The Trump Administration has quietly made it legal to bring tusks and other elephant parts back to the US as "trophies" from big game hunting. This policy sends the wrong message to poachers and endangers an already threatened species.  From Washington Post: "The decision, announced quietly in a March 1 memorandum from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, withdrew previous rulings on trophy hunting and said the agency would allow sport hunters to receive permits for the trophy items on a 'case-by-case basis.'" However, the Trump administration/Dept. of the Interior has not commented on HOW these permits will be administered. Secretary Zinke of the Dept of the Interior, Eric Trump, and Donald Trump Jr. are also known big game hunters and this policy would be greatly beneficial to them. Secretary Zinke needs to remember that his job is to PROTECT wildlife, not to encourage hunting threatened species.

Deb Haaland, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Martha Williams, Principal Deputy Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Disturbingly, the sale of elephant skins is growing around the world, especially in the United States. What’s even more shocking is that this sale is legal. While international agreements ban the trade of elephant Ivory, they do not ban the trade of elephant skins and other body parts. We think this is preposterous, and we’re sure you do, too. Elephant skins are used to make everything from wallets and purses, to gun holsters and boots. It is an abomination that the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has not made the trade in all elephant body parts illegal. Left unchecked, this trade will continue to threaten the existence of all elephants, particularly Asian elephants. The United States can lead the way for the protection of endangered wild elephant populations. As world leaders, Secretary Haaland and Deputy Director Williams are in positions to force CITES to ban the trade of ALL elephant body parts, not just ivory. They can also ban the import of all elephant body parts into the United States, greatly impacting the demand for elephant skins. Please ask Secretary Haaland and Deputy Director Williams to act now! Your signature will help stop the international trade of elephant skin and save the remaining Asian elephants! And please be sure to subscribe to Wildlife SOS email by checking the box on the right, or visiting subscribe.wildlifesos.org

In Wyoming’s Red Desert, a tiny wild horse foal flees a menacing helicopter chasing him. The little colt tries as hard as he can to catch up to his mother, just yards ahead of him. But finally he stops, unable to go farther. His mother turns around to look for her foal, then bravely defies the helicopter to run back to him. When the wranglers come after her on horseback with ropes, she charges them, trying desperately to save her baby. Finally, they rope her and drag her in to the trap, then bring in her exhausted foal. The foal photographed later in a holding pen lying lifelessly on the ground. By the next morning, he’s dead. This tiny colt is the third foal run to death in the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) roundup underway right now in Wyoming. So far, over 1,000 wild horses have been captured and permanently removed from our public lands. They will never know freedom or see their families again. Most Americans have no clue what’s happening at the hands of our government and paid for by our tax dollars. Worst of all, it’s totally unnecessary. The Red Desert wild horses being rounded up today aren’t starving or overpopulating… they are in extremely healthy condition, some are even fat! The sad truth is that these iconic American mustangs are being run off our public lands to make room commercial livestock grazing that is subsidized by our tax dollars, even though it provides less than 2 percent of America’s beef supply. There’s a way to manage our wild horses and burros of the American West and this is not it. Please speak up today.  

Northern Rockies Wolves are still being killed as we speak. This hunting and trapping season alone 500 wolves were butchered in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. This needs to end! Why do governments throughout the US continue to allow the merciless hunting of wolves even though most of us support relisting them as an endangered species? One simple reason is that those in favor of their destruction speak their minds more often. Right now, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service is being flooded with comments from people who support eliminating wolves from the Northern Rockies, and the only way to prevent this from becoming a reality is for the rest of us to shout louder. We demand that the gray wolf is returned to endangered status – please visit " https://bit.ly/USFWS_RelistWolves " and join our call to save them today. U.S. Department of the Interior Deb Haaland Wolves of the Rockies Ami Vitale #Wolves #US #UnitedStates #Endangered #EndangeredSpecies Wolves are crucial to the health of the ecosystems they occupy. After the government encouraged the extermination of wolves from Yellowstone in the 1920s, the deer and elk populations grew out of control. Swelling populations led to unsustainable grazing — which caused rampant soil erosion, the near disappearance of beavers, and population declines for antelope and foxes. The good news, for the country and for Yellowstone, is that when wolves were reintroduced in 1995, the ecosystem swiftly rebounded as wolves began to prey on deer and elk once more — which made room for all wildlife to flourish. Mr President,We respectfully urge your administration to take responsibility for protecting Northern Rockies Wolves by swiftly reversing the Trump administration's actions.  

The Great Sand Dunes of Colorado are some of the most unexpected and glorious natural features in the West. Protected within a 150,000 acre national park, the sand dunes roll and swerve in fantastic changing patterns and are visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. Now this incredible park is under attack. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is planning to auction off the mineral rights of thousands of acres of land just outside the park to the oil and gas industry. Please sign our petition to protect this natural wonder from destruction. Oil and gas developments can contaminate our water and air, destroy native plants, and harm or displace wildlife -- all of which are crucial to this fragile ecosystem. In addition, the park’s tourist industry is dependent on a healthy and protected ecosystem. The BLM has argued that the mountain ranges around the park will protect it from pollutants and have dismissed concerns about water contamination by saying the rain water flows to basins outside the park. But this is not a good enough answer. You can’t hide environmental dangers behind a mountain range. No matter how small or insignificant such developments seem, they still exact a price on the environment. Let's stop putting profit before the planet. Sign this petition to demand the Huerfano County Parcels 8080-8090 NOT be approved for auction!

Sign this petition to STOP CONSTRUCTION of the Christopher Columbus Landing Resort until PUBLIC HEARINGS ARE FULLY RENEWED through an ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER from THE GOVERNOR OF PUERTO RICO to P.R's PLANNING BOARD and CARIBBEAN MANAGEMENT GROUP, INC. For up to date daily posts follow Salvemos a Playuela on Facebook and Instagram. We oppose the construction of a coastal mega hotel-residential complex, which consists of 121-acres, 300 room hotel with a 17,000 square foot casino, convention center, 160 condo-hotel units, 240 apartment condominium, and 100 residential villas. The complex covers nearly 4,000 feet of the coastline of Playuela, a significant part of an already-working Ecological Corridor in Northwest Puerto Rico, Municipality of Aguadilla. Construction operations started last October 31st, 2016 on urban-free lands ("Suelos Rústicos") that should be maintained free from urbanization. This land category is established in the Land Use Plan of the Puerto Rico Planning Board (pags 140-151, 2015). This is also true for the Municipality Territorial Ordinance. Developers vaguely justify urbanization here under the Law of Tourism Development, arguing that the project will have little ecological impact and brings economy. In fact, because of this law, developers applied for tax forgiveness and they won't even pay Municipal taxes for this construction project.  Environmental groups argue this economic model is highly unsustainable, only benefiting specific-private construction and real estate business owners, promoting social inequity, and environmental degradation/conflicts.    These lands hold great biodiversity of fauna and flora. Species interact with the urban-free environment to form a Sustainable Paradise with up to five distinct ecosystems. This provides a sense of place to the people. Several protected species of corals, manatees, hawksbill turtles, boas (potentially), birds, and native palm trees depend on Land & Sea Ecological Integrity and would benefit from conservation and restoration efforts. Also, this area hosts four of the most recognized surf breaks, not just by Puerto Rico, but also by the international surfing community These are: “El Mix”, “Wishing Wells”, “Pressure Point”, and “Wilderness”. South of this site are other world class breaks like “Gas Chambers” and “Crash Boats”, and North "Surfers Beach", "Table Tops", "PR's Backdoor", and "Survivals". Click Here!To complete the Christopher Columbus Landing Resort it is required the construction of an extended sewage pipeline system damaging underground aquifers. Increasing the capacity of a nearby-river sewage treatment plant is also required. Curious enough, the project was sold to investors as a Beach Front Hotel Complex. Now we know, this propaganda was an OAX! The project engineer admitted a sandy beach will not be constructed. Nevertheless, significant threats of habitat loss and scenery degradation remains. Natural-intrinsic coastal values are essential sustainable-assets for the local economy, attracting tourists to Aguadilla, Rincón, Isabela and other Northwest Municipalities of PR. Many existing hotels, hostels, and guest houses in the area benefit from these resources.  To consolidate our cause we are developing counter-proposals to designate these lands as a series of Natural Reserve and develop a Management Plan for the Ecological Corridor. These are strategic investments that can be done to develop sustainable economies like Eco-Tourism and ensure the coherent implementation of the Land Use Plan to be in concordance with the sustainability needs of Puerto Rico's socio-economic and socio-ecological systems. ACT NOW!!! DEMAND RENEWAL OF PUBLIC HEARINGS, an appropriate forum and level of discussion where the destiny of Playuela's Beauty and Value can be changed for GOOD!    For More Information and up to date daily posts follow Salvemos a Playuela on Facebook and Instagram. 

America's wild animals are in danger in the very places set aside to protect them. Nearly 2.3 million acres across 97 national wildlife refuges and nine fish hatcheries could soon open up to more hunting and fishing due to a new Trump administration plan. This cruel and cynical plan would harm wildlife refuges across the country — from Montana's Swan River to Florida's Everglades and from Arizona's Cabeza Prieta to Massachusetts' Great Meadows. This plan is the largest hunting expansion in history — and for wildlife, their peaceful sanctuary homes could soon become death zones. Species like mountain lions, migratory birds and black bears will have their safe havens turned into hunting ranges. With wildlife already facing so many threats to their survival, they rely on refuges to be safe havens. But if Trump gets his way, they'll be in the crosshairs on many of these public lands for the very first time. We should be working to protect animals, not making it easier for them to be gunned down. Wild animals deserve to be safe in national wildlife refuges.  The Center for Biological Diversity is fighting to Save Life on Earth and we're not going to let wildlife be slaughtered – especially not on public lands in the refuges designated to keep them safe. Take action and sign the petition now. Join our call in telling Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to rescind this plan immediately.

Imagine a country without National Parks. Imagine a land with oil fields instead of geysers, mountains littered with construction equipment, the greatest trees in the world laying, stricken from their roots. Imagine a country with no Grand Canyon. Or Yellowstone. Or Yosemite. Recently, the new Republican government has paved the way to opening up these sacred lands to be sold and/or used for drilling or development. This is one of the most solemn moments America has ever seen. Donald Trump has already signed executive orders which, if passed, will revive the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines. Along with censoring the EPA and the National Park Service, these movements could lead to many lands, and the Parks themselves, being sold off to companies and developers, letting them be turned into pipeline sites, real estate, or mining sites for gas, coal, and oil. This would turn our National Parks to nothing more but dumping grounds and building sites. Stand up. Speak up. Don't let this continue! Don't set a precedent letting the government butcher our lands and drain them of their beauty! Sign to ask the President and all other names mentioned to do this: Reverse this Ease to Open the National Parks to Businesses.  In the words of President Theodore Roosevelt himself: “Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children's children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.”

Drilling in the Arctic Refuge would be disastrous for wildlife and the Indigenous people who live there. Every single one of the 32 tracts that the Bureau of Land Management is considering selling off for drilling on the Arctic Refuge coastal plain include sensitive resources that would be threatened by drilling. It is well documented that and gas developments and infrastructure disrupt wildlife and natural resources, both of which are essential to the Indigenous people living on the coastal plain. The Porcupine Caribou herd is especially in danger. The entire coastal plain is critical for the caribou to raise their young, and caribou mothers are particularly sensitive to disruptions in their habitats. The Gwich'in people have a deep cultural and spiritual connection with the caribou, and depend on the Porcupine Caribou herd for about 80% of their diet. Without any habitat for the caribou their way of life will be threatened. Continuing with the plan to drill on the coastline would ultimately threaten the lives of the Gwich'in people, who have lived and depended on the coastal plain for generations. Human lives are not worth sacrificing for corporate greed.  Aside from the clear violations of human rights, destroying the Alaskan environment for oil would also be extremely harmful for polar bears. Almost all of the coastal plain is designated as critical denning habitat for polar bears under the Endangered Species Act. Keeping this area free from disturbances is essential for the survival of newborn cubs. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has admitted that leasing in areas where polar bears den will negatively effect polar bears. We cannot allow the Alaskan environment to be destroyed. 

The U.S. Department of the Interior is considering selling the campgrounds in National Parks in an effort to “modernize” the parks and bring in more money. Their plans will ruin the pristine beauty of some of the most magnificent places in the world with food trucks and other theme park-esque attractions. Privatization can also be harmful to the wildlife in the parks in the form of noise pollution and food scraps that will attract animals to roadsides and parking lots which increases their chances of being struck by careless drivers. Food scraps can also introduce new bacteria to wildlife making them unable to digest their normal diet. In addition to privatization endangering wildlife, it will drive up the parks’ entrance fees which will inhibit working-class Americans from enjoying all that the parks have to offer. We need to tell the Department of the Interior that we care about our national parks and that we won’t see them ruined. President Franklin D. Roosevelt said it best "There is nothing so American as our national parks... The fundamental idea behind the parks...is that the country belongs to the people, that it is in process of making for the enrichment of the lives of all of us." These are our parks, do not allow them to be ruined by corporate greed!