August 2018 — The Endangered Species Act (ESA) has been remarkably successful in preventing the extinction of species. Only one percent of the more than 1,600 species listed in the United States as endangered or threatened have been declared extinct after receiving the protections of the Act and many species…

Remarks at the March for Science and Earth Day Rally, Indianapolis, Indiana, April 22, 2017 On behalf of nearly 1.2 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is proud to March for Science today and to support science every day in our work. Science-based decision-making is the backbone of recovering…

President Donald Trump’s nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court is a clarifying moment for Democrats. We can fight the nomination by every possible means and risk losing the filibuster for future nominations, or we can acquiesce to confirmation hearings and an up or down vote that we will…

Federal Authority to Protect Wildlife: A Short Primer Jason C. Rylander[i] What is the appropriate role for the federal government in wildlife management? Recently some have questioned the legal basis for federal authority, going so far as to assert that the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reserves wildlife issues exclusively to the states. Indeed, at least two…

I’m fond of a quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald: “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” As a Bernie Sanders supporter and delegate to the Democratic National Convention in…