Winter in America, Again

February 2026 Newsletter

The Constitution, a noble piece of paper

Would free society. It struggled but then died in vain

And now Democracy is ragtime on the corner
Hoping for some rain…

And I see the robins perched in the barren treetops

They’re watching last-ditch racists marching across the floor

But just like the peace sign that vanished in our dreams

Never had a chance to grow

And now it’s winter

It’s winter in America

Gil Scott-Heron

Hello comrades,

A lot has changed since we last talked. And at the same time, nothing has changed except our collective awareness. Our government is, directly and without hesitation, murdering us if we get in their way. What feels new is not the violence itself, but how undeniable it has become for more of us.

It all depends on how we define “us.”

If by “us” we mean all of us—neighbors, brothers and sisters, relatives, humans and more-than-human—then the truth is our government has been killing us all along.

From the selling off of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, to the ethnic cleansing of Cherokee people on the Trail of Tears, to today’s state violence against Black, Brown, migrant, and poor communities. Different targets. Same oppression.

It’s Winter in America, again.

But unlike the Winter in America Scott-Heron named—where “ain’t nobody fighting ’cause nobody knows what to save”—we do know. We know what and whom to defend. We know how and why to fight, because our predecessors and ancestors—organizers, true leaders, fights, healers, truth-tellers—showed us the way.

That way leads us back to community. To right relationship with each other. And to the wild world that sustains us and is harmed by the same extractive, violent systems.

At Wildlife for All, this is why our work on wildlife governance is inseparable from broader struggles for justice. The systems that criminalize people, cage migrants, and sanction cruelty are the same ones that treat wildlife as expendable resources and public lands as loot. Liberation—human and more-than-human—is not divisible.

Because it’s Black History Month, because Black communities have long been on the frontlines of state violence and environmental harm, and because we all need help turning grief and rage into inspiration and action, I’m sharing a short playlist from Black poets and musicians whose work names these connections with clarity and power.

I hope these songs steady you, challenge you, and remind you that we are not alone—and that winter will not last forever.

For all of us,

Michelle

Winter in America – Gil Scott-Heron

What If – Benjamin Zephaniah

Feeling Good – Nina Simone

If this gets you going, spend more time with these artists—and with Fela Kuti, Bob Marley, and others who understood that liberty, land, and life rise and fall together.

2025 SWAP Analysis

With 2025 State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs) rolling in, Wildlife for All analyzed the changes from 2015 and 2025 SWAPs, comparing lists of Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN). The results are stark: nearly every state is identifying far more species at risk than a decade ago—from pollinators to amphibians—revealing nationwide gaps in conservation, underfunded agencies, and outdated systems.

SWAPs are the blueprint every state uses to identify species most at risk and guide proactive conservation. They’re one of the few tools that assesses all wildlife, not just game species.

Of the 31 states and one territory with finalized data, nearly every state saw an increase in species identified as at-risk, with a median rise of 145 species per state. Most states added 50–100% more species, and several doubled or even tripled their at-risk lists over just 10 years.

This nationwide pattern isn’t a sign that conservation is succeeding, it’s actually a warning that state systems are failing to keep up with accelerating ecological crises, leaving more species threatened while resources and action lag behind.

Work like this is why WFA exists. We focus on what others overlook—tracking trends, exposing systemic failures, and pushing for science-informed, democratic wildlife governance that prioritizes prevention over crisis. When states sound the alarm, we amplify it, advocating for the tools, funding, and reforms needed to protect wildlife before it’s too late.

Help us turn warnings into real change. Support our work.

What We’ve Been Up To

Training Future Wildlife Changemakers

Our grassroots organizing training is now in its fourth week and the energy is palpable. Participants are diving deep into the mechanics of movement-building, learning how to power map, craft actionable demands, and develop theories of change that can shift entire wildlife governance systems.

This isn’t just training: it’s a space where emerging leaders connect, share strategies, and sharpen the tools needed to hold decision-makers accountable and drive real, science-informed outcomes for wildlife. Across states, communities, and lived experiences, this first cohort is showing what effective, people-powered organizing looks like in action.

Stay tuned: these participants will be leading campaigns that could transform wildlife policy in the months ahead.

When “Management” Means Death

We’ve witnessed heartbreaking losses on the wildlife front this month that mirror the same systems of cruelty and arbitrary power we called out above. Taylor, the boundary-defying Mexican gray wolf who made a home near Mount Taylor, was found dead on Interstate-40 in New Mexico — a reminder that highways and policies that refuse to bend for life are lethal barriers, not just lines on a map.

In Colorado, two more reintroduced gray wolves died this January. Female wolf 2504 was found dead in northwest Colorado earlier this month. More recently, 2305, the breeding male of the King Mountain pack, died during a state collaring operation on January 28. These latest losses bring the total number of translocated wolves lost to 14 of the 25 released so far in a reintroduction effort where coexistence rhetoric continues to outpace meaningful protection.

And in Utah, three dispersing wolves were killed simply for moving through the state as nature intended. The same month, Utah also advanced plans to dramatically expand the killing of mountain lions, treating apex carnivores not as vital ecological beings, but as problems to be eliminated. These are not isolated tragedies — they are the predictable outcomes of wildlife governance rooted in fear, control, and violence.

Zooming Out: This Is a Governance Failure

What links these losses is not bad luck or isolated decisions—it’s governance. Across states, wildlife agencies continue to operate under models that treat living beings as units to be controlled, removed, or sacrificed for political convenience. Our January analysis of Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) shows just how deep this failure runs: biodiversity is in crisis nationwide, yet the systems responsible for protecting wildlife remain reactive, opaque, and resistant to public accountability.

This is why Wildlife for All focuses so relentlessly on governance reform. Until decision-making power shifts—until wildlife agencies are accountable to the full public and grounded in ecological reality rather than fear and extraction—these deaths will continue to be framed as unavoidable. They are not. They are choices, made within systems that can and must change.

If you’re wondering where this power shows up most clearly, look to state wildlife agencies and commission meetings. These are where priorities are set, removals are approved, and coexistence is either supported or quietly undermined. They are also where public pressure matters.

Once You See the Pattern

If this all feels familiar, that’s because it is. In January, we also examined how wildlife agencies are increasingly entangled with immigration enforcement through programs like 287(g)—blurring the line between conservation and policing. These collaborations expose the same underlying logic at work: control over care, punishment over relationship, exclusion over coexistence.

Whether it’s wolves crossing state lines, migrants crossing borders, or communities living near land deemed valuable to extract, the pattern holds. Systems built on domination do not suddenly become humane when the subject changes. Recognizing this connection isn’t about widening our mission—it’s about telling the truth. Justice, like all life, is interconnected.

Call to Action

We are not powerless witnesses to this violence. These deaths are not “the cost of doing business,” and they are not acceptable. Honoring the lost wild lives means showing up—at wildlife commission meetings, in public comment, and alongside communities demanding better governance. Our February Wildlife Commission Meeting Roundup shows where and how you can engage right now. This is the work of Wildlife for All: fighting for a future where wolves are allowed to live, move, and belong, and where wildlife governance is accountable to life itself.

The headlines move fast, but the work doesn’t slow down after the holidays. Wildlife loss, state violence, and broken governance systems don’t run on a seasonal calendar—and neither can we.

Monthly donations are what allow Wildlife for All to stay steady and effective all year long: tracking policy, responding to crises, showing up where decisions are made, and building the long-term power needed to change how wildlife is governed.

Most people in our Wild Courage Circle give $5 or $10 a month, and any amount helps. If you’re able, becoming a monthly donor is one of the most meaningful ways to support this work and help ensure we’re here—consistently—for all life.