sharing, food sovereignty and cultural heritage, and the fight to create a more sustainable food system.

This year’s lineup:

• Seeds of Sovereignty spotlights Mexico’s effort to protect itself from the U.S. push for GMO corn and other industrial farming practices.
• Seeding Change: Farming Beyond Neonics explores what the U.S. Northeast’s future would look like if seeds weren’t treated with neurotoxic insecticides called neonicotinoids.
• Toxic Harvest: The Hidden Truth About Pesticides uncovers agricultural pesticides’ devastating impacts on South Africa.
• Seed Is Life explores South Africa and Zimbabwe’s fight to protect their cultural heritage and reclaim the rights to their seed.

Watch them any time before 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 25.

Here’s how to sign up and watch.

And don’t miss our interviews with filmmakers, farmers, activists, and organizers.

The Revelator: Cetacean Charisma

Humpbacks — one of the world’s most famous whale species — have benefited from 40 years of conservation efforts. But danger still looms large for these massive animals.

Read more in The Revelator’s “Whale of the Month” column.

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

That's Wild: Pygmy Raccoons Turn Trash Into Toys

On Mexico’s Cozumel Island, some of the critically endangered native raccoons have adopted a clever and charming pastime: shaping paper trash they find into balls and playing with them.

But we’re sad to report the death of the first little raccoon who was documented doing this in a new study. She probably died due to malnutrition and pollution from a nearby resort that destroyed the animals’ home; her sister carried on the paper-ball tradition after she was gone.

Watch a video of the raccoon at her craft.

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Photo credits: Humpback whale by Sean Neilson/NPS, Mount Graham red squirrel by Robin Silver/Center for Biological Diversity; vaquitas by Paula Olson/NOAA; coyote by Lane Wintermute/USFWS; Quino checkerspot butterfly by Andrew Fisher/USFWS; cottonwood tree destruction for border wall construction in Lochiel by John Kurc; various seeds via Canva; humpback whale by Todd Cravens/Unsplash; Cozumel pygmy raccoons from the study by O'Neil, Szydlowski, and Rivas-Camo (CC BY 4.0) and by Scott Camazine/Wikimedia Commons.

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