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Advocacy · Wildlife-focused

Defenders of Wildlife

“To protect and restore imperiled species and their habitats.”

3 live lawsuits, 69 comments to the agencies, 71 cents of every dollar to the work.

Home groundWashington, DC
Founded1947
Tax status501(c)(3)
Led byAndrew Bowman

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The origin

How they started

Defenders of Wildlife concentrates on native species and the habitat they need, with deep, long-running work on the Endangered Species Act, gray wolves, grizzlies, and the national wildlife refuge system. Founded in 1947, it combines science, advocacy, and litigation to keep federal wildlife protections intact. When a species protection is rolled back, Defenders is typically among the first to respond.

Where the money went, FY2025

The work, and what it cost

Conservation and Restoration of Imperiled

$14.7M, 38% of spending

Biodiversity in North America: Defenders of Wildlife focuses on the conservation of imperiled species and keystone or umbrella species that help restore the integrity and health of ecosystems.

Including $548,266 granted onward, the largest share ($120,114) to County of Dare.

Read it as they filed it
Conservation and Restoration of Imperiled Biodiversity in North America: Defenders of Wildlife focuses on the conservation of imperiled species and keystone or umbrella species that help restore the integrity and health of ecosystems. Our focus on wildlife and habitat conservation and the safeguarding of biodiversity defines our important niche in the environmental and conservation community. Long known for our leadership on endangered species issues, our programs emphasize imperiled species and their habitat throughout North America because of the irreparable loss that species extinction represents. We believe in the inherent value of wildlife and the natural world. To realize our conservation vision, Defenders of Wildlife engages in policy analysis and advocacy, litigation, innovative science, technology development, and conservation activities in the field. Our work is aimed at the prevention of species and habitats from becoming imperiled, the protection of endangered and threatened species and their habitats, and the restoration of the health of vulnerable species and their habitats. We are known for our innovative and pragmatic responses to a constantly changing political, economic and social environment. Our staff of scientists, wildlife policy experts, lobbyists, communications experts, and attorneys work in the halls of Congress, state legislatures, the courts, and local communities, and in the field across the country. We develop and advocate for innovative "up-stream" management solutions for public and private lands that encourage conservation of entire ecosystems and interconnected habitats. We emphasize collaboration with other groups as a means of bringing to bear as much collective influence as possible on policymakers and processes which are often subjected to relentless pressure from special interests. The shared goal of all of our activities is to make Defenders of Wildlife the nation's most effective champion of imperiled wildlife in an era of climate change and habitat loss, leading the way in meeting the challenges and seizing the opportunities that tomorrow presents to leave a rich and diverse natural legacy for future generations.

IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.

Mobilization of a Broader Constituency for Wildlife Conservation

$12.5M, 33% of spending

Defenders of Wildlife implements nation-wide conservation initiatives and place-based conservation programs that are rooted in the communities in which we work.

Including $61,168 granted onward.

Read it as they filed it
Mobilization of a Broader Constituency for Wildlife Conservation: Defenders of Wildlife implements nation-wide conservation initiatives and place-based conservation programs that are rooted in the communities in which we work. We focus on strategic areas where we can have a positive impact on wildlife and landscapes. We are driven by our responsibility to mobilize and grow a movement for conservation that will endure for generations to come. We issue a monthly email publication, as well as an Impact Report, sent to all members who have provided us with their email address. It features informative articles on important wildlife and land management conservation issues, editorial comments, and updates on current activities taken by the organization. Our educational outreach projects include: providing the public with up-to-date information on wildlife and habitat protection issues; maintaining an activist network and alerting activists to contact elected officials on key wildlife conservation issues; and providing information to students and teachers on wildlife issues. We also reach the public by briefing the local and national media on important wildlife topics, by producing high quality video and participating in various podcasts, media interviews, and events highlighting America's wildlife and public lands. We also engage supporters on our social network channels and through our online blog. Defenders of Wildlife's website and social media platforms offer extensive information on wildlife species and related conservation issues. The website, www.defenders.org, serves as a resource for learning more about wildlife, understanding current policy issues, and getting involved.

IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.

Follow the dollar

71 cents of every dollar goes to the work

71¢
71¢ the work16¢ keeping the lights on13¢ raising the next dollar

Read it as a snapshot, not a scorecard. Splits move year to year with grants and campaigns, and healthy shops live all across this range.

$27,214,524 programs, $6,301,439 management, $4,787,205 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.

The backers

Backed on the record by Wilburforce Foundation and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, latest filing FY24.

The people

Who does the work

165paid staff
80volunteers last year
18board members
Andrew BowmanPresident & CEO (From 8/24)Comp $203,727, FY2025
Jamie Rappaport ClarkPresident and CEO (to 7/24)Comp $820,725, FY2025
Matt BraughlerVice President, DevelopmentComp $272,874, FY2025
Mark CaylorBoard ChairVolunteer, 2.5 hrs a week, $0

Chairs the 18-member board.

Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. The FY2025 filing lists two people as president & ceo (from 8/24), Andrew Bowman and Jamie Rappaport Clark, usually a handover inside the year. The FY2025 filing lists two people as executive director, Andrew Bowman and David Anderson as interim, usually a handover inside the year. If it’s out of date, tell us. Work at Defenders of Wildlife? Claim this page.

Those 80 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If Defenders of Wildlife is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.

Find your way in

The record

The court record

And 17 more in our case database: a selection we track, not their full docket.

Fights alongside Center for Biological Diversity (14 shared cases), Sierra Club (13 shared cases), Natural Resources Defense Council (9 shared cases), Alaska Wilderness League (7 shared cases) and The Wilderness Society (5 shared cases) and 20 more. Same case, same side, on the federal docket.

The filings

14 years of filings

Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at or tap the line for any year.

$25M$50M$48.6M FY2520112025
Total revenue by fiscal year
YearRevenue
2011$30,229,512
2012$24,838,978
2013$33,192,322
2014$30,239,920
2015$30,657,331
2016$29,405,742
2017$33,911,198
2018$39,116,128
2019$33,422,742
2020$34,498,515
2021$43,244,805
2022$42,802,063
2023$35,880,686
2025$48,550,195

From $30.2M in 2011 to $48.6M in FY25, across 14 public filings (none on record for 2024).

On the Hill

Defenders of Wildlife files its own federal lobbying reports: 34 filings from 2019 to 2026, naming 286 bills. The filings, at the Senate.

Most filed on wildlife, natural resources and the budget.

The record

On the record with the agencies

69 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

  1. 1947Defenders of Wildlife is formed.the return, formation year
  2. 20012001 to 2024: 19 cases filed, all since closed: Center for Biological Diversity v. Lee Zeldin; Defenders of Wildlife v. United States Forest Service and 17 more.
    The other 17
    2023, Center for Biological Diversity v. Bureau of Land Management, closed; 2023, Colorado Conservation Alliance v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service, lost; 2022, Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project v. Jeffries, closed; 2005, Karuk Tribe v. United States Forest Service, won; 2008, Wyoming v. United States Department of Agriculture, closed; 2021, Defenders of Wildlife v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, closed; 2021, Alaska Wildlife Alliance v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, closed; 2020, Wild Virginia v. Council on Environmental Quality, closed; 2020, Organized Village of Kake v. Vilsack, closed; 2020, Friends of Alaska Nat’l v. Debra Haaland, closed; 2018, Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. U.S. Department of the Interior, closed; 2018, Southeast Alaska Conservation Council v. Stewart, closed; 2017, Citizens for Clean Energy v. U.S. Department of the Interior, closed; 2014, Defenders of Wildlife v. Jewell, closed; 2019, SalmonState v. Hladick, closed; 2011, State of Alaska v. United States Department of Agriculture, closed; 2001, Kootenai Tribe of ID v. Glickman, closed.
    the docket
  3. 2020Gwich’in Steering Committee v. United States Department of the Interior: plaintiff, still in court.the docket
  4. 2022First appears in Wilburforce Foundation’s grants.the funder’s return
  5. 2023State of Alaska v. The United States Department of Agriculture: intervenor, still in court.the docket
  6. 8 comments, most to the Fish and Wildlife Service, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
  7. First appears in John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s grants.the funder’s return
  8. 20247 comments, most to the Fish and Wildlife Service, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
  9. 2025Defenders of Wildlife v. Burgum: plaintiff, still in court.the docket
  10. 34 comments, most to the Fish and Wildlife Service, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
  11. 202620 comments, most to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 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: 22 federal cases with the group on the docket, 69 comments filed under its own name, 2 funders whose returns name it. Nothing here is written from memory.

Their ground

The places they defend

Most 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.

Where and what
Federal landsFish & Wildlife Service · Bureau of Land Management · U.S. Forest Service · National Park Service
The family, on the record

Defenders of Wildlife files one related organization on its return: Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund (501(c)(4)). A related organization shares people or purpose; it does not share the books.

More groups in Washington DC

Ways in

How to help

Stand with Defenders of Wildlife

The mission is theirs. The backing is yours.

Sources and methodFinancials, headcounts, and program text: IRS Form 990, FY2025 and 13 prior filings via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, EIN 53-0183181. Leadership and compensation: Form 990 Part VII and the return’s signature block, FY2025 filing. Grantees: Schedule I, same filing. Court record: CourtListener dockets in the MTJP litigation database (5 linked cases: 1 won, 3 active, 1 lost). Related organizations: Schedule R of the same filing, matched to our directory by EIN. Allies: co-litigation edges derived from the same dockets, same case and same side. Funders: the funders’ own returns (Schedule I and 990-PF Part XV) via ProPublica, names and years only. Lobbying: Senate LDA filings naming Defenders of Wildlife as client or registrant, read from the LDA filings MTJP holds. Agency comments: regulations.gov comments whose submitter organization is the group’s own name, each row linked to the comment itself. Place links: MTJP editorial curation with per-link sources. Org-reported figures are always labeled. Data verified as of 2026-09-23. Nothing on this page is pay-to-play.