DefenDers of WilDlife 2009 Annual Report B foARD o DIReCtoRS Victor M. Sher* Irene Crowe, ph.D. Jaime pinkham Chair Washington, D.C. Minnesota California Gloria flora H. Ronald pulliam, ph.D. Richard pritzlaff* Montana Georgia Vice Chair Maryland Caroline D. Gabel George B. Rabb, ph.D. Maryland Illinois Richard Kopcho* Treasurer eric R. Glitzenstein Rodger Schlickeisen, ph.D.* California Washington, D.C. Virginia Adelaide p. Gomer* liberty Godshall laura turner Seydel* Secretary California Georgia new York Ashley Judd Karin Sheldon ed Asner tennessee Colorado D efenDers of WilDlife California Winsome McIntosh lee M. talbot, ph.D. Defenders of Wildlife is a national, nonprofit Dinah Bear Washington, D.C. Virginia membership organization dedicated to the Washington, D.C. protection of all native wild animals and Ruth Musgrave* Susan Wallace plants in their natural communities. peter G. Brown, ph.D. Washington pennsylvania Quebec, Canada Matthew f. pawa Jeff Corwin Massachusetts Rodger Schlickeisen, President Massachusetts Jamie Rappaport Clark, Executive Vice President *Executive Committee member AnnuAl RepoRt StAff editor: Mark Cheater lItIGAtIon CoMMITTEE SCIenCe ADVISoRS nAtIonAl ADVISoRY publications Manager: Kate Davies BoARD eric R. Glitzenstein peter Brown, ph.D. Writer: Krista Schlyer Chair McGill university Bryan G. norton, ph.D. photo editor: Charles Kogod Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal Georgia Art Director: Jen lee Barry noon, ph.D. Dinah Bear Colorado State university Gilman ordway Attorney at law,Washington, Wyoming D.C. Reed f. noss, ph.D. © 2010 Defenders of Wildlife university of Central florida terry C. pelster David Getches new York 1130 17th Street, n.W. university of Colorado School Charles peterson, ph.D. Washington, D.C. 20036-4604 of law university of north Carolina Alan pilkington 202.682.9400 Colorado oliver Houck Dan pletcher, ph.D. tulane university law School university of Montana Alan W. Steinberg florida Ruth Musgrave H. Ronald pulliam, ph.D. Center for Wildlife law university of Georgia Matthew f. pawa George B. Rabb, ph.D. law offices of Matthew f. Chicago Zoological Society pawa, p.C. terry Root, ph.D. Daniel Rohlf Stanford university lewis & Clark law School Mark Schwartz, ph.D. Cover photo: Karin Sheldon university of California, Davis Gray wolf, greater Yellowstone ecosystem Western Resource Advocates © tom and pat leeson lee M. talbot, ph.D. Victor M. Sher George Mason university Sher leff llp David S. Wilcove, ph.D. princeton university edward o. Wilson, ph.D. Harvard university Rosie Woodroffe, ph.D. university of California, Davis BoARD OF DIReCTORS Defen Ders in 2009 n Inauguration Day 2009, the world truly changed. ofor Defenders of Wildlife, the swearing in of president Barack obama shifted both the realm of possibilities and our strategic outlook. for eight years we’d fought off near- constant attacks on the environment. With our new president and a more favorable Congress, we could once again focus on achieving positive outcomes for wildlife. Victor Sher and Rodger Schlickeisen This year Defenders forged ahead on our work addressing © Scott RobinSon the chief threat to wildlife conservation—climate change. While we advocate for strong controls on greenhouse gas work to ensure that protections for wildlife are reinstated and emissions, we must also safeguard wildlife and habitats enhanced. And in Congress our bill to curb the aerial shoot- already being affected by climate changes. our advocacy has ing of wolves and bears, the protect America’s Wildlife (pAW) already achieved high-level recognition: The national Climate Act, was introduced in the Senate for the first time. Change and Wildlife Science Center that Defenders helped While there have been many positive changes in 2009, create in 2008 will inform and guide federal agencies respond- some surprising decisions from the obama administration ing to climate change. Additionally, we have successfully show we still have work to do. Shortly after taking over ensured that all major global warming bills to date establish the Interior Department, Secretary Ken Salazar dismayed dedicated funding to assist federal, state and tribal agencies conservationists by unexpectedly approving the Bush to implement a national strategy on wildlife survival that the administration’s plan to remove federal protections for gray new administration is developing. wolves in the northern Rockies. Idaho and Montana quickly our efforts to strengthen protections for our public authorized widespread wolf hunts, and we immediately lands also progressed. We are promoting America’s Wildlife sued Secretary Salazar to restore federal protection. We are Heritage Act, a bill requiring that national forests, grasslands guardedly optimistic that the court will rule in our favor, and other public lands be managed by the u.S. forest Service but in the meantime we are working vigorously to persuade and Bureau of land Management to provide sustainable the administration to voluntarily correct its error and restore wildlife populations. Also this year we successfully encouraged protection to northern Rockies wolves. badly needed funding increases for the national wildlife refuge We are also encouraging the obama administration to system and other public lands as well as an unprecedented re-evaluate policy requiring the building of a u.S.-Mexico boost in funding to help wildlife survive in a warming world. border wall, which is damaging sensitive ecosystems and our work for imperiled species has seen many gains but crucial wildlife migration corridors. And we are mounting also some setbacks, as the new administration works out its a vigorous campaign directed at the administration and priorities. Many of the court and administrative challenges Congress stressing the need to protect wildlife while the we had brought against the Bush administration are being government promotes renewable energy development. resolved as the obama administration has moved to settle In 2009, we also faced the challenge of a president and with us rather than defend the previous administration’s Congress necessarily focused on the recession, war, health- mistakes. This has meant a long-awaited designation of 25 care and financial reform. We are grateful to our donors, million acres of critical habitat for the Canada lynx, and who found ways to continue their support for wildlife and a re-evaluation of the need for federal protections for the made our accomplishments possible in a challenging year. wolverine and critical habitat for the woodland caribou. our With your continued help, we expect that our outstanding request for increased protection for the polar bear under the staff will be able to win even more important battles in the Convention on International trade in endangered Species year ahead. was supported by the obama administration as well. We also achieved victories in the courts for jaguars, flat-tailed horned lizards and Mexican gray wolves.o ur court challenge of damaging Bush-era changes to national forest policy was also successful. The new administration Victor Sher Rodger Schlickeisen has promised to rewrite forest planning rules, and we will Chair, Board of Directors President and Chief Executive Officer Defenders of Wildlife | 2009 annual report table of contents 03 about defenders of Wildlife 16 building a network of Protected Lands 22 Wildlife conservation awards dinner 04 Protecting imperiled Wildlife 18 Working across borders 23 Financial Report 10 Facing Global Warming 20 defenders on the map 14 conserving Public Lands Emperor penguins, Antarctica © Jan VeRmeeR/Foto natuRa/minden PictuReS 2 Since 1947 Defenders of Wildlife has been a leading force in the protection of wild creatures. We began with a single staff a bout person focusing on safeguarding coyotes and other predators. Today Defenders employs more than 150 people throughout North America, working DefenDers to conserve native plants and animals, and developing innovative, science-based solutions to the many challenges facing of WilDlife wildlife and habitats today. We work to protect and restore imperiled North American animals and plants. More than a decade ago, Defenders led the way for the return of the gray wolf to the northern Rockies, and we have watched as the presence of this top predator has helped heal broken ecosystems. We have worked with ranchers and local communities to ease the return of the wolf and other key predators to the landscape. And we have helped restore species like bison and prairie dogs to their essential roles on wild lands. We work to safeguard wildlife and habitat in the face of global warming. Wild species face a threat today that was unfathomable when Defenders opened its doors more than six decades ago. from sea-level rise to the spread of disease, our changing climate has the power to impact every species on earth. We work with the best scientific minds to forge policy at the federal, regional and local levels to help wildlife survive the coming changes. We work to protect native plants, animals and natural areas on federal lands. o ur national wildlife refuges, national forests and other public lands offer a foundation for the long-term conservation of native plants and animals, but only if they are managed well. from strengthening protection for our national wildlife refuges, to advocating for wildlife conservation on national forests and other public lands, we strive to ensure that the health of wildlife is integral to our public lands policy. We work to promote an interconnected