The Center for Biological Diversity’s mission is to save life on Earth by protecting and safeguarding the waters lands, and climate that species need to survive. They believe that the welfare of human beings is deeply linked to nature and that the loss of biodiversity impoverishes society. Therefore, they work to build a possible future for all species, both big and small, hovering on the brink of extinction. They achieve this through science, law, and creative media, focusing on protecting endangered species habitats.
The Center for Biological Diversity was founded in 1989 by Kierán Suckling, Peter Galvin, Todd Schulke, and Dr. Robin Silver, who were passionate about preserving wild places and protecting endangered species. Their founding story begins with discovering a rare Mexican spotted owl nest of baby owls in pristine old-growth tree in a vast area slated ruthlessly clearcut in a massive timber sale. When they brought their findings to the local Forest Service manager, it became clear that the agency was more invested in its relationship with big timber than in protecting forest wildlife.
The three young men took the story to a local paper, and in the end, the tree was saved from the chainsaws. This experience led them to form the group that would eventually become the Center for Biological Diversity.
The Center’s innovation was to systematically and ambitiously use biological data, legal expertise, and the citizen petition provision of the robust Endangered Species Act to obtain sweeping, legally binding new protections for animals, plants, and their habitat.
With each passing year, the Center has expanded its territory, which now extends to protecting species throughout the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and international regions as remote as the North and South poles.
Today, the Center is fighting many national and worldwide threats to biodiversity, intensifying domestic sources of species endangerment, such as off-road vehicle excess.
With a record of legal successes, the Center has developed a unique negotiating position with both government agencies and private corporations, enabling them, at times, to secure broad protections for species and habitats without the threat of litigation.
The Center is committed to continued expansion, creativity, and action on behalf of the world’s most critically endangered animals and plants.