“To protect and restore imperiled species and their habitats.”
The origin
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.
Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “Habitat and species protection.”
Where the money went, FY2025
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...
Including $548,266 granted onward, most of it $120,114 to County Of Dare.
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:Defenders of Wildlife implements nation-wide conservation initiatives and place-based conservation programs that are rooted in the communities in which we...
Including $61,168 granted onward.
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
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.
Backed on the record by Wilburforce Foundation and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, latest filing FY24.
$27,214,524 programs, $6,301,439 management, $4,787,205 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.
The people
Took the helm from Laura Sheehan, who drew $256,642 in the final year on file.
Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. This one caught a changing of the guard in the act: the FY2025 officer table lists Laura Sheehan, the return itself is signed by Andrew Bowman. Orgs that claim their page can update it same-day. Work at DOW? Claim this page.
Those 80 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If DOW is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.
Make it 81The record
And 21 more in our case database: a selection we track, not their full docket.
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 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.
Fights alongside Center for Biological Diversity (15 shared cases), Sierra Club (14 shared cases), Natural Resources Defense Council (9 shared cases), Earthjustice (8 shared cases) and Alaska Wilderness League (7 shared cases) and 22 more. Same case, same side, on the federal docket.
The record
Defenders of Wildlife files its own federal lobbying reports: 34 filings from 2019 to 2026, naming 287 bills. The filings, at the Senate.
Most filed on animals, natural resources and budget/appropriations.
Their ground
Named plaintiff in the Rock Creek Mine case, which turned on threatened grizzly bears and bull trout
Who’s defending it On the groundIzembek National Wildlife RefugeHas fought every round of Izembek road litigation since 2013 and filed its own suit over the 2025 exchange
Who’s defending it In the fightAmerican PrairieFiled its own protest against the revocation of the bison grazing permits
Who’s defending it In the fightArctic National Wildlife RefugeCo-plaintiff defending the refuge’s coastal plain
Who’s defending it In the fightColorado BLM Lease SaleJoined the March 2026 challenge to the replacement oil and gas lease sale
Who’s defending it In the fightBerryessa Snow Mountain National MonumentIts California program spent nearly two decades advocating for the landscape and pushed the 2024 Molok Luyuk expansion to protect the Mendocino to Cache Creek wildlife corridor.
Who’s defending itSee every threatened place on one map, and who stands for each.
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.
Ways in
71 cents of your dollar goes straight to the work above.
Give on their site ↗Show upVolunteer with themFind their volunteer door on their own site.
Find it on their site ↗SpeakComment and callOpen comment windows and call scripts for fights like these, ready to send.
Public Lands Action NetworkFollowWatch the mapEvery threatened place in the country, tracked, with who stands for each.
Threatened Lands Map79 years on the ground, 80 volunteers, 4 live lawsuits, 71 cents of every dollar on the line. That is who is holding it. There is room for one more.