Media Center

Obama Creates Bears Ears and Gold Butte Monuments

December 28, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – President Obama today designated two new national monuments in the West.

President Obama Permanently Bans Drilling in Arctic Ocean and Swaths of Atlantic

December 20, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – President Obama today announced he will permanently remove most U.S. Arctic waters and huge portions of the U.S. Atlantic ocean from oil and gas leasing.

NRDC Study Cites Huge Risks of Arctic Drilling, Supports Call for Permanent Ban

December 13, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – An oil well blowout in the U.S. Arctic Ocean would spread crude oil for hundreds of miles, and devastate Alaska’s shorelines, as well as marine life, according to a study released by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Trump’s Choice for Top Diplomat Must Embrace Spirit of Paris Climate Agreement

December 10, 2016 Press Release

California Court Upholds Ban on State Ivory and Rhino Horn Trade

November 29, 2016 Press ReleaseCalifornia

NRDC Applauds Obama Administration Move to Exclude Arctic from Oil and Gas Drilling

November 18, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – The Obama Administration today announced it will exclude the Arctic Ocean from oil and gas leasing for the next five years.

U.S Instrumental in Protecting Antarctic Waters

October 28, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – An international Antarctic commission has agreed to declare 1.1 million square kilometers of the Ross Sea in the Southern Ocean as a fully protected marine reserve. The move to conserve the area comes after extensive international negotiation. It…

New Poll Shows Robust Support for Permanently Protecting Arctic, Atlantic from Drilling

October 13, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – Most Americans—especially millennials—would support a move by President Obama to permanently protect the Arctic and Atlantic oceans by barring future offshore leasing for oil and gas drilling, according to a new Hart Research poll commissioned by the Natural…

14 Senators Ask President Obama to Protect Arctic, Atlantic from Future Oil and Gas Leasing

October 6, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – A group of 14 Democratic senators sent a letter to President Obama today asking him to permanently protect the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans from oil and gas drilling.

Sharks and Rays Get New Protections Under International Wildlife Trade Treaty

October 3, 2016 Press Release

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) today approved new international protections for thresher sharks, silky sharks and mobula rays by moving the species to Appendix II at the 17th Conference of…

World Leaders Say No to Trade in Rhino Horn

October 3, 2016 Press Release

World Leaders Vote to Close Domestic Ivory Markets

October 2, 2016 Press Release

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — In an effort to curb the slaughter of African elephants, parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) today recommended that countries with domestic ivory markets that contribute to elephant poaching or the…

CITES Members Vote to Protect Pangolin

September 28, 2016 Press Release

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — Countries have united to ban the international commercial trade in pangolins—the world’s most-trafficked mammal. Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) approved the strictest protections available under international law for all eight…

Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Proposed for Endangered Species Listing

September 21, 2016 Press ReleaseChicago

CHICAGO – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) proposed to list the rusty patched bumble bee as an endangered species today. The once widely-distributed insect species has been eliminated from over 80 percent of its historic range.

Obama Creates First U.S Atlantic Marine Monument off New England Coast

September 15, 2016 Press Release

WASHINGTON – President Obama today established America’s first marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean, designating a 4,900 square-mile ocean area about 150 miles southeast of the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Global Experts Call for the Close of All Domestic Ivory Markets

September 10, 2016 Press Release

HONOLULU — After a series of delays and diplomatic maneuvering, the World Conservation Congress today adopted a motion that calls on all countries to close their legal domestic markets for elephant ivory.

IUCN Members Approve Oceans Protections

September 9, 2016 Press Release

Motions 49 and 53 will enhance ocean health and increase resilience

Life Size Origami Elephant to Highlight Problem of Wildlife Trade at EXPO CHICAGO

September 8, 2016 Press ReleaseChicago

CHICAGO – Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) will present the work of Sipho Mabona at EXPO CHICAGO, the International Exposition of Contemporary & Modern Art, taking place at Navy Pier’s Festival Hall from September 22-25 to raise awareness of the…

Global Experts Denounce Japan’s “Scientific” Whaling Program

September 6, 2016 Press Release

Animal protection, conservation organizations celebrate IUCN motion to end “special permit” whaling

Motion to Protect Pangolins Passes IUCN World Conservation Congress

August 31, 2016 Press Release

HONOLULU, HAWAII – The IUCN World Conservation Congress, the world’s largest gathering of conservation leaders, has passed a motion outlining a path to broader protections for all eight pangolin species. Its adoption through the first-ever online voting process of IUCN…