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Defenders of Wildlife

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Defenders of Wildlife
Founded1947
Focusprotection of all native animals and plants
Location
Area served
United States
Methodadvocacy, education, litigation
Websitedefenders.org

Defenders of Wildlife is a 501(c)(3) non-profit conservation organization based in the United States. It works to protect all native animals and plants throughout North America in their natural communities.[1]

Background

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Defenders of Wildlife is a national conservation organization that works to conserve wildlife, protect wildlife habitat and safeguard biodiversity. Founded in 1947, Defenders of Wildlife was originally called Defenders of Fur Bearers, and worked to preserve wild animals. Although its work has broadened to include wildlife habitat and biodiversity, protecting wild animals—especially large carnivores—remains a central goal.

The organization is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with field offices in Anchorage, Sacramento, Denver, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Asheville, North Carolina and Seattle.

Areas of work

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  • Protecting Imperiled Species – Defenders works to prevent species from going extinct in the face of rising threats. They do this by working to influence local, state and federal policy and laws, especially the Endangered Species Act. Specifically, the organization has identified "key species" that play a broader role in their ecosystems and serve as ambassador wildlife species. Those include: wolves, bees, bats, sea turtles, Sonoran pronghorn, sharks, mussels, black-footed ferrets, desert tortoises, grizzly bears, parrots, wolverines, gopher tortoises, amphibians, whales, migratory shorebirds, jaguar, bison, freshwater fish, sea otters, Florida panthers, manatees, polar bears, California condors, and sage-grouse.
  • Endangered Species Act – the organization launched the Center for Conservation Innovation in 2017. As part of its leadership on the ESA, the organization launched the Center for Conservation Innovation (CCI) to improve endangered species conservation in the United States that uses data, technology and interdisciplinary approaches to pioneer innovative solutions to conservation problems. It created the largest searchable database of ESA documents, ESAdocs Search, containing nearly 14,000 documents.[2]
  • Defending Habitat – the organization works to protect important wildlife habitat with particular focus on protecting public lands designated for the primary protection of wildlife conservation – the National Wildlife Refuge System. However, Defenders also works on other federal public lands and waters as well as with private lands owners where imperiled wildlife habitat could be affected. Specifically, the organization has identified "featured landscapes" of special importance for wildlife conservation: southern Alaska, the Arctic, Cascadia, the Sierra Nevada, the Mojave, Sky Islands, the Northern Rockies, the Sagebrush Sea, the Northern Plains, the Southern Rockies, the Southern Appalachians, the Florida Panhandle, the Greater Everglades, Eastern Carolinas and New England.
  • Promoting Coexistence – a major focus of the organization is their focus on coexistence efforts to mitigate conflict between people, livestock and predators where their paths intersect. They have worked especially with wolves and bears to dispel intolerance, limit negative interactions, reduce depredations of livestock and promote nonlethal tools, strategies and solutions for dealing with wildlife.
  • Combating Climate Change – Defenders works with wildlife and natural resource managers to address the impacts of climate change and to develop adaptive strategies to incorporate into conservation plans.
  • Advocating for International Species – the organization works internationally[where?] to combat the illegal wildlife trade and wildlife trafficking.

History

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Defenders of Wildlife headquarters in Washington, D.C.

From 1948 to 1976, Dorothy Burney Richards served as director of Defenders of Wildlife. She held the position of honorary director from 1976 until her death in 1985.[3]

The organization filed suit against the federal government when it claimed that the Endangered Species Act did not apply to government projects outside the United States. In a 1992 ruling that reshaped standing qualifications in US courts, the US Supreme Court ruled in Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife that the suit lacked standing.[4][5]

Defenders of Wildlife was listed as one of the best wildlife charities in 2006 by the magazine Reader's Digest.[6]

In 2009, Defenders of Wildlife announced a new media campaign named "Eye on Palin". The campaign focused on what the group termed the "extreme anti-conservation policies" of the Alaskan governor Sarah Palin, in particular, her support of the aerial hunting of wolves. In response, Governor Palin put out a statement calling Defenders of Wildlife an "extreme fringe group" defending her "predator control program". She attacked the non-profit group for allegedly "twisting the truth in an effort to raise funds from innocent and hard-pressed Americans".[7]

In October 2021, Defenders of Wildlife began partnering with Litton Entertainment to produce Jeff Corwin's North American zoological television series Wildlife Nation with Jeff Corwin as part of ABC's Litton's Weekend Adventure.[8]

Labor disputes

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Illegally fired union organizer Erica Prather and union members protested for 3 days outside of Defenders of Wildlife's Washington, DC headquarters in February 2022.

Defenders acquired a reputation for toxic work culture while under the leadership of Jamie Rappaport Clark, who started with Defenders in 2004 and took on the role of President and CEO in 2011.[9] Staff credited Clark accused Clark of creating a "culture of fear" at the organization.[10][11] [12] Clark refused to voluntarily recognize the staff union of Defenders of Wildlife,[13] Defenders United, triggering an election sponsored by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in 2021.[14]

In August 2022, the NLRB found that Defenders of Wildlife management had violated labor law by terminating a former employee for their union organizing efforts, failing and refusing to provide the staff union with information needed for contract bargaining, and bypassing the union and direct dealing with staff. [15] [16] [17] [18] Defenders' executive team decided not to settle the case with the unlawfully terminated employee until just before the NLRB was set to prosecute the case in front of an administrative law judge in February 2023.[19][20] In the subsequent settlement, the fired worker, Erica Prather, agreed to waive her right to reinstatement and was awarded a mandated $87,000 in backpay.[21][22]

Defenders has retained the services of two law firms for contract bargaining and management of unfair labor practices, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and Littler Mendelson, the latter a known "union avoidance" firm retained by Starbucks.[23]

As of May 2024, several unfair labor practice charges filed against Defenders of Wildlife management are still pending investigation by the NLRB.[24] According to the staff union, Clark deprived union members of access to improved leave benefits[25] and annual merit increases in late 2023.[26] A few months later, Clark announced her intention to step down as President and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife sometime in 2024.[27][28]

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Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund is a 501 (c)(4) that works to influence elected federal officials to protect natural heritage and hold leaders accountable. The action fund is affiliated with Defenders of Wildlife and shares the same conservation goals. It conducts accountability campaigns, petition drives and grassroots advocacy. The action fund voluntarily discloses its large political contributions.

References

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  1. ^ "About Us". Defenders of Wildlife.
  2. ^ "Defenders of Wildlife Launches Center for Conservation Innovation". Defenders of Wildlife.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "Dorothy B(urney) Richards". Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors. Gale. 2001.
  4. ^ https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/boundvolumes/504bv.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  5. ^ "FindLaw's United States Supreme Court case and opinions". Findlaw.
  6. ^ "Best Wildlife Charities - Reader's Digest". Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  7. ^ Joel Connelly (Feb 3, 2009). "Wildlife group draws bead on Sarah Palin". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Archived from the original on 2016-10-11. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
  8. ^ "Defenders of Wildlife Partners with Jeff Corwin on New Wildlife Conservation TV Show on ABC". 2 September 2021.
  9. ^ Bravender, Robin (2022-06-16). "Environmental group staffers say it's a 'nightmare' to go to work". E&E News by POLITICO. Retrieved 2024-05-27. Clark, 64, has been at the group's helm since 2011."
  10. ^ "E&E News: Defenders of Wildlife staffers decry 'culture of fear'". subscriber.politicopro.com. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  11. ^ Kutz, Jessica (2021-12-01). "What unions at green groups hope to gain". High Country News. Retrieved 2024-05-27. Earlier this year, a report produced by a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) consultancy firm hired by Defenders of Wildlife was leaked. Its contents, which detailed a 'culture of fear,' were damning for the organization: The 144 employees surveyed described an unwelcoming environment for BIPOC employees, who experienced 'tokenism, microaggressions, cooption of ideas' and bore the brunt of DEI work."
  12. ^ Bravender, Robin (2022-06-16). "Environmental group staffers say it's a 'nightmare' to go to work". E&E News. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  13. ^ Bowlin, Nick (2022-10-28). "Feds claim Defenders of Wildlife unlawfully fired union-organizing staffer". High Country News. Retrieved 2024-05-27. At Defenders, however, the leadership resisted the staff's union push. In July 2021, when CEO Jamie Rappaport Clark was presented with a request to voluntarily recognize the union – more than 75% of the eligible staff had signed union cards – she refused to do so (several other prominent green groups voluntarily recognized staff unions).
  14. ^ "Notice of Election". National Labor Relations Board. July 30, 2021.
  15. ^ "Defenders of Wildlife | National Labor Relations Board | Case 05-CA-290774". www.nlrb.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  16. ^ "Defenders of Wildlife | National Labor Relations Board | Case 05-CA-287533". www.nlrb.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  17. ^ Bowlin, Nick (2022-10-28). "Feds claim Defenders of Wildlife unlawfully fired union-organizing staffer". High Country News. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  18. ^ Lefebvre, Ben. "POLITICO Pro: NLRB finds environmental group violated labor laws". subscriber.politicopro.com. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  19. ^ "Trial Avoided: Defenders Guilty of 4 Unfair Labor Practice Charges". DEFENDERS UNITED. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  20. ^ "Defenders of Wildlife Case Number: 05-CA-290774". National Labor Relations Board. Retrieved May 27, 2024.
  21. ^ "Defenders of Wildlife to pay $87K for firing union organizer". METRO WASHINGTON COUNCIL, AFL-CIO. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  22. ^ Bravender, Robin. "E&E News: Conservation group reaches settlement with ex-employee". subscriber.politicopro.com. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  23. ^ Logan, John (2022-03-07). "Not Your Father's Anti-Union Movement: Ten Key Facts About Starbucks' Union Avoidance Law Firm, Littler Mendelson". LAWCHA. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
  24. ^ "Search | National Labor Relations Board". www.nlrb.gov. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  25. ^ "Defenders of Wildlife Celebrates Labor Day by Denying New Parental Leave Benefits to Union Members". DEFENDERS UNITED. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  26. ^ "Defenders of Wildlife CEO Jamie Clark Deprives Union Staff of Annual Raises". DEFENDERS UNITED. Retrieved 2024-05-25.
  27. ^ Bravender, Robin (November 6, 2023). "Embattled conservation group leader heads for exit". Politico. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  28. ^ "Clark Announces Change at Defenders of Wildlife | Defenders of Wildlife". defenders.org. 2023-11-06. Retrieved 2024-05-28.
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