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To: U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt

Stop the Trump Administration's Hunting Expansion on Wildlife Refuges!

America's wild animals are in danger in the very places set aside to protect them.

The U.S. Department of the Interior plans to open an unprecedented number of wildlife refuges to more hunting and fishing — totaling more than 2.3 million acres of public lands across 97 national wildlife refuges and nine fish hatcheries.

Species like mountain lions, migratory birds and black bears will have their safe havens turned into death zones.

Tell Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to rescind this plan immediately.

Why is this important?

We're in the midst of Earth's sixth mass extinction — one species vanishes nearly every hour. Opening national wildlife refuges to more hunting is exactly the kind of action that is fueling the wildlife extinction crisis.

We should be working to protect animals, not making it easier for them to be gunned down. These wild animals deserve to be safe from hunting in the very places set aside to protect them.

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Updates

2022-05-27 17:52:51 -0400

The U.S. National Wildlife Refuge System is the world’s largest, most diverse collection of lands dedicated to preserving fish and wildlife. These lands are home to more than 280 species of protected plants and animals, as well as other wildlife including pollinators like bees and butterflies.

Yet federal officials allow private operators to grow commercial crops in these precious places, dumping hundreds of thousands of pounds of dangerous pesticides there every year.

The refuge system was designed to protect wildlife, not the profits of commercial agriculture. Help make our refuges safe for all wildlife, including bees, butterflies and other pollinators.

TAKE ACTION HERE: https://act.biologicaldiversity.org/Zzcik0XKrU6nXCS8roUd6g2

2021-12-29 13:59:17 -0500

Did you know that there’s an important global treaty to conserve biological diversity, and the United States is the only major country that’s not a member?

In the midst of the extinction crisis, that’s unacceptable.

It’s high time for the United States to join the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Next year the convention meets to set the global conservation agenda for the coming decade. With more than a million species on track to go extinct, this meeting is critical to saving life on Earth.

Click the link below to tell President Biden and your senators to ratify the Convention on Biological Diversity and commit to ending extinction now.

LINK TO TAKE ACTION: https://act.biologicaldiversity.org/6s7TrITZxki2td58Es9L9g2

2021-04-22 13:46:46 -0400

There isn't a moment to lose in the global extinction crisis. A species vanishes from the world every hour, and more than a million could be lost in the coming decades.

That’s why we are urging President Biden to declare the wildlife extinction crisis a national emergency.

Take action right now and sign the petition. LINK: https://act.biologicaldiversity.org/Lk_WepeB-UWW4KgpkBsoTg2

The declaration, under the National Emergencies Act, wouldn’t just be symbolic. It would unlock key presidential powers to stem the loss of animals and plants in the United States and beyond.

We can halt this crisis — but only with swift, bold and visionary action by the United States.

Join us in calling for a national emergency declaration. LINK: https://act.biologicaldiversity.org/Lk_WepeB-UWW4KgpkBsoTg2

2021-01-15 18:10:59 -0500

Trump's outgoing U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Aurelia Skipwith just signed an agreement to work with the NRA to recruit and train more Americans to shoot wild animals.

Sign the petition linked below to tell the Service this agreement is unacceptable and must be broken immediately.

This partnership will allow more animals to be shot — paid for by the agency tasked with protecting wildlife while funneling taxpayer dollars to a far-right gun-industry mouthpiece.

This last attack runs directly counter to the purpose ofthe Service. In no way should it use its position as wildlife's protector to enlist more Americans to hunt and kill wildlife.

The agreement between the Department of Interior and the NRA should be torn up and cancelled immediately.

Tell the Service to end this partnership with the NRA right away.

PETITION LINK: https://act.biologicaldiversity.org/0DYe_o73AkOJsqSQ5gGtqw2

2020-10-27 18:49:01 -0400

America's national wildlife refuges have been turned into trophy hunter playgrounds.

This is a disaster for wildlife, so just moments ago we took legal action against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to stop it.

You can help us in this fight with a gift to the Saving Life on Earth Fund. Your donation today will be matched dollar for dollar. Link: https://act.biologicaldiversity.org/EHnGjTIQnkqB69nEqOVRlw2

Bobcats, mountain lions and even grizzlies are in the crosshairs in the very places where they should be safe.

The massive expansion of hunting across more than 2 million acres of national wildlife refuges is unprecedented — and violates the Endangered Species Act.

Today's action covers wildlife and refuges across the country.

Please support our fight by making a matched gift to the Saving Life on Earth Fund. Link: https://act.biologicaldiversity.org/EHnGjTIQnkqB69nEqOVRlw2

2020-10-05 14:34:00 -0400

The National Park Service is about to finalize a disturbing management plan for California's Point Reyes National Seashore that would kill native tule elk in the only national park where they live.

The plan allows the Park Service to shoot native tule elk to appease ranchers and drive elk away from designated ranch lands. It sets an arbitrary population cap of 120 elk for the Drakes Beach herd, currently estimated at 138 elk, to be maintained by killing the animals.

The native tule elk are an iconic part of the natural landscape at Point Reyes and are the only tule elk herds within the national park system.

Sign the petition to demand the Park Service reject this plan and protect the tule elk of Point Reyes National Seashore.

Link: https://act.biologicaldiversity.org/4XP0kSgTqEGx8qzVjVwB2A2

2020-09-01 17:25:17 -0400

America’s largest remaining stretch of pristine wilderness — the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — could soon be under siege by the oil and gas industry.

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt is doing everything he can to introduce oil and gas drilling to more than a million acres of untouched wilderness that polar bears, caribou and other Arctic wildlife call home.

The Arctic and its rare wildlife are already facing existential threats from the climate crisis. Handing this pristine wilderness to the fossil fuel industry will only accelerate the climate emergency and wildlife extinction crisis. It’s an outrageous violation of our shared planet.

This is supposed to be a wildlife refuge — not a refuge for a dying industry that's wreaking havoc on Earth’s climate and wildlife.

Sign the petition and demand: No drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Link: https://act.biologicaldiversity.org/IAZQDCQceESa9MmwNrxlBA2

2020-07-08 16:40:15 -0400

Another wildlife refuge is under threat. Desert National Wildlife Refuge is the largest refuge in the lower 48 and home to a wide range of rare and threatened species, including bighorn sheep and desert tortoises — but now their desert home could turn into a bombing range.

We’re fighting to save them. Sign the petition now to protect wildlife in Nevada’s Desert National Wildlife Refuge.

Almost 1 million acres of this Nevada treasure could be turned into a militarized zone. This must be stopped.

This massive land grab will allow some of the most pristine habitat in the West to be bombed and destroyed in war games. And it'll set a devastating precedent for giveaways of our national wildlife refuge system. We can’t let that happen.

Sign the petition to prevent Nevada’s Desert National Wildlife Refuge from being turned into a militarized zone.

Link: https://act.biologicaldiversity.org/a/save-nevada-desert-refuge-mo

2020-05-16 22:24:57 -0400

20,000 signatures reached

2020-05-16 12:42:07 -0400

10,000 signatures reached

2020-05-16 11:30:18 -0400

5,000 signatures reached

2020-05-12 04:56:54 -0400

1,000 signatures reached

2020-05-09 10:55:03 -0400

500 signatures reached

2020-05-08 18:07:06 -0400

100 signatures reached

2020-05-08 17:56:56 -0400

50 signatures reached