This Halloween turn your pumpkin into an amazing wildlife-inspired work of art using one of CWF’s carving templates. Choose from a spooky spider, boo-tiful bat, a howling wolf or our very own mascot.

Wicked Widow Spider
Howling Wolf
Boo-tiful Bat
Canadian Wildlife Federation Logo
Sneaky Bat

http://www.cwf-fcf.org/en/action/how-to/at-home/halloween-pumpkin-templates.html

A LAB MONKEY

Wildlife-Friendly Halloween Pumpkins

As you carve your Halloween pumpkin, keep your backyard friends in mind. The seeds you scoop out are a treat for many birds such as jays, nuthatches, and grosbeaks. Wash the pulp off the seeds, then dry them in a 250-degree oven for about one hour. You can serve your avian feast right away or store the seeds in a closed container to feed your feathered friends throughout winter.

After Halloween has come and gone, don’t throw that old jack-o-lantern away. Instead, turn it into a sumptuous repast for wildlife, too. If you don't live in an urban area, place your pumpkin shell in a secluded area of your yard—where it won’t be an eyesore and cautious animals will feel comfortable visiting. Add cauliflower eyes, broccoli ears, and a carrot nose, then watch your pumpkin disappear as backyard residents munch away at this nutritious post-Halloween treat. (Please note: Leaving pumpkins and other food items in your yard is not advised in urban environments, where they are likely to attract rodent pests, such as rats.)

Big Cats Initiative

Join the effort to save endangered big cats by donating or applying for a grant to help.

Black-tailed prairie dogs are currently being considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act, and their decline has had a devastating effect on black-footed ferrets -- one of the rarest animals in the world.

So how could the EPA even think about approving two deadly poisons that would help speed the decline of these imperiled species?

Help us stop our government from approving new poisons to kill prairie dogs by taking action now.

The EPA just approved a blood-thinning poison called Rozol to kill prairie dogs in ten states across America. Once ingested, this toxic chemical causes prairie dogs to slowly bleed to death -- a cruel and excruciating way to die.

Now the agency is about to approve a nearly identical poison -- the morbidly named Kaput-D -- for the same purpose: to destroy prairie dogs.

While that’s bad enough, it doesn’t end there.

These poisons set off a chain reaction of secondary poisoning that can devastate imperiled animals that are tied to prairie dogs on the food chain -- including black-footed ferrets, swift foxes, badgers, golden and bald eagles, burrowing owls and ferruginous hawks.

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Vegetarian Spider Is "Utterly Surreal"

As agile as its panther namesake in the Jungle Book, a tropical jumping spider is the only known plant-eater among 40,000 known species, a new study says.

Cool Critters Feel the Heat 
 

 As temperatures rise worldwide, it isn’t just polar bears and penguins feeling the heat. In his latest project with Defenders, famed biologist Jeff Corwin stars with several species feeling the heat of climate change.

From butterflies to frogs, lynx to lobster, Jeff goes on location at the New England Aquarium and New England Zoo to take a look at how a changing climate is harming those cool critters -- and what can be done to save them before it’s too late!

Watch the Jeff Corwin’s “Feeling the Heat” series on our website.
http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/feeling_the_heat.php

Senate Moves on Global Warming

Late last month, Senators Barbara Boxer and John Kerry introduced The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, providing a solid foundation for real solutions to climate change.

To ensure that wildlife isn’t forgotten in Congress’s attempts to address the climate crisis, we need your help.

Write your Senators today and urge them to support funding for safeguarding polar bears, walruses, lynx and other wildlife threatened by climate change.

Tropical Devastation

Each year, nearly 55,000 square miles of tropical forests -- an area the size of New York State -- are destroyed, devastating wildlife habitat and sending more than 5 billion tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Tropical deforestation accounts for a staggering 20 percent of the greenhouse gases generated by people -- more than the emissions of all the world’s cars, planes and ships. Without urgent action, tens of thousands of square miles of tropical forests could be lost forever and billions more tons of global warming gases will be released into the atmosphere.

Watch our new slideshow on tropical deforestation -- and learn more about what Defenders of Wildlife is doing to save the world’s tropical forests.
http://action.defenders.org/site/PageServer?pagename=dow_tropicalforests

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Belugas Take a Dive

Alaska’s famed Cook Inlet beluga whales have declined sharply over the last year, losing 54 individuals. “With only 321 Cook Inlet beluga whales left, we need quick determined action,” said Defenders’ Alaska Director Karla Dutton. “We must act, and act fast.” >>Learn More

Feds Plan for Climate Change

Last month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a strategic plan for responding to the impacts of climate change on wildlife and habitats. The strategy and accompanying five-year action plan are an important first step toward helping wildlife and natural resources survive the impacts of global climate change. >> Learn More

Wildlife Hero 
Dedication to Wildlife

Ted Turner was “born with a fascination for nature,” and his innate quality has turned into a lifetime dedication to conservation.

In 1990, the media magnate launched the Turner Foundation, and true to his ideal of creating a conservation legacy, has engaged all five of his children in supporting wildlife habitat protection, clean water, clean air and toxic reduction projects.

As the nation’s largest private landholder, he has permanently protected the majority of his more than two million acres in 12 states, forging an unparalleled legacy for wildlife and wild places. He has also advanced endangered species conservation through his land stewardship and management practices, restoring important wildlife habitats and reintroducing 20 native species on these lands, including the bison, gray wolf and black-footed ferret.

For his superb land stewardship, protection and recovery of endangered species, generous environmental philanthropy, and promotion of an enduring conservation ethic, Defenders presented Ted Turner our highest honor, the Defenders of Wildlife Legacy Award.

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Even the most novice bird watcher places a bird feeder out in winter, what strikes me, is the number of experienced bird watchers who do not provide water for the birds during winter.

The energy expanded looking for a fresh water source could be better used for staying well and surviving the winter.

All wildlife needs water, Summer and Winter.

Birds, like humans, need water all year. By investing in a heated bird bath or by adding a bird bath heater to your existing bird bath, you'll be providing the greatest resource birds need in order to survive.

Bird bath heaters are usually available wherever bird feeding supplies are offered. Check local hardware stores and large discount stores.

Heated bird baths are most commonly found on-line. These are complete bird baths with the heater built into the bath. Plug in during winter and unplug during summer. A simple effective way to provide water for birds year around.

When using either of these types, make sure your power source is safe. If you are unsure, hire an electrician to check it out or, if needed, to install a GFCI outlet on the outside of your home.

Both types (bath heater, heated bird bath) are completely safe, providing your electrical supply is properly installed.

Place your heated bird bath near your feeders for easier viewing.

Even birds that don't normally visit your feeders will visit your bird bath.

Also, when placing your bath, make sure cover is provided for the birds. Water on the feathers make birds easy targets for prey.

However, do not place the bird bath too close to cover, otherwise cats can hide and attack the birds more easily. A few yards from shrubs or trees will be adequate.

My personal preference of bird bath types is the pedestal style. These give the birds more security by being 2 or more feet above ground. This height allows birds to view their surroundings and any would be predators. Whatever your
preference, a bird bath heater can be used.

By providing water for birds this winter, you'll not only be providing a service to our winter birds, but you'll have greater diversity and more birds to enjoy watching.

Isn't that what makes bird watching so much fun?

About The Author: http://www.wild-bird-watching.com  offers bird watching information about the habits of common North American backyard birds. Visit to learn more about your favorite birds.

The wolves of the New Mexico’s Middle Fork pack are some of the most endangered animals on the planet.

The mother and father of the pack have both lost a leg to painful human-made traps -- leaving each with just three legs. A punishing drought in the Middle Fork pack’s home range makes the search for food to feed their four pups more and more challenging. And anti-wolf forces are working to once again eradicate their entire species in the wild.

The Middle Fork wolves really are extremely important. As one of just two breeding pairs in New Mexico for the nearly extinct Mexican gray wolf (the lobo), the Middle Fork pack’s alpha male (AM871) and female (AF861) are critical to the future of the wolf in the Southwest.    

 Demand that the federal government not cave into the pressure of local wolf-haters to kill these wolves.
Use proven on-the-ground techniques to keep these wolves away from livestock and away from the guns of those who would shoot them.
 Post rewards to bring poachers who kill endangered lobos to justice.

Twice this summer, state agencies have threatened to remove the Middle Fork wolves from the wild -- a move would see these wolves either killed or consigned to captivity for the rest of their lives and would wreck efforts to rescue lobos from a second extinction in the wild.

So far, Defenders of Wildlife and our allies have been able to convince officials to keep the Middle Fork wolves where they belong -- in the wild.

According to the most recent official count, there are just 52 lobos left in the wild.

President Obama has pledged to uphold the landmark Roadless Rule to protect the last untouched wilderness in our National Forests -- and the lynx, wolverines, grizzly bears and other animals that live there -- from new roads and harmful development..

But the State of Colorado -- backed by powerful special interests -- is trying to skirt this popular policy and open up millions of acres of pristine Rocky Mountain backcountry to loggers, miners and oil and gas developers.

We can’t stand by and let Colorado shortchange wildlife on public lands that every American owns.

Our roadless forests are irreplaceable. In addition to being some of the last wild refuges in a quickly developing world, these lands provide unparalleled habitat for wildlife, clean drinking water and jobs for our communities and first-class opportunities to enjoy the wild outdoors.

But if the Obama administration accepts Colorado's plan, millions of acres of our national forests could become a magnet for industrial development that will put lynx and other imperiled wildlife at risk. It could also pave the way for similar activity on unspoiled forest lands in the rest of the country.

In our quickly developing nation, and especially in the West where so much of our imperiled wildlife lives, we owe it to future generations of Americans to do everything in our power to protect the truly wild places we have left. And in the face of a warming world, the stakes become even higher -- and our obligation to future generations even greater. 

As Henry David Thoreau remarked, "In wildness is the preservation of the world." You can help us protect Colorado's forests and the amazing wildlife that depends on them -- and prevent a bad precedent from being set for other states. Send your message to the Obama administration today.

Once these special places are gone, they’re gone forever…