April – June 2021

Greetings, California wildlifers!

Welcome back to the California newsletter where we share quarterly updates and links specific to the Golden State so you can stay updated on how your local Defenders are fighting for wildlife close to home. In this issue, we focus on our water work in the Bay-Delta and Central Valley and how it’s being impacted by this year’s severe drought.

A Note from Our Director

Since we last checked in, Defenders’ California field team has been working tirelessly to advocate for wildlife and habitats in our deserts, coastal areas, waterways, wetlands and forests. We’ve been engaging on desert issues to make sure that new infrastructure will not impact desert species’ ability to recover and persist. This has included involvement in planning processes for solar energy project proposals, potential new off-highway vehicle recreation areas and protection of critical desert tortoise habitat. In northern California, we’ve been closely tracking wolf populations and are celebrating the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s announcement of a new group of wolves in eastern Plumas County named the Beckwourth Pack. We’re continuing our human-wildlife coexistence work to ensure that wolves in California can continue along the path to recovery. Along the coast, we’re collaborating with partner organizations to plan for sea otter range expansion and gearing up for one of our favorite annual events, Sea Otter Awareness Week, to be held virtually this September!

Of course, we wouldn’t be able to distribute this newsletter without addressing one of the hottest topics of conversation in California – drought. Read on to learn more about our work on water, drought and how both impact Central Valley and Bay-Delta wildlife.

Thank you for your ongoing support that makes our work possible. We wouldn’t be able to effectively defend wildlife without you!

All the best,

Pamela Flick
California Program Director

 (Sources: Defenders of Wildlife)