Wildlife Weekly Wrap-up

September 23, 2016

Your weekly roundup of wildlife news from across the country

Anti-Wildlife Trafficking Bill Heads to White House
This week Congress passed the END Wildlife Trafficking Act (H.R. 2494), a bill to combat the illegal trade in imperiled wildlife here in the U.S. and abroad. The legislation strengthens the ongoing work of the Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking and ensures a unified approach by the U.S. government as it works with other nations to stem the illegal trade in imperiled species. The bill also elevates wildlife trafficking to a serious crime under U.S. law, cracking down on poachers and smugglers by increasing the penalties for trafficking offenses and providing law enforcement with greater tools to prosecute wildlife crime. The bill will head next to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

Read more about the bill >

Green Groups Urge President Obama to Block Arctic, Atlantic Drilling
Several leading environmental groups, including Defenders, sent a letter to President Obama this week asking him to put an end to all future drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. These areas important marine habitat to species from belugas and walrus to right whales and sea turtles, and a spill in either region could be devastating, particularly in the rugged Arctic where response would be a challenge. Opening more of these areas to drilling would also be counter-productive if the U.S. is to meet the carbon pollution limits it agreed to in the Paris Climate Agreement in order to limit the most serious consequences of global climate change.

Read the letter to President Obama >

Countries Work Together to Combat Wildlife Trafficking
As nations prepare to gather at the CITES meeting in South Africa, several are working in support of a proposal to help address the root of the wildlife trafficking problem: consumer demand. If people stop buying illegal wildlife products, poachers and smugglers have far less to gain by continuing the trade. The tough part comes from making sure people actually realize what they’re buying, since illegal wildlife products can easily hide in plain sight. This proposal aims to make that kind of research and public education a priority to head off the illegal wildlife trade at its source.

Poor Pikas Can’t Catch a Break…
Last month, the U.S. Geological Survey released their latest research on American pikas – small, hamster-looking animals that live at high elevations in many of our western mountains and are sensitive to changes in temperature. The study found that as climate change alters the habitats that pikas rely on, these animals are disappearing from their range in at least three different regions. Just a few weeks after these findings were released, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service denied the latest petition to protect the pika under the Endangered Species Act.

Find out more about the plight of the American pika >

…And Neither Can Polar Bears
Scientists at the University of Washington have completed the first Arctic-wide analysis of changes to polar bears’ sea ice habitat – and the news isn’t good. The impacts of climate change are particularly strong in the Arctic, with warmer temperatures causing sea ice to form later and melt earlier each year, leaving polar bears with less and less time on their primary hunting grounds. This study put a number on it, finding that the bears are now seeing about seven fewer weeks of good sea ice conditions.

Learn about the results of the latest study and what it means for polar bears >

Making Roads Safer for Wildlife
The sad story of Moss Landing’s most famous sea otter brings together the plight of one of Defenders’ key species with a widespread issue we are working to confront across the country: the impact of roads on wildlife. This week – which coincidentally was both Sea Otter Awareness Week and Watch Out for Wildlife Week – we took a look at the lessons that can be gained from the loss of this beloved sea otter, and what’s being done to make his home habitat safer.

Find out more about the “Mayor of Moss Landing” >

Off-road Vehicles Threaten Imperiled Tortoises in the Western Mojave
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has proposed doubling off-road vehicle routes in the western Mojave Desert, placing the already threated desert tortoise in greater danger. There are 11 open off-road vehicle use play areas in this region alone. Yet use of off-road vehicles outside these play areas, is almost completely uncontrolled. No other species has felt the negative effects of off-road vehicle recreation as much as Agassiz’s desert tortoise.

Find out more about the impacts of ORVs on desert tortoises and their western Mojave habitat >

Hey California – You Can Help Sea Otters!
This week was Sea Otter Awareness Week – a time to be reminded of the important role these cuddly marine mammals play in our ocean ecosystems, and to renew our efforts to keep them safe from the many threats they face. For California residents, helping sea otters can be even easier with a simple contribution to the California Sea Otter Fund when you file taxes. Simply checking a box on paperwork you already have to file can help provide funding for vital research.

Learn more about the California Sea Otter Fund tax check-off >