With pressure from environmentalists, Texas wildlife officials approved tougher shrimping regulations and established a temporary no-shrimping zone along prime nesting habitat for the Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle, the world’s most critically endangered sea turtle. This is the first time Texas has closed shrimping zones for the protection of sea turtles. The state also placed gear restrictions on shrimp trawlers and set aside nursery areas for premature shrimp. Defenders will work to ensure that a permanent year-round sea turtle reserve be established. A big thanks to DEN members who sent e-mails supporting sea turtle habitat.

Defenders of Wildlife staged an "Action Day" throughout Vancouver, Canada, to raise awareness for the need to improve the proposed Species at Risk Act (SARA). SARA was introduced by the Canadian federal government in April, but is fatally flawed - including no guarantees to protect habitat, and provisions that would allow politicians rather than scientists to develop the list of species at risk. Members of the public were asked to contact their elected officials and demand they improve the act. The day was a tremendous success, generating many calls and faxes to Canadian government officials. The Canadian Parliament now reconvenes for its fall session, where Defenders and other groups will continue their campaign to improve the act before its passage into law.

Defenders of Wildlife is working towards getting all 50 states to recognize National Wolf Awareness Week this year from October 15 through 21. Wolf Awareness Week is an important vehicle for dispelling misconceptions and educating the public about the role predators play in the natural world. Wolves are key species in the ecosystems they inhabit. Scientists consider the wolf the primary predator of elk, bison and deer. The reason why deer are so fast, moose so powerful and bighorn sheep so agile is the continuous pressure of predators upon their prey. Maintaining such fundamental ecological processes is the foundation for maintaining the "wild" in wildlife.

Scorpions are often pictured as deadly creatures of the desert but, in fact, these notions are mostly false. Known for their large front pincers and long tail equipped with a stinger on the end, scorpions do have a rather menacing appearance. However, scorpions are very reclusive animals and are mainly active at night. Of the 20 species of scorpions native to the United States, only one species has venom that is harmful to humans. A member of the arachnid kingdom, scorpions are close relatives to spiders, ticks and mites. Many species of American scorpions can be found in western states with dry desert-like conditions, but scorpions inhabit some southern states. Scorpions typically feed on insects and other arachnids, but some of the larger species have been known to feed on small lizards, small mice and birds. An interesting characteristic of all scorpions is their exoskeleton contains an substance that makes them flourescent. Researchers seek out scorpions with ultra-violet light at night and can detect them by an eerie green glow.