WildEarth Guardians

A Force for Nature

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Photo credit: Sam Parks

Species conservation – protecting western wildlife

Wildlife

The American West is home to an incredible diversity of life, from delicate checkerspot butterflies in the mountains of New Mexico, to silvery minnows in the waters of the iconic Rio Grande, to majestic grizzly bears roaming the valleys in and around Yellowstone National Park. Each of these species belongs in, and to, the Western landscape. Each has an unalienable right to exist and thrive. We have a duty to protect that right.

And the wildlife of the West badly need protection. These species face a barrage of threats, most of them human-caused: disappearing habitat, climate change, traps, poisons, intolerance. We already have tools to conserve the West’s diversity and protect its life—the most powerful of these being the Endangered Species Act—yet many of these tools remain underused, and many are under threat, even as many species march toward extinction.

We must shift the paradigm of wildlife management from persecution to protection. For wildlife’s sake, we are relentless advocates, reformers, and voices for the vulnerable.

 

Stand up for Wildlife

You can be a voice for wildlife across the West. Visit our action center to see the ways you can protect endangered and vulnerable species.

TAKE ACTION

 

Wildlife Program Work

WildEarth Guardians’ Wildlife program is focusing our energy on seven key campaigns, ranging from protecting endangered species to fundamentally reforming the federal wildlife-killing agency Wildlife Services.

Endangered Species Act Defense

Defending the Endangered Species Act, America’s most powerful environmental law

Endangered Species Act Protections

Ushering imperiled species onto the protections of the legal arc of the Endangered Species Act and using its full powers to ensure their survival and recovery

End the War on Wildlife

Fundamentally reforming the federal wildlife-killing agency, Wildlife Services, ending its use of cruel and indiscriminate weapons, and adopting a coexistence mandate

Defend Native Carnivores

Fighting for bears, wolves, lynx, and other key ecosystem engineers of the West

End Cruel Trapping

Organizing against the vicious practice of trapping, which threatens native wildlife, humans, and companion animals

Safeguard the Sagebrush Sea

Protecting the sagebrush ecosystem between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada and its resident wildlife, including sage grouse

Brave New Wild Blog

Wildlife Press

It’s time to live in harmony with grizzly bears

Missoula Current | Aug 31, 2023

Grizzly bears are slowly reclaiming parts of their historic range for the first time since European settlers nearly eradicated them from the lower-48. And with bear expansion comes great responsibility. We must act as stewards and guardians for bears, especially in places with vast wilderness like Idaho and Montana where the grizzly bear can still roam.

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All Wildlife Op-Eds

Public participation in FWP’s carnivore management is a sham
Helena Independent Record | Jun 23, 2023
A dancing bird finally gets some protection
Carlsbad Current Argus | Apr 5, 2023

Wildlife advocates ask FWP for better public involvement on wolf plan

Missoula Current | Sep 20, 2023

“We’re calling on FWP to steward the wolf population for the public, not just for a loud minority that want wolves ‘managed’ out of existence,” said Lizzy Pennock, WildEarth Guardians carnivore coexistence attorney.

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All Wildlife In the News