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Tell California Gov. to Sign Bill Banning Lead Ammo -- Take Action

California condorCalifornia lawmakers this week took a historic step toward finally stopping the needless poisoning of the state's wildlife by toxic lead: On Monday the state Senate passed Assembly Bill 711, which requires the use of nonlead ammunition for hunting throughout the state.

If the bill's signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, California will become the first U.S. state to mandate a switch to safer, nontoxic hunting ammunition to protect wildlife and people from lead poisoning. The Center for Biological Diversity has been fighting for years to get lead out of ammunition around the country where it poisons and kills millions of animals annually, including condors, eagles and swans.

California's bill is a crucial step forward. If you live in the state, please ask the governor to sign this legislation.


Two Texas Plants, 1,500 Acres Get Federal Protection

Neches River rose mallowTwo lovely East Texas plants -- including one that sometimes blooms just one day a year -- are the latest species to be protected under the Endangered Species Act. On Tuesday the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that Texas golden gladecress and the Neches River rose mallow would be protected, along with more than 1,500 acres of "critical habitat."

The Texas golden gladecress, which features egg-shaped leaves and deep-yellow flowers, has lost much of its home to quarries and other development. The Neches River rose mallow grows several feet tall, and its occasional one-day-a-year blooms are usually creamy white. It's been struggling against habitat destruction, nonnative species and herbicides.

The plants were protected under a landmark settlement secured by the Center in 2011 to speed protection decisions for 757 species around the country. So far 105 species have been protected under the agreement, and 60 more have been proposed for protection.

Read more in our press release.


700 Endangered Sea Turtles Dead This Year Alone on 30 Miles of Mexican Coast

Loggerhead sea turtle hatchlingHeartbreaking news out of Mexico: State officials say more than 700 endangered North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles have been found dead this year along a 30-mile stretch of the Baja California peninsula -- likely just a fraction of those actually killed. Adding insult to injury, the government claims -- contrary to what long-term scientific studies show -- that just 1 percent died after being tangled up and drowned in fishing nets.

Unfortunately the 700 dead loggerheads are only part of a larger problem. Mexico refuses to acknowledge the enormous toll that fisheries bycatch is taking on sea turtles. The result, the Center and allies said this week, may ultimately be that Mexico could face a trade embargo from the United States for failing to help these endangered creatures.

"Loggerhead sea turtles are dying by the thousands along the Mexico coast," said the Center's Sarah Uhlemann. "The United States can ban the import of fish and other wildlife products from nations that fail to protect imperiled species, and this is a clear case where such strong action is necessary."

Check out our press release.


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California Lawmakers Approve Bill Banning Bobcat Trapping

BobcatA bill that would ban bobcat trapping around Joshua Tree National Park and other national and state parks, monuments and refuges was passed by the California Legislature this week and now goes to Gov. Brown for approval. The bill, pursued by the Center and community allies around Joshua Tree, also prohibits bobcat trapping on private land without the owner's permission and ends the state's subsidy of this archaic practice.

Assembly Bill 1213, introduced by Assemblyman Richard Bloom, was sparked by a disturbing increase in commercial bobcat trapping just outside the boundary of Joshua Tree National Park. In some areas the amount of trapping increased eight-fold over the course of two years as international demands for pelts grew.

"This bill is an important step in recognizing the interests of the millions of Californians who value our wildlife alive versus the handful who make a profit by killing bobcats for the overseas fur trade," said the Center's Brendan Cummings.

Thanks to the thousands of you who spoke up in favor of this bill. Please call Governor Brown at (916) 445-2841 and ask him to sign A.B. 1213, the Bobcat Protection Act.

Learn more in the Los Angeles Times.


Airlines Doing All They Can to Reduce Greenhouse Gases? Er, No

AirplaneFor years the airline industry -- one of the fastest-growing sources of carbon dioxide pollution -- has been pushing back against attempts to curb greenhouse gases, claiming it's already operating as efficiently as possible.

That's far from true, according to a report released this week by the International Council on Clean Transportation. In fact, there's a wide gap between the most fuel-efficient U.S. airlines and the least efficient. In short -- plenty of room for improvement. IIt's long past time for the EPA to finally reduce airplane emissions to curb the climate crisis.

"This report blows a massive hole in claims that the airline industry is already doing everything it can to cut greenhouse gas pollution," said the Center's Kassie Siegel.

Find out which airlines are dirtiest in our press release.


Logging Industry Loses Another Attack on Marbled Murrelets

Marbled murreletShy seabirds that feed at sea and lay their single egg on the branches of old trees along the Pacific Coast, marbled murrelets kept some much-needed Endangered Species Act protections last week when a court rejected still more claims from the timber industry aimed at opening up logging in the birds' habitat.

In 1992 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service protected marbled murrelets in Washington, Oregon and California because of old-growth logging. But the timber industry put up a years-long fight, repeatedly trying to strip protections from the bird to get access to coastal forests. The Center and its allies defended the species.

In its ruling the district court rejected logging industry claims that murrelets in central California could not be considered part of the protected population; it also refused to eliminate critical habitat protections during the three-year period when the Fish and Wildlife Service will re-examine its 1996 critical habitat designation for the species.

"This decision ends a dark chapter in the effort to ensure the survival of the highly endangered marbled murrelet," said Noah Greenwald, the Center's endangered species director.

Read more in our press release.


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An EPA Smackdown for Failing to Track Pesticide Use

Pesticide planeIt's hard to say many positive things about the EPA's dealings with pesticides. A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office hammers the agency for a long list of failings on pesticides, including that the agency has no idea how many pesticides it has "conditionally" approved or whether it knows if required studies have ever been completed on whether these pesticides are a danger to public or ecosystem health.

The report follows a National Academy of Sciences study earlier this year faulting the EPA for failing to address the harmful impacts of pesticides on endangered species.

"EPA is asleep at the wheel, allowing the chemical industry to drive the approval process without looking at whether these pesticides are a danger to people and wildlife," said the Center's Jonathan Evans.

The Center has been a driving force in calling for pesticide regulation reforms. These latest government studies only make our case stronger.

Read more in our press release.


Global Warming Will Reach Fastest Pace Since Dinosaur Extinction

Polar bearsA new study in Science says that if we continue burning fossil fuels at our current pace, climate change in this century could reach a magnitude rivaling the largest changes seen in the past 65 million years -- and more scarily still, it'll be at a pace 10 to 1,000 times faster.

This rate of change would be devastating for animals and plants, which might in some cases have to shift their ranges more than a mile every year to keep up -- moving through highly fragmented and degraded landscapes while facing increasingly extreme weather events, air and water pollution, and invasive species.

We still have time and the technology to switch to a low-carbon pathway that avoids many of these catastrophic changes, says the study, if we can overcome major hurdles in transforming our fossil-fuel based economy and confronting the growing energy demands from an increasing human population.

The Center has been urging President Obama and the EPA to set a cap on U.S. carbon emissions and address the climate crisis through the Clean Air Act's science-based programs. Almost 70 cities have now joined the Center's Clean Air Cities campaign.

Read about the new study and learn about the Center's Climate Law Institute.


Gmail Users: Don't Miss Out on Important Wildlife News

If you're a Gmail user, you could be missing out on the latest news about the Center for Biological Diversity's work to protect imperiled wildlife. Since Gmail recently implemented the new tabs feature in your Gmail inbox, Center action alerts, emails and newsletters might be getting shuffled into your "Promotions" tab.

Luckily, there's a simple fix.

Move to primary tab

In your Gmail inbox all you need to do is click on the "Promotions" tab, find an email from either bioactivist@biologicaldiversity.org or TheCenter@biologicaldiversity.org and drag it to the "Primary" tab. You'll have to do this with one message from each address. After dragging the message to the new tab, you'll be asked if you want all future messages from those addresses to go to your "Primary" tab. Click "Yes" and you'll be set to make sure you don't miss any exciting Center news or opportunities.


Wild & Weird: Wolves Howl for Love

Gray wolfFor some of us, the sound of a wild wolf's howl is the haunting anthem of a mostly lost wilderness. For others, reared on stories of big bad wolves or intent on safeguarding cash cows, it calls up fear or even anger. But what do howls mean to the wolves themselves?

According to a study published in the journal Current Biology, wolves most often howl when they're separated from a companion with whom they share an emotional bond. In other words, they howl for love.

A team of researchers at the Wolf Science Center and the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna conducted years of study, observing two packs of nine wolves, and found that the wolves howled most in the absence of a missing pack member. The scientists then analyzed levels of cortisol -- a stress-related hormone -- in the howling wolves and concluded that the animals were howling not out of anxiety over the missing wolves but rather in longing and affection.

Read more at ABC News, then take action to help us protect wolves from losing their loved ones.


Kierán Suckling
Executive Director


Photo credits: trumpeter swan (c) Tom Munson; California condor courtesy Flickr/San Diego Shooter; Neches River rose mallow courtesy Niche Gardens; loggerhead sea turtle hatchling by Becky Skiba, USFWS; bobcat by Annica Kreuter; airplane courtesy Flickr/Andrew Malone; marbled murrelet courtesy Alaska Department of Fish and Game; pesticide plane courtesy EPA; polar bears by Pete Spruance; gray wolf courtesy Wikimedia Commons/Retron.

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