This year we stood up for wolves, bees, the Grand Canyon and more
Environmental Action was able to cast a wide net in 2023, taking action and making a difference for the wildlife and wild spaces we care so deeply about.
This year was perilous for many species, with devastating wolf hunts in the Northern Rockies, manatees facing widespread starvation in Florida, and wild bees across the country dying by the millions. But along with our supporters, our advocates stood up for the environment and the animals that share it. Here’s just some of what we accomplished for the planet this year:
Our planet relies on pollinators, but they’re dying off in heartbreaking numbers from toxic pesticides, climate change and habitat loss. After tens of thousands of Environmental Action supporters spoke out, California became the latest state to restrict bee-killing neonicotinoid (neonic) pesticides. At the federal level, the Fish and Wildlife Service listened to our call to protect endangered prostrate milkweed, a critical food source and host plant for monarch butterflies migrating through Texas.
We’re working to make sure the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge never sees an oil or gas well, so that we can keep this vital ecosystem intact for the caribou, polar bears, wolves and snowy owls that live there. In September, the Biden administration canceled all remaining drilling leases in the Arctic Refuge, but we aren’t taking our foot off the gas. That’s why more than 14,000 Environmental Action supporters signed our petition urging Travelers Insurance to refuse to underwrite oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Refuge.
We won’t rest until wolves everywhere are safe — and the single most important thing we can do for them is to restore Endangered Species Act protections to all gray wolves across the Lower 48. There’s still so much more work to do, but we’ve seen some small but important first signs of progress: The Biden administration initiated a review of wolf protections, Montana lowered its wolf hunting goals compared to past years, and the Interior Department just announced new restrictions on deadly cyanide traps designed to kill wolves and other unsuspecting predators.
Hundreds of wolves are being killed this winter across the Northern Rockies. They're being hunted down from aircraft, lured out of the safety of Yellowstone National Park, and maybe even burned alive in their dens.
Rather than being recycled, most plastic is landfilled, incinerated, or breaks into small pieces in the environment leaving humans and wildlife vulnerable to its ingestion and related harms. After Environmental Action and our coalition delivered 138,000 petition signatures to their headquarters, Amazon announced plans to phase out plastic padded shipping envelopes. We’ll keep working to make sure the company delivers on this commitment, replaces their plastic envelopes with something genuinely sustainable, and gets rid of other single-use plastic throughout its operations.
President Biden established a new national monument on the threatened land surrounding Grand Canyon National Park in August, permanently making this land off-limits to toxic uranium mining. Over the years, Environmental Action supporters have taken 144,268 actions calling for protection for the Grand Canyon, because uranium mining doesn’t belong anywhere near this natural wonder.
When we take on these campaigns, we’re up against intense opposition. With the dedication of our grassroots supporters and committed advocates, we are able to take on tough fights to make the planet a better place for humans and wildlife.
