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Back Our Petition for Wilson’s Phalaropes
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Water diversions and climate change are pushing Great Salt Lake and other saline lakes in the U.S. West toward ecological collapse. That threatens millions of birds who flock to these lakes to gorge on aquatic invertebrates and fuel their epic migrations.
Wilson’s phalaropes, a charming little shorebird species, are especially dependent on saline lakes — and especially at risk of extinction. So the Center for Biological Diversity just petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect them under the Endangered Species Act.
Protecting Wilson’s phalaropes will help save their habitat, including Great Salt Lake, and the countless other animals and plants who need these lakes to survive.
Support our petition: Tell the Service to protect Wilson’s phalaropes now. |
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Protection Sought for Dune Flower |
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Tohono O’odham Students Name Arizona’s New Jaguar |
Members of the Tohono O’odham Nation in southern Arizona just voted to name the newest wild jaguar seen entering the United States from Mexico. They dubbed him O:ṣhad Ñu:kudam: in the O’odham language, Jaguar Protector.
One 8-year-old told us about this jaguar’s significance to her. Check out our video of Yaqui/Diné student Kii’yaa’nii Ross — with cameos by Sombra and El Jefe, two jaguars spotted in Arizona before O:ṣhad — on Facebook or YouTube.
O:ṣhad is the eighth wild jaguar to enter the U.S. Southwest in the past three decades. Since he left his mother’s side in northern Mexico and traveled to Arizona in early 2023, he’s been identified — with help from the Center’s analysis of his unique rosette patterns — in at least two mountain ranges across Tohono O’odham traditional lands.
Biologists hope more of these majestic predators will migrate to suitable U.S. habitat so the species can make a comeback. Take action to stop the Mexican government from building a railway straight through a crucial jaguar migration corridor without studying the harms. |
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Hawaiʻi Development Stalled, Sea Turtles Get Reprieve |
Following fiery public testimony by the Center and Hawaiian Native allies, a developer on the Big Island can’t move forward yet with a 147-acre resort on Punaluʻu, Kaʻū. This pristine coastline is home to endangered hawksbill and green sea turtles, treasured cultural sites, and traditional fishing and subsistence resources.
After we spoke out with community members Monday, a planning commission gave us legal standing to formally oppose the resort. And if the developers do end up with a permit, they’ll still have us to contend with. |
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Support a New Leader for Oregon’s Wildlife
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Oregon has arrived at a crossroads in wildlife management with the opportunity to appoint a new director of its Department of Fish and Wildlife. For too long the department has concentrated its resources on hunting and fishing, neglecting animals that aren’t of interest as targets. With the extinction crisis and climate breakdown getting worse every day, that won’t fly anymore.
Tomorrow the Oregon Fish and Game Commission will pick one of two people to serve as the next department director. One candidate is uniquely qualified: Kaitlin Lovell, who would be one of the first directors — if not the first — to come from outside the agency. She’s a fisheries scientist and attorney who’s worked for the city of Portland since 2007, where she’s in charge of restoring fish and wildlife habitats — a true conservation candidate.
Tell the commission to choose Kaitlin Lovell — and with her a new direction, better for wildlife in a warming world. |
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Good News on Devils Hole Pupfish |
A critically endangered fish living in a single deep hole in Death Valley National Park has its largest population in 25 years, according to agency officials: 191 individuals. The counts are conducted several times a year by scuba-diving scientists who descend 100 feet into the water-filled cavern that is this pupfish’s only natural habitat.
But exploratory drilling and a new lithium mine nearby, the Center’s Patrick Donnelly told The Las Vegas Sun, could pose new risks. “The health of Devils Hole is the health of all of Death Valley,” Donnelly said. |
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The Revelator: Ghosts of the Forest |
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That’s Wild: Orangutan Uses Medicine to Heal Wound |
An orangutan named Rakus, who lives in the rainforest of Sumatra, was observed in 2022 with a gaping wound beneath one eye — and then, according to a new study in Scientific Reports, repeatedly seen chewing the leaves of a liana (Fibraurea tinctoria). At least once, he was also seen applying the chewed-up plant paste to his injury.
About a week later, the wound closed up. It’s the first time a nonhuman animal has been documented on video applying what appears to be plant medicine to a skin wound — and apparently healing from it.
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Center for Biological Diversity
P.O. Box 710
Tucson, AZ 85702
United States | |
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