Center for Biological Diversity
“To secure a future for all species, great and small, hovering on the brink of extinction.”
12 live lawsuits, 250 comments to the agencies, 88 cents of every dollar to the work.
The origin
How they started
The Center for Biological Diversity is built around relentless litigation, mostly under the Endangered Species Act, to protect species and the habitat they depend on. Founded in 1989 out of the fight over the Mexican spotted owl, it files hundreds of legal actions a year and is a party in dozens of active federal public lands cases at any given moment. Few organizations are more willing to sue the federal government, repeatedly, and win.
Where the money went, FY2024
The work, and what it cost
1. Urban wildlands program- the center’s urban wildlands
$18.4M, 53% of spending1. Urban wildlands program- the center’s urban wildlands program works to protect open space and wildlife from inapprorpiate development and development-associated impacts, especially in California.
Including $217,200 granted onward, most of it ($130,000) to The Wildlands Conservancy.
Read it as they filed it
1. URBAN WILDLANDS PROGRAM- THE CENTER'S URBAN WILDLANDS PROGRAM WORKS TO PROTECT OPEN SPACE AND WILDLIFE FROM INAPPRORPIATE DEVELOPMENT AND DEVELOPMENT-ASSOCIATED IMPACTS, ESPECIALLY IN CALIFORNIA. IN 2024 WE ISSUED A REPORT ON THE COST OF SPRAWL AND RESERVOIRS TO HUMANS, WILDLIFE AND OUR CLIMATE, WE WON LEGAL AGREEMENTS AND/OR SUITS TO PROTECT WILDLANDS IN LAKE AND SAN DIEGO COUNTY, WE WON POLICY CHANGE TO IMPROVE WILDLIFE CONNECTIVITY AND LIMIT UNNECESSARY RAT POISONS IN CALIFORNIA. 2. OCEANS PROGRAM- IN 2024, THE CENTER'S OCEANS PROGRAM CONTINUED TO MAKE SIGNIFICANT STRIDES IN MARINE CONSERVATION. OUR ADVOCACY AIMED AT PREVENTING WHALE ENTANGLEMENTS IN FISHING GEAR, PROTECTING THE OCEANS FROM PLASTIC POLLUTION AND OIL SPILLS, AND SECURING ENDANGERED MARINE SPECIES AND THEIR HABITATS' PROTECTIONS. WE USED LAW, SCIENCE, ORGANIZING, AND COMMUNICATIONS TO PROTECT HEALTHY OCEANS AND COASTAL COMMUNITIES. 3. SOUTHWEST PROGRAM- THE CENTER'S SOUTHWEST PROGRAM WORKS TO PROTECT WILDLIFE AND WILD PLACES IN ARIZONA, NEW MEXICO AND NORTHERN MEXICO. 4. POPULATION & SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM- THE CENTER'S POPULATION AND SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM EDUCATES THE PUBLIC AND POLICYMAKERS ON THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN HUMAN POPULATION PRESSURE, UNSUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION, AND THE CLIMATE AND EXTINCTION CRISES, AND ADVOCATES FOR SOLUTIONS THAT ADVANCE REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM, GENDER EMPOWERMENT, CONSCIOUS CONSUMPTION, AND JUST, HUMANE AND SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEM. IN 2024, WE RELEASED A GLOBAL WHITE PAPER AND ROADMAP FOR A JUST FOOD TRANSITION, ANALYZED AND ADVOCATED FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN DIETARY GUIDELINES, AND ADVANCED FOOD CODE POLICY TO SUPPORT REUSE AND REDUCE PLASTIC POLLUTION. WE LAUNCHED CAMPAIGNS TO STOP DEFORESTATION IN THE AVOCADO INDUSTRY, DISTRIBUTE KITS TO SUPPORT REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH IN CLIMATE-RELATED DISASTERS, ESTABLISH SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTION PROGRAMS ON CAMPUSES, AND SUPPORT SECONDHAND RETAILERS. OUR TEAM ALSO ENGAGED ON REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS AND FOOD POLICY ISSUES AT THE LOCAL, STATE, NATIONAL, AND INTERNATIONAL LEVEL, OFTEN WITH THE SUPPORT OF OUR MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS. 5. INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM- THE CENTER'S INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM SEEKS TO PROTECT GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY THROUGH U.S. AND INTERNATIONAL LAWS. IN 2024, WE SOUGHT U.S. TRADE PROTECTIONS FOR NUMEROUS SPECIES THREATENED BY THE PET AND DECOR TRADE INCLUDING BATS FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA AND SECURED DEADLINES FOR PROTECTIONS FOR CRITICALLY ENDANGERED LIZARDS AND WHALES AND DOLPHINS ENTANGLED IN FISHING NET ABROAD. WE WORKED UNDER SEVERAL TREATIES TO GARNER INTERNATIONAL PROESSURE ON THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT TO ENFORCE ITS OWN WILDLIFE LAWS TO PROTECT THE GRAVELY IMPERILED VAQUITA, PROTECT WORLD HERITAGE HABITAT IN ECUADOR, BRAZIL, AND MEXICO, AND TIGHTEN TRADE PROTECTIONS UNDER CONVENTION FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ENDANGERED SPECIES. 6. CARNIVORE CONSERVATION PROGRAM- THE CENTER'S CARNIVORE CONSERVATION PROGRAM WON PROTECTIONS IN 2024 FOR ECOLOGICALLY IMPORTANT CARNIVORES AND THEIR HABITATS INCLUDING GREY WOLVES, RED WOLVES, MOUNTAIN LIONS, GRIZZLY BEARS, AND MARTENS. IT WON THE DESIGNATION AND PROTECTION OF FEDRAL CRITICAL HABITAT AREAS, FOUGHT AGAINST DAMAGING STATE AND FEDERAL POLICIES, AND SUPPORTED PRO-CARNIVORE POLICIES. 9. THE CENTER HAD PROGRAM SERVICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN OTHER PROGRAMS INCLUDING: FLORIDA AND THE CARIBBEAN, THE GREAT BASIN, NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN ROCKIES, THE SOUTHEAST, AND HAWAII.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2024, signed under penalty of perjury.
The center’s climate program works to reduce u.s
$5.6M, 16% of spendingGreenhouse gas emissions and air pollution to protect biological diversity, the environment, and human health.
Including $72,535 granted onward.
Read it as they filed it
THE CENTER'S CLIMATE PROGRAM WORKS TO REDUCE U.S. GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND AIR POLLUTION TO PROTECT BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY, THE ENVIRONMENT, AND HUMAN HEALTH. SOME OF THE PROGRAMS ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2024 INCLUDE SECURING PROTECTIONS FOR SPECIES THREATENED BY CLIMATE CHANGE, ENSURING COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAW IN ORDER TO REDUCE POLLUTION, ADVOCATING FOR NEW LAWS AND POLICIES TO REDUCE POLLUTION AND SPEED THE ADOPTION OF CLEAN RENEWABLE ENERGY, AND EDUCATING AND MOBILIZING THE PUBLIC ON CLIMATE SCIENCE AND POLICY ISSUES.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2024, signed under penalty of perjury.
Endangered species program works to protect endangered species
$4.1M, 12% of spendingAnd their habitats across the United States through scientific research, public education, administrative processes, and litigation.
Including $25,995 granted onward.
Read it as they filed it
ENDANGERED SPECIES PROGRAM WORKS TO PROTECT ENDANGERED SPECIES AND THEIR HABITATS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES THROUGH SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, PUBLIC EDUCATION, ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSES, AND LITIGATION. IT LEADS MANY PROTECTION CAMPAIGNS AND PROVIDES SUPPORT FOR CAMPAIGNS IN OTHER PROGRAMS.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2024, signed under penalty of perjury.
The center’s public lands law center uses legal analysis
$2.4M, 7% of spendingAnd litigation to protect America’s Federal public lands, most often through collaboration within the center’s regional programs.
Including $13,305 granted onward.
Read it as they filed it
THE CENTER'S PUBLIC LANDS LAW CENTER USES LEGAL ANALYSIS AND LITIGATION TO PROTECT AMERICA'S FEDERAL PUBLIC LANDS, MOST OFTEN THROUGH COLLABORATION WITHIN THE CENTER'S REGIONAL PROGRAMS. IN 2024, OUR UINTA BASIN RAILWAY CASE IN UTAH WAS ARGUED BEFORE THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT IN DECEMBER. WE CONTINUED TO MAKE PROGRESS IN ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO TO KEEP CATTLE OUT OF SENSITIVE RIPARIAN AND AQUATIC HABITATS. WE WON AN IMPORTANT CASE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, WITH THE COURT FINDING THAT THE BLM FAILED TO PROPERLY MINIMIZE IMPACTS TO THE DESERT TORTOISE AND OTHER WILDLIFE FROM OFF-ROAD VEHICLES IN THE WESTERN MOJAVE DESERT. WE CHALLENGED A NUMBER OF LOGGING PROJECTS IN THE NORTHERN ROCKIES, INCLUDING THE BLM'S MAJOR PROPOSED PROJECT IN THE CLARK FORK RIVER SUB-BASIN, EAST OF MISSOULA, MONTANA. AND WE MADE CONSIDERABLE PROGRESS IN OUR CAMPAIGNS AGAINST MAJOR PROPOSED MINING PROJECTS ON IMPORTANT FEDERAL LANDS, INCLUDING WITHIN THE BOUNDARY WATERS WATERSHED IN NORTHERN MINNESOTA, AND AT OAK FLAT, ON THE TONTO NATIONAL FOREST IN ARIZONA.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2024, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
88 cents of every dollar goes to the work
A good sign, not a scorecard: what matters is the extremes, and this is nowhere near one.
$30,576,430 programs, $1,128,138 management, $2,925,603 fundraising. Form 990, FY2024.
The backers
Backed on the record by Western Conservation Foundation, latest filing FY23.
The people
Who does the work
Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. If it’s out of date, tell us. Work at CBD? Claim this page.
Those 19 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If CBD is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.
Find your way inThe record
The court record
And 65 more in our case database: a selection we track, not their full docket.
Fights alongside Sierra Club (23 shared cases), Defenders of Wildlife (14 shared cases), Natural Resources Defense Council (13 shared cases), Earthjustice (12 shared cases) and WildEarth Guardians (10 shared cases) and 38 more. Same case, same side, on the federal docket.
The filings
13 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at or tap the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2012 | $6,786,706 |
| 2013 | $9,368,271 |
| 2014 | $14,036,639 |
| 2015 | $12,425,883 |
| 2016 | $14,758,498 |
| 2017 | $20,139,563 |
| 2018 | $20,512,577 |
| 2019 | $22,570,922 |
| 2020 | $27,326,157 |
| 2021 | $36,653,414 |
| 2022 | $27,585,235 |
| 2023 | $34,484,948 |
| 2024 | $45,735,714 |
From $6.8M in 2012 to $45.7M in FY24, with no missed filing in 13 years. FY24 is the highest year on file.
On the Hill
CBD files its own federal lobbying reports: 34 filings from 2019 to 2026, naming 25 bills. The filings, at the Senate.
Most filed on wildlife, the budget and natural resources.
The record
On the record with the agencies
250 comments on federal decisions since 2023, each filed under the group’s own name on regulations.gov. The latest on decisions we track:
Year by year
The record, in order
- 1989Center for Biological Diversity is formed.the directory; the return’s own formation year is 2012
- 20052005 to 2026: 55 cases filed, all since closed: Center for Biological Diversity v. Nesvik; Defenders of Wildlife v. Jewell and 53 more.the docket
The other 53
2014, In re Big Thorne Project & 2008 Tongass Forest Plan, lost; 2021, Defenders of Wildlife v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, closed; 2021, Friends of the Earth v. Haaland, closed; 2021, Alaska Wildlife Alliance v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, closed; 2017, Western Energy Alliance v. Zinke, closed; 2017, Citizens for Clean Energy v. U.S. Department of the Interior, closed; 2017, Center for Biological Diversity v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service, closed; 2017, League of Conservation Voters v. Trump, closed; 2022, Garfield County v. Biden, closed; 2022, Cascadia Wildlands v. Adcock, closed; 2022, Western Watersheds Project v. Debra Haaland, closed; 2022, Dakota Resource Council v. U.S. Department of the Interior, closed; 2022, Los Padres Forestwatch v. United States Forest Service, closed; 2022, Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Department of the Interior, closed; 2022, Center for Biological Diversity v. BLM, closed; 2019, Native Village of Nuiqsut v. Bureau of Land Management, closed; 2019, Center For Biological Diversity v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management, closed; 2019, Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, closed; 2023, Center for Biological Diversity v. Bureau of Land Management, closed; 2023, Friends of the Inyo v. U.S. Forest Service, closed; 2023, Colorado Conservation Alliance v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service, lost; 2023, Center for Biological Diversity v. DOI, closed; 2023, Center for Biological Diversity v. United States Environmental Protection Agency, closed; 2023, Los Padres Forestwatch v. USFS, closed; 2023, Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Forest Service, closed; 2023, Center for Biological Diversity v. United States Forest Service, settled; 2023, Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, on appeal; 2023, Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, closed; 2013, Cottonwood Environmental Law Center v. United States Forest Service, closed; 2013, Grand Canyon Trust v. Williams, closed; 2018, Western Watersheds Project v. Zinke, closed; 2018, State of California v. Zinke, closed; 2018, Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. U.S. Department of the Interior, closed; 2018, Oregon Natural Desert Association v. U.S. Forest Service, closed; 2018, Southeast Alaska Conservation Council v. Stewart, closed; 2018, Mass. Lobstermen’s Ass’n v. Ross, won; 2020, Organized Village of Kake v. Vilsack, closed; 2020, Friends of Alaska Nat’l v. Debra Haaland, closed; 2020, Western Watersheds Project v. Deb Haaland, closed; 2020, Citizens for a Healthy Community v. United States Bureau of Land Management, closed; 2020, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance v. Bernhardt, settled; 2016, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, closed; 2011, State of Alaska v. United States Department of Agriculture, closed; 2025, Friends of the Everglades, Inc. v. Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, closed; 2025, Save the South Fork Salmon v. U.S. Forest Service, closed; 2025, Alaska Forest Association v. U.S. Department of Agriculture, won; 2024, Center for Biological Diversity v. Lee Zeldin, closed; 2024, Tohono O’Odham Nation v. United States Department of the Interior, closed; 2024, Center for Biological Diversity v. Haaland, closed; 2024, Center for Biological Diversity v. Haaland, closed; 2007, Center for Biological Diversity v. United States Department of the Interior, closed; 2015, Havasupai Tribe v. Heather Provencio, lost; 2005, Karuk Tribe v. United States Forest Service, won.
- 2016Western Watersheds Project v. Schneider: plaintiff, still in court.the docket
- 2020Natural Resources Defense Council v. Bureau of Land Management: plaintiff, still in court.the docket
- 2023State of Alaska v. The United States Department of Agriculture: intervenor, still in court.the docket
- 37 comments, most to the Fish and Wildlife Service, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
- First appears in Western Conservation Foundation’s grants.the funder’s return
- 202445 comments, most to the Fish and Wildlife Service, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
- 2025Center for Biological Diversity v. United States Bureau of Reclamation: plaintiff, still in court.the docket
- Center for Biological Diversity v. EPA: plaintiff, still in court.the docket
- MountainTrue v. United States Forest Service: plaintiff, still in court.the docket
- Western Watersheds Project, et al. v. United States Department of the Interior, et al.: plaintiff, still in court.the docket
- 115 comments, most to the Fish and Wildlife Service, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
- 2026Center for Biological Diversity v. Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement: plaintiff, still in court.the docket
- Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges v. U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers: plaintiff, still in court.the docket
- Center For Biological Diversity v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: plaintiff, still in court.the docket
- Ketchikan Indian Community v. United States Forest Service: plaintiff, still in court.the docket
- Center for Biological Diversity v. Burgum: plaintiff, still in court.the docket
- 53 comments, most to the Fish and Wildlife Service, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
Rust, a case still in court. Green, a funder’s return. Hollow, a filing. Every row is a record we hold: 70 federal cases with the group on the docket, 250 comments filed under its own name, 1 funder whose returns name it. Nothing here is written from memory.
Their ground
The places they defend
Plaintiff challenging the Ambler permit reinstatement under ANILCA, NEPA, and the Clean Water Act
Who’s defending it On the ground · On this place: 2 cases in federal court, newest 2025Oak Flat / Chi'chil BildagoteelPlaintiff in the federal litigation over the Resolution Copper land exchange, now on appeal at the Ninth Circuit
Who’s defending it On the ground · Critical threatPacific Remote Islands Marine NMPlaintiff with Kapa’a and Conservation Council for Hawai’i in the May 2025 suit against the proclamation and Fisheries Service actions opening monument waters to commercial fishing.
Who’s defending it On the ground · Threat developingLos Padres National ForestPlaintiff in the 2020 suit that halted new federal oil leasing across the Los Padres region
Who’s defending it On the ground · On watchDinosaur National MonumentLed the coalition suit against the Uinta Basin Railway, whose oil trains would run the river corridors below the monument
Who’s defending it On the ground · On watchGold Butte National MonumentSued the Bureau of Land Management in March 2024 for failing to produce the legally required management plan for Gold Butte National Monument.
Who’s defending itMost urgent first: open comment windows, then live federal cases, then the threat level. See every threatened place on one map, and who stands for each.
Center for Biological Diversity files one related organization on its return: Center Action Fund (501C4). A related organization shares people or purpose; it does not share the books.
Ways in
How to help
Straight to their own donation page. Your dollar never passes through us.
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