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Jaguar
Center for     Biological     Diversity   

New Video Shows Wild Jaguar in Arizona

Big news for jaguars: This morning the Center for Biological Diversity released the first video footage of a jaguar living in the Chiricahua Mountains of southern Arizona. The cat has been named Sombra, Spanish for "shadow," by middle-school students at Tucson's Paulo Freire Freedom School.

The jaguar in our footage appears to be the same one photographed in the nearby Dos Cabezas Mountains in November 2016. Its gender is unknown.

"This beautiful cat has now appeared in images taken seven months apart," said the Center's Randy Serraglio. "It has apparently established residence in excellent habitat more than 50 miles north of the border — great news for jaguar recovery."

We've been fighting for years to save jaguars and their U.S. habitat. Read more and see the video.

Fox

Lawsuit Targets Commercial Wildlife Trapping in California

Every year in California thousands of coyotes, foxes, badgers and other fur-bearing animals are trapped so their pelts can be sold overseas. Meanwhile the state's commercial trapping program has long been mismanaged. And since 2013, wildlife agencies have illegally diverted as much as half a million dollars to fund it.

That's why this week the Center and Project Coyote sued the California Fish and Game Commission and Department of Fish and Wildlife.

"Commercial trapping is a cruel, destructive practice that shouldn't be subsidized by California taxpayers," said the Center's Jean Su. "It's wrong that a handful of trappers slaughter our wildlife for private profit while the state foots the bill. These animals are far more valuable as essential species in California's web of life than as skinned pelts shipped to Russia and China."

Read more in the Los Angeles Times.

We're Igniting Change — Are You In?

Ignite Change

The Center is launching Ignite Change, a massive, volunteer-driven network to challenge Trump, call out members of Congress, organize and attend rallies, activate locally, and be a powerful, visible, sustained voice for the planet.

This is the single-largest grassroots project the Center has ever undertaken — and we need you to make it successful. Our first campaign will focus on saving America's public lands. We'll also be working to save wildlife, the climate and a livable future for all. Are you in?

Take a moment today to join Ignite Change.

Monarch butterfly

Study Highlights Need for Monarch Protection

More bad news for monarchs: A study published in the journal Biological Conservation reports that the butterflies' population west of the Rocky Mountains has plunged from 10 million in the '80s to just 300,000 today.

Backed by decades of data collected by the Xerces Society and volunteers, the report estimates there's more than a 70 percent chance that western monarchs will go extinct within 20 years. While monarchs east of the Rockies migrate to Mexico for the winter, their western counterparts cluster on California's coast.

In 2014 the Center and allies, including the Xerces Society, petitioned for federal protections for monarchs throughout their range. The Trump administration is under court order to decide on protections in 2019.

Learn more in ZME Science and read the study's abstract.

Trump OKs Coal Mining in Roadless Colorado Forest

Thompson Divide, Colo.

Trump's Forest Service has given an initial OK for Arch Coal to expand mining leases into 1,700 acres of roadless wildlands in Colorado's Gunnison National Forest.

The company wants to mine 17 million tons of coal in this pristine forest — home to black bears, elk, beavers and lynx. The coal would generate at least 49 million tons of greenhouse gas pollution.

"The Trump administration is doubling down on coal and sacrificing our climate and Colorado's spectacular high-country forest," said the Center's Michael Saul. Read more.

Alaska bears

Tell Congress: Save Bears and Wolves From Brutal Killing

Earlier this year, Trump signed legislation that allows cruel practices on national wildlife refuges in Alaska like shooting bears and wolves from airplanes, gunning down bears at bait stations, and killing wolves and pups in their dens.

The Center is fighting for these animals in court. But meanwhile, Republicans have launched another assault on Alaskan wildlife — this time on those living on National Park Service lands. The House just passed an amendment allowing even more killing of Alaska predators at their most vulnerable.

Tell your senator that such brutality has no place on National Park Service lands.

Traffic

Lawsuit Targets Car Pollution Giveaway to Automakers

The Center and allies have filed a lawsuit to overturn the Trump administration's indefinite delay of higher penalties for new cars and trucks that fail to meet minimum fuel-economy standards. Automobiles are now America's largest source of carbon pollution.

Our suit challenges a July decision by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to suspend a 2016 rule that increased penalties for new vehicles failing to meet fuel-economy standards.

Read more in The Hill.

Hawaii High Court Halts Harmful Aquarium Fishery

Hawaiian fish

A win for Hawaii's unique, marvelous marine life: The state's Supreme Court has halted the commercial-aquarium collection of coral-reef creatures. The court unanimously sided with the Center and allies, represented by Earthjustice, who sued to save species like paku'iku'i and yellow tang.

The aquarium industry was stripping vast numbers of Hawaii's ocean animals — millions annually — for out-of-state sale, harming fragile reef ecosystems.

Read more in MauiTime Weekly.

Berkeley, Arcata Are Latest Cities to Oppose Offshore Drilling

Northern California coast

Arcata and Berkeley are the latest California cities to pass a resolution opposing new drilling off the coast and fracking in existing offshore oil and gas wells.

This week's votes are in response to Trump's order urging federal agencies to expand oil and gas leasing in federal waters. The order could expose the Pacific Ocean to new oil leasing for the first time in more than 30 years.

The Center is working to stop offshore drilling and fracking, and we need volunteers. Volunteer today to help block new offshore drilling in California.

Nursing manatees

Wild & Weird: Manatees Have Armpit Nipples

Manatees, often referred to as "sea cows," are mammals — and yes, they produce milk and nurse their young. But the location of their mammary glands may astound you.

Check out the Center's new video of a mother manatee nursing her two calves on Facebook or YouTube.

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Photo credits: Jaguar video still by Russ McSpadden, Center for Biological Diversity; fox by Tatiana T/Flickr; Ignite Change logo courtesy Center for Biological Diversity; monarch by Texas Eagle/Flickr; Thompson Divide, Colo., by Will Roush/Wilderness Workshop; Alaska bears by Len Radin/Flickr; traffic by buzrael/Flickr; yellow tang and Achilles surgeonfish by timandkris/Flickr; Northern California coast by Bob Wick/BLM; nursing manatees courtesy USFWS.

Center for Biological Diversity
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Tucson, AZ 85702