Wyoming Tries to Bring Back Yellowstone Grizzly Hunt

Wyoming is at it again. The state legislature has passed a bill, which the governor has signed, to give the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission authority to manage grizzly bears. That could include the ability to authorize a hunt as early as this spring.

It's a clear attempt to get around a federal ruling secured by the Center for Biological Diversity and allies last fall that restored Endangered Species Act protection for Yellowstone grizzlies — and ended Wyoming's plans for a hunt for grizzlies that wandered out of the national park.

We've filed a notice of intent to sue over the state's new law.

"It's outrageous that Wyoming would blatantly ignore federal law to satisfy its thirst to kill grizzly bears," said the Center's Noah Greenwald. "Moves like this show that the state is far from ready to manage grizzlies."

Read more in the Idaho Statesman and consider donating to our Predator Defense Fund.

Rhino Killing Isn't Conservation: Take Action

In June 2017 an imperiled black rhino in Namibia was shot and killed by a U.S. trophy hunter in the name of "conservation." Now he wants to bring the poor animal back to show off his kill — but first he needs a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

This gruesome practice shouldn't be allowed under the Endangered Species Act. And it's absurd for a hunter to argue that his kill somehow benefits the species.

Black rhinos are critically endangered. Their last estimated population was fewer than 5,000 — and those rhinos remaining are under siege. Between 2014 and 2018, at least 260 of these amazing animals in Namibia were slaughtered by poachers.

Act now to demand that the Service deny this hunter's request to import the killed rhino.

Our conservation advocate Michael Robinson describes how Trump's border wall will end the free migration of wildlife like endangered jaguars and the Southwest's last wild herd of bison. This video is part of the Center's #BorderViews series, shot on the frontlines in the fight to protect species and habitat from Trump's destructive border wall. Watch it on Facebook and YouTube.

Love Wolves? Put March 5 on Your Calendar

The Trump administration is gearing up to strip protection from wolves across most of the lower 48 states. We're fighting back.

Ignite Change, the Center's national grassroots network, is organizing Wild for Wolves Day on March 5 to bring people together to save America's wolves.

Wolf advocates from across the country have already stepped up to host more than 50 local events. These gatherings will be a chance to raise your voice for wolves, sign letters opposing Trump's plan, and connect with other wolf lovers in your area to plan for the fight ahead.

Come out on March 5 to a Wild for Wolves Day event in your area.

Take Action: Prevent Another Oil Spill in Santa Barbara

Before the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, before Exxon Valdez, there was the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill. Spewing 3 million gallons of crude, blackening beaches for miles, and killing thousands of wild animals, it was the largest oil spill the United States had experienced.

Fifty years later, Santa Barbara is under threat from another spill. Plains Pipeline, the company responsible for spilling 120,000 gallons of offshore oil in Santa Barbara County in 2015, wants to build a new pipeline along the coast. To make matters worse, the pipeline would allow several aging, accident-prone offshore-drilling platforms that have been shut down to start pumping crude again.

Take action: Tell Santa Barbara county officials to reject Plains' dirty pipeline.

Wild & Weird: Rescued "Dog" Turns Out to Be a Wolf

When a few men working on a dam on an icy river in Estonia noticed a canine trapped amongst the ice and water, they quickly cleared a path through it. After pulling the frozen pup to land, they drove him to a nearby clinic. That's when they found out they'd actually saved — and transported — a wild wolf.

One of the rescuers told the Estonian newspaper Postimees the wolf "was calm, slept on my legs," during the drive to the clinic, adding, "When I wanted to stretch them, he raised his head for a moment." Luckily the wolf recovered quickly and was released back into the wild the very next day.

Learn more at the BBC.