Center for Biological Diversity
BECAUSE LIFE IS GOOD

Protecting endangered species and wild places through
science, policy, education, and environmental law.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 3, 2006

Contact: Ileene Anderson, Ecologist 323-654-5943
David Hogan, Urban Wildlands Program Director 619-574-6800
Peter Galvin, Conservation Director 707-986-7805

Center for Biological Diversity to open new office in Los Angeles
Group will increase advocacy for conservation of internationally recognized L.A. basin natural lands, wildlife and plants

Los Angeles, CA – The Center for Biological Diversity opened a new Los Angeles office today in recognition of the region’s concentration of unique wildlife, plants and rich natural landscape. According to the LA Weekly (November 2002), “[The Center is] pound for pound, dollar for dollar, the most effective conservation organization in the country.”

“Southern California has an unparalleled natural heritage legacy,” said Ileene Anderson, an ecologist heading the new office. “Common misconceptions paint Southern California as all asphalt and concrete. But many valuable natural lands remain – from Tejon Ranch to the Angeles National Forest to the Channel Islands to the Santa Ana River – and we plan to do everything in our power to secure their protection.”

Center Conservation Director Peter Galvin stated, “We are extremely excited to be opening our Los Angeles area office and to have renowned botanist and naturalist Ileene Anderson joining the Center team.”

Since its first victory protecting the Mexican spotted owl in the forests of
the Southwest, the Center has gone the distance to save endangered plants and animals around the globe – gaining protection for 342 species and more than 43 million acres of critical habitat in just over 16 years.

Since then, the Center has combined science, advocacy, and environmental law to successfully protect the most vulnerable of species. We start with rigorous scientific research, evaluating the most vulnerable plants and animals, ecologically vital habitat, and greatest threats to our environment. With research in hand, we seek protections for the species that need it most, by filing citizen petitions to get species on the endangered species list, challenging activities that illegally harm habitat, forming coalitions of conservation groups, and engaging in grassroots activism. Finally, we take legal action on behalf of vulnerable plants and animals when necessary to ensure their protection. With a 90 percent success rate in the courts, our intervention has made a critical difference for hundreds of species struggling to survive.

“At the Center we believe that the health and vigor of human societies and the integrity and wildness of the natural environment are closely linked,” said David Hogan, Urban Wildlands Program Director at the Center. “Beyond their extraordinary intrinsic value, animals and plants offer irreplaceable emotional and physical benefits to our lives and play an integral part in culture. Their loss impoverishes us beyond repair.”

The Center was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. The Center has over 15,000 members and has offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Joshua Tree and San Diego, California and others in Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington, DC.

The Center’s Los Angeles contact information is:

Center for Biological Diversity
8033 Sunset Blvd
PMB 447
Los Angeles, California, 90046
Phone: (323) 654-5943
ianderson@biologicaldiversity.org
www.biologicaldiversity.org

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