World Environment Day’s theme this year states it’s not enough anymore to set aside land and protect species — we have to start actively restoring the environment. World Environment Day 2021 calls for urgent action to revive our damaged ecosystems with the theme of “Ecosystem Restoration” and the launch of UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration:

While a decade sounds like a long time, it is these next 10 years that scientists tell us matter most in preventing catastrophic climate change and bending the curve on biodiversity loss. Ecosystems support all life on Earth. The healthier our ecosystems are, the healthier…

Florida’s drivers have a new option to show their support for wildlife on their license plates while also contributing to critical conservation projects. In May, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles alongside the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida unveiled a newly redesigned Conserve Wildlife license plate. For each plate purchased, $25 is donated to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to support programs to benefit diverse species of wildlife, with special consideration given to the Florida black bear.

Though the design is new, the program is not. In the late 1990s, Defenders of Wildlife’s Florida…

The shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus), a large pelagic species, is the fastest shark in the world. The species is highly migratory and has a geographical range that extends throughout the world’s tropical and temperate ocean waters.

Like many other shark species, the shortfin mako has experienced dramatic population declines largely due to overfishing and commercial demand for its meat and fins. Presently, the species is fished throughout its range as target catch and caught as bycatch in coastal and pelagic fisheries. …

Beaver are the classic keystone species and ecosystem engineers. Their dams can alter landscapes in positive ways by creating, enhancing and maintaining wetland and riparian habitats for an array of species such as fishes, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, waterfowl, shorebirds, songbirds, plants and invertebrates. These wetlands also provide important ecological services that benefit humans, like groundwater filtration, carbon sequestration and flood attenuation.

Despite their critical role, beaver experienced massive population declines because of intensive trapping in the 18th and 19th centuries. Since then, beaver populations have rebounded in many U.S. rivers and streams, but they still haven’t re-inhabited their full historical…

A year ago, as a new hire at Defenders, I took the opportunity on World Otter Day 2020 to introduce myself and share the various ways that Defenders would be working to expand our involvement in sea otter conservation. Now it’s World Otter Day 2021, and as a grizzled Defenders veteran — well, I was pretty grizzled before I came to Defenders — I feel as though we’ve gathered momentum with our sea otter programs and can participate in meaningful ways to protect these animals throughout their full range.

Of course, World Otter Day celebrates all 13 species of otter…

Today is the International Day for Biological Diversity and this year’s theme — “we’re part of the solution” — was chosen to continue the momentum that was generated last year with “our solutions are in nature.” Last year, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we were reminded that biodiversity is the answer to several sustainable development challenges. From nature-based solutions to climate, health issues, food and water security, and sustainable livelihoods, biodiversity is the foundation upon which we can build back better. This year, the world is focusing on how we can better protect biodiversity across the world. …

Endangered species all over the world are stopped in their tracks by borders of all kinds. They can’t read maps, don’t know what property lines or state boundaries are, and are often moving in search of means to survival. Highways, fences and walls, dams, highways, shipping lanes, development and more impede migration pathways, gene flow, access to food, water and mates, and more. As climate change warms the Earth, species are increasingly going to need to shift their ranges and cross a growing number of barriers to find suitable new habitat.

Annually celebrated on the third Friday of May since…

Although most people think of bees as black and fuzzy, some of the 4,000 or so different native bee species spread throughout the United States can appear red, blue or even green with a gleaming metallic covering on their head and abdomen. The tiniest, at less than two millimeters long is the Perdita minima bee, native to the deserts of the Southwest. Despite its small stature, this bee, along with all native bee species, plays an oversized role in protecting biodiversity.

Biodiversity refers to the variety of life in different ecosystems, meaning the array of plants and animals that inhabit…