Wildearth Guardians

WILDEARTH GUARDIANS WORKS TO PROTECT AND RESTORE THE WILDLIFE, WILD PLACES, WILD RIVERS, AND HEALTH OF THE AMERICAN WEST.

SUMMARY OF ACCOMPLISHMENTS LAST YEAR, TIME DISSOLVED, COLLAPSED AND SIMULTANEOUSLY SLOWED DOWN. YET WE CONTINUED THE ENDLESS, URGENT STRUGGLE TO CLOSE THE GAP BETWEEN THE WORLD AS IT IS AND THE WORLD AS WE ASPIRE FOR IT TO BE. THIS IS THE WORK OF A GUARDIAN. WE ARE BLESSED TO INHABIT THE AMERICAN WEST. ITS WILD, OPEN SPACES RELENTLESSLY INSPIRE US TO CREATE A MORE JUST, COMPASSIONATE AND DEMOCRATIC WORLD. IN 2021, WE CONTINUED OUR WORK AT BOTH THE NATIONAL AND STATE LEVELS TO ENACT THAT VISION. IN MARCH, WE FINALLY SECURED A BAN ON TRAPS, SNARES, AND POISONS IN THE NEW MEXICO LEGISLATURE. WE NOT ONLY PROTECTED WILDLIFE AND COMPANION ANIMALS THROUGHOUT THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT-WE ALSO INSPIRED THE BELIEF THAT WE CAN ENACT SIMILAR PROTECTIONS THROUGHOUT THE WEST AND BEYOND. OUR WIN CREATES MORE COMPASSION IN THE WORLD. WHEN WE FINALLY SECURED PASSAGE OF THE LEGACY ROADS AND TRAILS ACT IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE BILL IN NOVEMBER, WE HELPED INSTITUTIONALIZE A NASCENT CULTURE WITHIN THE FOREST SERVICE THAT VALUES REWILDING AND RESTORING THE SAME LANDSCAPES THAT THE AGENCY ONCE EXPLOITED. THIS LAW CREATES MORE CAPACITY FOR HEALING IN THE WORLD. BOTH EFFORTS REPRESENT THE CULMINATION OF YEARS, IF NOT DECADES, OF ATTEMPTS TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER ON BEHALF OF A VISION THAT DISPLACES OLD NARRATIVES OF EXPLOITATION AND DOMINATION. THESE LEGISLATIVE WINS REFLECT A DESIRE FOR AND COMMITMENT TO THE DURABILITY OF OUR IMPACT. NATIONAL POLITICS REMINDS US: WE NEED CONSERVATION GAINS THAT CAN'T BE UNDONE. BUT BIG, CATALYTIC WINS ALSO COME IN THE COURTS, AND WE HAD PLENTY OF THOSE IN 2021. WE WON VICTORIES FOR THE JOSHUA TREE, LYNX, WOLVES AND FOR WILD RIVERS, INCLUDING, ESPECIALLY, THE WILLAMETTE. MOREOVER, WE SUCCESSFULLY CHALLENGED MANY OF THE RECKLESS, CLIMATE DENIAL-FUELED POLICIES THAT GUIDE THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR. SACRED LANDSCAPES, WILD RIVERS, ICONIC SPECIES AND MORAL RELATIONSHIPS TO THE NATURAL WORLD ARE THE COMPASS POINTS THAT GUIDE OUR WORK, WHETHER IN THE TURBULENT PAST OR IN OUR HOPEFUL FUTURE. SYSTEMS ARCHITECTURE THIS IS NOT A MOMENT; IT'S A MOVEMENT. REAL CHANGE-LASTING CHANGE-REQUIRES CHANGING SYSTEMS. SYSTEMIC CHANGE REQUIRES A TRULY INCLUSIVE TRUE NORTH, DATA-DRIVEN STRATEGIC PLANNING, A LONG-TERM COMMITMENT TO STAYING THE COURSE AND EMPLOYING THE MOST EFFECTIVE TOOLS ALONG THE WAY. GUARDIANS KEPT OUR HARD-HITTING LITIGATION BECAUSE IT WORKS. WE'RE ALSO BUILDING POLITICAL POWER BY RAMPING UP RELATIONAL ADVOCACY, ORGANIZING CAMPAIGNS AND MOBILIZING PEOPLE INTO POWERFUL COMMUNITIES IN SERVICE OF SOMETHING BIGGER THAN THEMSELVES. AND WE PRIORITIZED RECTIFYING THE GROSS DAMAGES OF FOUR YEARS OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION. CHANGE MAY NOT HAPPEN QUICKLY. BUT IN 2021, WE WIELDED PATIENCE, PLANNING AND RELENTLESS PERSISTENCE TO MAKE SEISMIC SHIFTS. PATIENT PERSISTENCE FIFTEEN YEARS AGO, WE PIONEERED A CAMPAIGN TO BAN BARBARIC WILDLIFE TRAPPING ON PUBLIC LANDS IN NEW MEXICO. ON MARCH 18, 2021, WE WON BY A SINGLE HAIR ON A BOBCAT'S CHIN. FIFTEEN YEARS, WITH A TEAM DEDICATED TO THE CAUSE, CAME DOWN TO ONE VOTE. ONE VOTE THAT AFFIRMED OUR DECADE-AND-A-HALF CULTURAL INCUBATION FROM CRUELTY TO COMPASSION WORKED. ON APRIL 5, 2021, GOVERNOR MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM SIGNED THE BILL INTO LAW. ALSO KNOWN AS "ROXY'S LAW," AFTER A BELOVED DOG WHO WAS STRANGLED TO DEATH BY A TRAPPER'S SNARE, SENATE BILL (SB) 32, THE WILDLIFE CONSERVATION AND PUBLIC SAFETY ACT, IS NOW THE GOLD STANDARD FOR WILDLIFE COEXISTENCE: NO TRAPS, NO SNARES, NO POISONS ON PUBLIC LANDS. OUR WIN IS MOMENTOUS-AND FOUNDATIONAL. GIVEN TRAPPING'S INVETERATE ROLE IN THE COURSE OF HUMANITY, 15 YEARS IS LIGHTNING FAST. BUT FOR EVERY ANIMAL ENSNARED, IT'S ETERNITY. MOST AMERICANS OPPOSE TRAPS AND POISONS ON PUBLIC LANDS. BUT POISONING WILDLIFE HAS BEEN LEGAL ON ALL PUBLIC LANDS SINCE PRESIDENT REAGAN REINSTATED IT IN 1982-AND TRAPPING IS LEGAL EVERYWHERE IN ALL BUT A HANDFUL OF STATES. AS MUCH AS WE WANT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO LEAD ON HUMANE FEDERAL PUBLIC LANDS POLICY, THEY DON'T. SO, WE DID. IT TAKES PATIENCE, PERSISTENCE, COLLABORATION AND CULTIVATING CULTURAL CHANGE AT THE STATE LEVEL. STATE WINS ARE OUR BLUEPRINT FOR BROADER SUCCESSES. FOR HUMANE WILDLIFE POLICY, NEW MEXICO IS NOW THE GOLD STANDARD. WE'VE TAKEN IT TO NEVADA. ETHNICALLY AND CULTURALLY DIVERSE, UNDERSERVED WITH IMMENSE PUBLIC LANDS AND IMPRESSIVE BIODIVERSITY THAT IS AT RISK, NEVADA HAS A DEARTH OF WILDLIFE CONSERVATION EFFORTS. ON WESTERN STATES' TRAPPING REGULATIONS, NEVADA IS DEAD LAST. THEIR 96-HOUR TRAP CHECK WINDOW IS THE WORST IN THE WEST. THERE ARE NO KILL LIMITS FOR ANY SPECIES. WILDLIFE KILLING CONTESTS ARE COMMON AND UNREGULATED. WE'VE ALREADY ORGANIZED LOCAL ACTIVISTS IN NEVADA, WHICH IS CRUCIAL TO WINNING. UNITY CONSCIENCE TO GO FAST, GO ALONE. TO GO FAR, GO TOGETHER. ~AFRICAN PROVERB COVID-19'S ENFORCED ISOLATION HAS UNDERSCORED THE IMPORTANCE OF CONNECTION-TO OUR VALUES, EACH OTHER, AND THE NATURAL WORLD THAT NOURISHES, HEALS AND INSPIRES US. CONNECTION GIVES US STRENGTH AND STAMINA. WHETHER CONNECTING FRACTURED ECOSYSTEMS TO REGENERATE OR CONNECTING ACTIVISTS TO WORK TOWARDS A COMMON GOOD, WE'RE AMPLIFYING THE POWER OF TOGETHER. UN-DOING THE DAMAGE OF DEEP SYSTEMIC INJUSTICES REQUIRES REORGANIZING SYSTEMS. OUR SHIFT TO AUGMENT AN ORGANIZATIONAL FOCUS IS ABOUT INCUBATING CHANGE IN BELIEFS AND VALUES AND BUILDING AND CONFRONTING POWER. WE HAVE A NEW TEAM OF CAMPAIGN ORGANIZERS TO STRENGTHEN OUR LEGAL ADVOCACY WITH POLITICAL ADVOCACY THAT CAN DRIVE DURABLE TRANSFORMATION. NEW STAFF FOCUSED OUR COMMUNICATIONS LENS ON THE TRANSCENDENT POWER OF STORIES TO CONNECT, UNIFY AND REFLECT OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO JUSTICE. THE LEGACY ROADS AND TRAILS LEGISLATION EXEMPLIFIES THE EXPONENTIAL BENEFIT OF PROGRAMS BUILT WITH AND FOR CONNECTIVITY. WORKING WITH DIVERSE ALLIES FROM TRAIL ADVOCATES TO ANGLERS AND CITY WATER MANAGERS, WE HELPED ASSEMBLE A NATIONAL CONSTITUENCY THAT VALUES REWILDING PUBLIC LANDS THAT ARE ESSENTIAL FOR PLANTS, ANIMALS AND HUMANS. THE NEW LAW HELPS HEAL PAST HARM AND ENSURE FUTURE HEALTH BY STRATEGICALLY RECONNECTING HABITAT FOR MIGRATING WILDLIFE AND FISH, PROTECTING CLEAN WATER FOR COMMUNITIES, IMPROVING ACCESS TO NATIONAL FORESTS AND CREATING HIGH-PAYING LOCAL JOBS WHILE ADDRESSING TWO OF THE EXISTENTIAL CRISES OF OUR TIME: BIODIVERSITY AND CLIMATE. SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ARE INTERTWINED. WE HAVE ALWAYS CENTERED OUR WORK ON PROTECTING THE VULNERABLE, SPEAKING UP FOR THE VOICELESS AND CONFRONTING THE POWERFUL AND UNJUST SYSTEMS THAT STAND IN THE WAY. OUR COMMITMENT TO GOING FAR TOGETHER ENSURES GUARDIANS IS AS STRONG AND RESILIENT AS THE WEST'S WILDEST, DIVERSE ECOSYSTEMS, AND THAT WE ARE DOING ALL WE CAN TO CREATE A MORE JUST, EQUITABLE, DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE WORLD. DEFENSE MECHANISMS NEVER HAS OUR COMMITMENT TO SAFEGUARD BIODIVERSITY MATTERED MORE. CLIMATE CHANGE IS THREATENING SURVIVAL IN REAL TIME. SPECIES ARE GOING EXTINCT. FORESTS ARE BURNING. THESE VITAL YET ENDANGERED ECOSYSTEMS ARE OUR LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS. WE ARE IN TRIAGE TO STRATEGICALLY PRESERVE ESSENTIAL, ICONIC AND INDICATOR SPECIES WITH THE BROADEST RANGE OF ECOLOGICAL IMPACT, AS WELL AS HONOR THE INHERENT VALUE OF ALL SPECIES. NOT ONLY DO WE RESIST ENVIRONMENTAL ABUSE, WE ARE PROCURING POWER TO PRESERVE THE WILD, THE VULNERABLE AND THE VALUABLE AMONG US, BUT ALSO THE AWE AND WONDER IN IT THAT SAVES US ALL. TICK, TICK...BOOM JOSHUA TREES HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR 2.5 MILLION YEARS. TODAY, SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT JOSHUA TREES WILL BE AT THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION BY CENTURY'S END. CLIMATE CHANGE AND SPECIES EXTINCTION ARE HAPPENING-AT WILDFIRE PACE. CLIMATE CHANGE, INVASIVE GRASS-FUELED WILDFIRES, HUMAN EXPANSION AND HABITAT DEGRADATION HAVE ALREADY REDUCED THE RICHNESS OF THE MOJAVE DESERT'S BIODIVERSITY BY ABOUT 50% OVER THE LAST CENTURY. THE PAST TWO SUMMERS, TEMPERATURES HAVE REACHED A BLISTERING 130 F. JOSHUA TREES REQUIRE COLD TO REPRODUCE. OLDER TREES IN HOTTER AND DRIER PORTIONS OF THE MOJAVE ARE DYING OFF AND RESEARCHERS AREN'T FINDING ANY BABY TREES IN THOSE AREAS TO REPLACE THEM. MEANWHILE, THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS EAGER TO INSTALL INDUSTRIAL SOLAR POWER ON THESE PUBLIC LANDS, FURTHER IMPERILING A FRAGILE, STRESSED ECOSYSTEM. THE INCREASED PRESSURES SPOTLIGHT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF OUR MOST RECENT ENDANGERED SPECIES WIN. IN 2019, WILDEARTH GUARDIANS FILED A LAWSUIT CHALLENGING THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE'S DECISION TO DENY THE JOSHUA TREE FEDERAL PROTECTION UNDER THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT. ON SEPTEMBER 22, 2021, A FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT IN LOS ANGELES RULED THAT THE U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE VIOLATED THE LAW WHEN IT FAILED TO PROTECT THE IMPERILED JOSHUA TREE. THIS ICONIC WIN FOR AN ICONIC SPECIES IS CRUCIAL. BUT THE JOSHUA TREE IS JUST ONE MANY SPECIES CAUGHT IN THE BIODIVERSITY CRISIS. IN 2021, WE FOUGHT FOR LYNX, WOLVERINE, SAGE GROUSE, THE PRAIRIE CHICKEN AND MANY OTHER SPECIES THAT NEED THE SAFETY NET THAT IS THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT. PRESERVING IMPERILED SPECIES UNDER THE ENDANGERED SPECIE