The Center for Biological Diversity was founded beneath the ancient ponderosa pines of New Mexico's Gila Wilderness in 1989. The Center's innovation was to systematically and ambitiously use biological data, legal expertise, and the citizen petition provision of the powerful Endangered Species Act to obtain sweeping, legally binding new protections for animals, plants, and their habitat.

We're now fighting a growing number of national and worldwide threats to biodiversity, from the overarching global problems of unsustainable human population and climate change to intensifying domestic sources of species endangerment, such as off-road vehicle excess. Based on our unparalleled record of legal successes - 83 percent of our lawsuits result in favorable outcomes - we've developed a unique negotiating position with both government agencies and private corporations, enabling us, at times, to secure broad protections for species and habitat without the threat of litigation. We look forward to a future of continued expansion, creativity, and no-holds-barred action on behalf of the world's most critically endangered animals and plants.