New Charge on Methane Emissions Fights Climate Change

Number of Actions Taken: 12,551

Summary
In February 2024, over 12,000 supporters took action urging the Environmental Protection Agency to incentivize companies to reduce toxic methane pollution by putting a charge on excess emissions.

Policy Outcome
On November 12, 2024 the Environmental Protection Agency announced approval of a program that puts a fee in place for large methane producers, incentivizing companies to stop methane leaks and prevent excess pollution. This will reduce about 1.2 million metric tons of methane over the next 10 years, protecting human health while benefiting vulnerable wildlife like pronghorn and the climate.

Moose Habitat Protected from Private Development

Number of Actions Taken: 12,717

Summary

In the fall of 2023, over 12,500 supporters lent their voices to protect vital habitat for moose and other wildlife in Wyoming from private development. Wyoming officials had proposed auctioning off 640 acres of undeveloped, intact habitat adjacent to Grand Teton National Park to private developers.

Policy Outcome
On November 8th, 2024 Wyoming officials approved the sale of the land adjacent to Grand Teton National Park land to the federal government, taking an important step to protect its wildlife habitat, crucial migration pathways, and the natural landscape for years to come.

Management Plan for More than 1 Million Acres of Public Lands in Full Partnership with Sovereign Tribes Approved

Number of Actions Taken: 16,233

Summary

In April 2024, over 16,000 supporters took action to urge the finalization of the Bears Ears National Monument Resource Management Plan, to conserve crucial wildlife habitat, safeguard Indigenous cultural and religious practices, while also permitting hunting and angling, and ensuring responsible outdoor recreation.

Policy Outcome

On October 3rd, 2024 the finalized Bears Ears National Monument Resource Management Plan was announced. The plan is a model for collaborative land stewardship by the federal government and Indigenous communities for the benefit of wildlife, sacred and cultural sites, hunting, angling, and responsible recreation across the more than 1 million acres that are Bears Ears National Monument. The finalized plan – and the process that led to it – embodies the important principles of free, prior, and informed consent.

Florida State Parks Saved From Becoming Resorts and Golf Courses

Number of Actions Taken: 9,691

Summary

In August 2024, nearly 10,000 supporters took urgent action to defend Florida’s state parks from a proposed plan to convert state park land into resorts, golf courses, and pickleball courts. Florida’s state parks were established to conserve Florida’s incredibly diverse wildlife and plant species and to offer outdoor recreation opportunities with that conservation in mind – not to be cleared away for resorts.

Policy Outcome

After massive public backlash, Governor Desantis and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection announced at the end of August 2024 that they were going back to the drawing board and revising their plan for Florida’s state parks.

Defended Protections for 28 Million Acres in Alaska

Number of Actions Taken: 10,313

Summary

In February of 2024, over 10,000 supporters took action urging the Biden Administration to continue protections for 28 million acres of land in Alaska to safeguard wildlife like caribou from the impacts of mining, oil and gas drilling, and other industrial development.

Policy Outcome

On August 27th, 2024 Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced that the 28 million acres of public lands in Alaska will continue to be protected, preserving natural, cultural, and subsistence resources and wildlife habitat.

Funding for Everglades Restoration

Number of Actions Taken: 25,295

Summary

In April of 2024, supporters sent over 25,000 messages to Congress urging them to fund restoration of the Everglades in Florida. We are at a pivotal moment for the Everglades where major restoration projects are on the cusp of being completed, which will allow water to mimic historic healthy flows through the Everglades and into Florida Bay—to provide important habitat for the Florida manatee and other wildlife.

Policy Outcome

The Florida Congressional delegation supported NWF’s FY25 appropriations request for $725 million for Army Corps of Engineers efforts to restore the Everglades. The President’s budget recommended strong funding for Everglades at $444 million for FY25 and Congress followed suit with inclusion in the FY25 Energy and Water Appropriations bill. Although a FY25 Appropriations bill has yet to pass, these funds will be critical to maintain momentum in restoring America’s Everglades.

Invasive Carp Barrier in Illinois

Number of Actions Taken: 4,905

Summary

In March, 2024 supporters in Great Lakes states sent nearly 5,000 messages to keep invasive carp from entering Lake Michigan and threatening the Great Lakes ecosystem. Invasive carp are devastating waters connected to the Mississippi River, and scientific studies predict they’ll spread throughout the Great Lakes if not stopped.

Policy Outcome
On July 1st, 2024 the state of Illinois committed to installing the Brandon Road invasive carp barrier project, in a significant step towards defending the Great Lakes from invasive species.

Tax Credit Incentives for Clean Energy Businesses

Number of Actions Taken: 9,250

Summary

In October 2023, over 9,000 supporters urged the Internal Revenue Service to approve using tax credits to clean energy businesses that meet a set of labor requirements. These include offering fair wages and registered apprenticeship programs, which allow an individual to both work and receive fair wages for a job while going to school at no cost.

Policy Outcome
On June 18th, 2024 the Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service announced approval of the use of funds from the Inflation Reduction Act for tax credit incentives to clean energy businesses that offer apprenticeship programs and good wages.

New Regulations Protect Wildlife and Public Lands From Toxic Messes from Oil and Gas Development

Number of Actions Taken: 15,094

Summary
In April 2024, the Bureau of Land Management announced reforms to protect wildlife from negative impacts from oil and gas development on public lands. The reforms ensure that the oil and gas companies–not taxpayers–have to pay to clean up toxic messes left behind after drilling. Unfortunately, some members of Congress proposed repealing these reforms, so supporters sent 15,094 messages urging Congress to keep the reforms in place.

Policy Outcome
Congress did not pursue a repeal so protections remain in place that protect wildlife and our public lands from toxic pollution.

Over 50,000 Signatures Collected for the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act

Number of Actions Taken: 50,323

Summary

In June 2024, our supporters helped us reach a milestone of over 50,000 signatures collected in support of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act. The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will allow the states, territories, and tribes to invest up to $1.4 billion annually in proactive, on-the-ground, collaborative efforts to help species at risk by restoring habitat, controlling invasive species, reconnecting migration routes, addressing emerging diseases, and more.

Policy Outcome

The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act has 19 bipartisan cosponsors in the Senate, and that support is growing to help save the one-third of U.S. wildlife species currently facing an elevated risk of extinction!

Power Plant Rule Cuts Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Number of Actions Taken: 13,536

Summary

In July of 2023, nearly 14,000 supporters sent comments to the Environmental Protection Agency urging their passage of a Power Plant Rule that requires power plants to reduce their carbon emissions on-site, moving the United States forward towards our climate goals.

Policy Outcome

On April 25th, 2024 the Environmental Protection Agency announced a final decision to regulate climate-altering emissions from all coal and new natural gas plants. 

Updated Mercury and Air Toxics Standards Protect People and Wildlife

Number of Actions Taken: 13,685

Summary

Previous federal standards reduced mercury emissions by 90% from power plants. In June 2023, over 13,500 supporters sent comments to the Environmental Protection Agency urging them to further strengthen their Mercury and Air Toxics Standards to reduce more harmful pollutants for the health of people and wildlife.

Policy Outcome

On April 25, 2024 the EPA announced its update to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards. This reduces power plant pollutants like mercury, soot, and arsenic–protecting our ecosystems, water, and air for people and wildlife.

Federal Government Restores Balance to Stewarding Millions of Acres of Public Lands

Number of Actions Taken: 22,153

Summary

In May 2023, over 22,000 supporters took action to protect habitat for mule deer and other wildlife species across the more than 200 million acres of public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, in support of a federal proposal to restore degraded lands and watersheds.

Policy Outcome

On April 18th, 2024 the Bureau of Land Management finalized their proposal that will provide them with new tools to restore and conserve degraded lands, supporting wildlife and economies across the country. 

Safe Harbor Agreement Supports Endangered Ocelot Recovery in Texas

Number of Actions Taken: 11,023

Summary

In October of 2023, over 11,000 supporters spoke out in favor of the Safe Harbor proposal to reintroduce and safeguard ocelots onto Texas ranchlands. With less than 100 wild ocelots left in Texas, this public/private partnership between the federal government, Texas state government, and private landowners is necessary for the survival of the ocelot species near our southern border.

Policy Outcome

On April 5, 2024 the Safe Harbor Agreement was signed and approved to aid the recovery of ocelots in south Texas.

Columbia Basin Restoration for Salmon

Number of Actions Taken: 28,692

Summary

Between January 2022 and July 2024, nearly 30,000 supporters spoke out to help protect salmon populations and the habitats they need to survive in the Pacific Northwest.

Policy Outcome

On February 23rd, 2024 President Biden signed an historic agreement with Northwest Tribes and the states of Washington and Oregon that put into effect the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative. The restoration agreement includes hundreds of millions of dollars in salmon protection, Tribal energy projects, and federal support for planning efforts to replace the services provided by the lower Snake River dams.

Getting Soot Out Of Our Air

Number of Actions Taken: 11,864

Summary

In February of 2023, nearly 12,000 supporters urged the Environmental Protection Agency to improve regulations on soot pollution to reduce particulate pollution and improve air quality for people and wildlife.

Policy Outcome

On February 7th, 2024 the Environmental Protection Agency announced their final updates to safeguards, known as the Soot Rule, that will help improve air quality and health for frontline, fenceline, and lower wealth communities across the country.

Prevent Harmful Methane Pollution

Number of Actions Taken: 13,113

Summary
In December of 2022, over 13,000 of our supporters sent messages to the Environmental Protection Agency in support of curbing methane pollution emissions from oil and gas operations across the country for the sake of communities and vulnerable wildlife.

Policy Outcome
On December 2nd 2023 at the 28th international climate convening, COP28, the Environmental Protection Agency announced new standards to reduce methane pollution. The new standards are predicted to prevent an estimated 58 million tons of methane emissions by 2038, addressing a climate-altering pollutant while protecting the health of people and wildlife.

Restore Louisiana’s Lost Wetlands

Number of Actions Taken: 11,258

Summary
The ongoing land loss on Louisiana’s coast had already claimed an area equal in size to the state of Delaware, jeopardizing wildlife and making communities increasingly vulnerable to stronger hurricanes and sea level rise. in April, 2021 over 11,000 of our supporters took action so the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion could build and preserve more than 17,000 acres of wetlands over the next 30 years.

Policy Outcome
In August, 2023 the State of Louisiana broke ground on the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion, the largest single restoration project in US history, connecting the Mississippi River to its surrounding wetlands.

Safeguard the Grand Canyon from Mining

Number of Actions Taken: 23,004

Summary
In August 2023, our supporters sent more than 20,000 messages to President Biden and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland urging them to support the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition and designate the Baaj Nwaavjo Itah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument. Those protections safeguard wildlife, water supplies, and significant Indigenous sites.

Policy Outcome
President Biden designated the nearly 1-million-acre Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument on August 8, 2023.

Keep Energy Development Out of a Sacred Landscape

Number of Actions Taken: 17,187

Summary
17,187 of our supporters told the Bureau of Land Management in March 2022 to support a buffer zone around Chaco Canyon in New Mexico to protect the area’s ancient dwellings and robust wildlife.

Policy Outcome
In June 2023, the Department of the Interior ordered a 20-year moratorium on oil and gas development around the Chaco Culture National Historical Park that will protect significant Indigenous sites and safeguard diverse wildlife populations in New Mexico.

Reform Oil and Gas Leasing on Public Lands

Number of Actions Taken: 76,518

Summary
In 2021 and 2022, our supporters sent approximately 77,000 messages to Congress and the Biden Administration urging reforms in oil and gas leasing on public lands.

Policy Outcome
The Biden Administration put forth a proposed ruling to reform oil and gas leasing on public lands, with a call for public comment. Our supporters are urging President Joe Biden and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to begin the rulemaking process to codify reforms that were passed by Congress and to update the bonding system so that oil and gas companies are required to pay for the cleanup of lands they develop.

Safeguard Sacred Indigenous Lands and Wildlife Habitat in Nevada

Number of Actions Taken: 20,800

Summary
In December 2022, our supporters sent 20,800 messages thanking President Biden and Interior Secretary Haaland for announcing plans to designate nearly 450,000 acres as Avi Kwa Ame National Monument.

Policy Outcome
In March 2023 President Biden officially designated Avi Kwa Ame as a national monument, benefitting wildlife and people alike as more than 450,000 acres of the lands they depend on will be conserved and restored for future generations.

Conserve the Texas Castner Range Landscape

Number of Actions Taken: 22,114

Summary
In 2022 our supporters sent over 22,000 messages urging the Biden Administration to designate Castner Range outside of El Paso, Texas as a national monument.

Policy Outcome
In March 2023 President Biden officially designated Castner Range as a national monument, protecting wildlife, giving outdoor access near an urban area, and reflecting and honoring the local communities and the history and culture of the people who live there.

Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area

Number of Actions Taken: 13,957

Summary
13,957 of our supporters stood up for moose and all Boundary Waters wildlife in July 2022 by sending a message to the Biden Administration in support of the proposed 20-year ban on sulfide-ore copper mining across more than 1 million acres of federal public lands in the wilderness watershed.

Policy Outcome
In January 2023 Interior Secretary Deb Haaland put in place a 20-year ban on mining leases that threatened to leach sulfuric acid acress more than 1 million acres of the Boundary Waters watershed.

9 Million Acres in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest

Number of Actions Taken: 49,933

Summary
Between 2020 and 2022, our supporters sent nearly 50,000 messages to the Biden administration to restore protections so that the over 9 million acres of old-growth trees in Tongass National Forest wouldn’t be clear cut.

Policy Outcome
In January 2023 the U.S. Forest Service reinstated Roadless Rule protections for 9 million acres of the Tongass National Forest, which will promote biodiversity, safeguard water supplies, increase natural carbon sequestration, and protect sacred sites of great importance to the Indigenous people of Alaska.

Stop Pebble Mine, Protect Alaska’s Bristol Bay

Number of Actions Taken: 17,420

Summary
In August 2020, our supporters sent 17,420 messages to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to not let toxic mining harm Alaska’s brown bears in Bristol Bay and stop Pebble Mine.

Policy Outcome
In January 2023 the Biden Administration used a Clean Water Act veto to block Pebble Mine, protecting Alaska’s Bristol Bay, its salmon, and the jobs and communities it supports.

Protect Millions of Acres in Utah’s Bears Ears

Number of Actions Taken: 11,494

Summary
In the summer 2022, 11,494 of our supporters sent messages to President Biden urging him to restore protections for millions of acres of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments.

Policy Outcome
In October of 2022 President Biden restored protections for more than 2 million acres of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments and nearly 5,000 square miles of habitat in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument that President Trump had eliminated during his administration.

Inflation Reduction Act Climate Legislation

Number of Actions Taken: 24,005

Summary
In August 2022, our supporters sent more than 24,000 messages urging the Senate and House of Representatives to pass historic climate legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act.

Policy Outcome
The Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law on August 16th, 2022. The legislation included a plan to invest $1.1 billion in Everglades restoration projects.

Permanent Authorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (Great American Outdoors Act)

Number of Actions Taken: 40,486

Summary
In May 2020, our supporters sent 40,486 messages to their Congressional leaders to vote for the Great American Outdoors Act which would expand recreation opportunities, protect wildlife and create jobs.

Policy Outcome
President Biden signed the Great American Outdoors Act into law in August 2020, to permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund and provide up to $1.9 billion a year to address deferred maintenance issues at our national parks, forests, wildlife refuges and other public lands.