How We Accomplish Our Mission:
Defenders employs education, litigation, research, legislation and advocacy to defend wildlife and its habitat. In each program area, an interdisciplinary team of scientists, attorneys, wildlife specialists and educators works to promote multi-faceted solutions to wildlife problems.
Primary Program and Issue Areas:
Species Conservation: Endangered species recovery, Predator protection and restoration, Wild bird protection, Marine mammal protection.
Habitat Conservation: Ecosystems protection, Refuge reform, Gap analysis, Marine biodiversity, "Watchable" Wildlife programs and books.
Policy Leadership: Endangered Species Act, State and federal wildlife laws, Biodiversity education, Wildlife trade, International treaties.
Representative Accomplishments:
Endangered Species:
More than two decades of leadership in passage and enforcement of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA).
Successful plaintiff for endangered species, winning victories to enforce the ESA and expedite listings of species and adoption of recovery plans.
Founding member and Steering Committee member of Endangered Species Coalition.
Helped draft Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Participates in international CITES meetings to help protect wildlife from overexploitation in trade.
Published book on how to use incentives to make the ESA work more effectively.
Biological Diversity:
Only U.S. advocacy group to participate throughout final negotiating sessions in Nairobi in drafting international biodiversity treaty, and leader in promoting U.S. signature of the treaty.
Main organization promoting gap analysis, a habitat inventory designed to preserve biodiversity.
Commissioned national survey by Peter D. Hart Research Associates and Professor Stephen R. Kellert of Yale University on biodiversity revealing critical need for public education about the dangers of biodiversity loss.
Sponsored two books on biodiversity conservation: Landscape Linkages and Biodiversity, edited by Wendy Hudson, and Saving Nature's Legacy, by Reed F. Noss and Allen Y. Cooperrider.
Wolves:
A champion of wolves and other predators since being founded in 1947.
Defenders led the successful fight to restore the gray wolf to its former habitat in Yellowstone National Park and Central Idaho. Almost wiped out in the lower 48 states in the past century, the wolf has become a special symbol of the wild. Defenders' advocacy efforts in Yellowstone Park drew more than 70,000 citizen votes in favor of reintroduction.
Reduced opposition to wolf reintroduction by creating a widely praised $100,000 Wolf Compensation Trust that reimburses ranchers at fair market value for verified losses of livestock to wolves.
Started a landmark program that rewards landowners who allow wolf pups to be born and raised on their property.
Works to restore the Mexican wolf to the Southwest by advocating citizen support as well as congressional funding.
Working to restore wolves to the American Northeast.
Fought to stop "same-day, land-and-shoot" killing of wolves in Alaska.
Bears:
Launched a campaign to save Florida's rapidly dwindling population of black bears. The Habitat for Bears campaign recruits activists and teaches Florida residents about the importance of saving essential bear habitat.
Working to restore the grizzly to the Bitterroot ecosystem in Idaho and Montana, and to protect critical polar bear habitat in Alaska.
Wildlife Refuges:
Organized Commission on New Directions for the National Wildlife Refuge System, which identified threats to wildlife refuges, including harmful test bombing, oil and gas drilling, grazing and other "secondary uses."
Brought successful lawsuits and helped develop proposed legislation to eliminate these threats through system-wide reform.
Dolphins and Other Marine Life:
Drafted and helped win enactment of laws to protect dolphins from death in tuna nets, require dolphin-safe labeling of tuna.
Defenders won a United Nations ban on high-seas, large-scale driftnet fishing to help save dolphins and other species that become entangled in the nets and perish.
Marine program promotes recovery of vaquita porpoise and other internationally imperiled marine mammals such as Commerson's dolphin and Steller sea lion.
Strengthened Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1994 reauthorization.
Helped create a 3,700-square-mile marine sanctuary for the vaquita, the world's rarest marine mammal.
Wild Bird Conservation:
Leads efforts to encourage use of captive-bred instead of wild birds for the pet trade.
Helped draft and helped win enactment of the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992.
Persuaded more than 100 airlines to refuse to transport wild birds.
Wildlife Education and Appreciation:
Publisher of acclaimed quarterly DEFENDERS magazine.
Coordinator of Watchable Wildlife state viewing guides promoting recreational wildlife viewing and conservation of wildlife species.
Biodiversity sounds like some kinda liberal plot. 
