National Wildlife Magazine

The saltmarsh sparrow’s population is declining as their native coastal marsh habitat is lost to rising sea levels, but climate change isn’t the saltmarsh sparrow’s only threat. Mercury pollution from power plants contaminates wetland habitats and gets into the saltmarsh sparrow’s bloodstream through their food supply, impacting the survival of their nests. The threats facing saltmarsh sparrows and many other wildlife species are becoming more dire.

Our work for wildlife depends on the active stewardship of well-trained public servants. The American people deserve to have everything they have been promised: clean air, clean water, and access to some of the most beautiful recreational opportunities in the world. Unfortunately, recent severe and dramatic cuts to these critical conservation services are causing deeply felt impacts across the country and the economy.

2025 Garden for Wildlife® Photo Contest Winners They captured the incredible diversity of backyard wildlife. See this year’s winners and runners-up! The 2025 Garden for Wildlife Photo Contest saw nearly 9,000 photos submitted by thousands of photographers worldwide. The photos feature hundreds of backyard wildlife species, from tiny insects to towering black bears.

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The Mayors' Monarch Pledge is an effort to engage mayors (or the principal leader of any city, town, county or HOA) in monarch butterfly conservation. Mayors that take the pledge will receive recognition on the National Wildlife Federation’s website.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On behalf of the National Wildlife Federation, National Parks Conservation Association, Florida Wildlife Federation, Louisiana Wildlife Federation, and Texas Conservation Alliance, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) filed a lawsuit to stop an illegal attempt to bypass compliance with the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for all oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico.

‘God Squad’ Exempts Gulf Energy Development from Commonsense Wildlife Protections Lacey McCormick Mar 31, 2026 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The seven-member Endangered Species Committee’s unanimous vote to exempt oil and gas development in the Gulf from the Endangered Species Act — allowing oil producers to ignore long-standing commonsense safety practices — sidesteps proven practices to develop energy resources and safeguard threatened and endangered species.

Building a Backyard Pond A daughter’s school project becomes a group effort, with a backyard pond bringing biodiversity—and a family—together Text and photos by Steven David Johnson Habitat Gardening Mar 26, 2026 Reflected in the surface of the pond she built, Maggie Johnson (inset) regularly observes the life that inhabits this small ecosystem (above). ON BALMY EVENINGS IN THE SHENANDOAH VALLEY OF VIRGINIA, gray treefrog trills mix with green frog twangs at Maggie’s Pond.

Testing the Waters in Marine Protected Areas Amid environmental rollbacks on overfishing, wind energy, deep-sea mining, Tribal collaboration and more, National Marine Sanctuaries and Marine National Monuments weather turbulent times By Kate Gonzales Conservation Mar 26, 2026 Calm seas belie uncertainty around Nīhoa, Hawai‘i (above, photo by Ian Shive/Tandem Stills + Motion)—part of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, where previous research subjects included endemic limpets, such as...

Is Captive Rearing Hurting Monarchs? Experts say captive rearing—or raising monarchs indoors—poses risks to the butterflies, from disease to decreased fitness By Elizabeth Anne Brown Conservation Mar 26, 2026 A radio-tagged monarch alights on common milkweed (above). Planting such native milkweeds is a wiser way to help than indoor rearing (below).