A Letter from Defenders of Wildlife

I wanted to share with you a letter

that I received from Rodger Schlickeisen

- President & CEO of Defenders of Wildlife -

EFA's Charity of the Month

during the month of September.

"Dear Nicole, and the rest of the great people at Team EFA.

I wanted to write and thank you personally for selecting Defenders of Wildlife as the recipient of your September fund raising efforts. We're delighted to have the support of such creative, energetic people!

It's been particularly nice to read all of the detailed blog posts you've written about Defenders' work, and to see the comments from your community members about your love for animals and your support of our efforts. We've gotten good response to our own posts to our blog and social media channels as well - there are a lot of Etsy fans among our supporters!

Our communities certainly share an appreciation for our nation's wildlife. Hopefully this month's collaboration has been as beneficial for EFA, as it has been for Defenders of Wildlife.

Thanks again,

signed...

Rodger Schlickeisen

handwritten note:

We are extremely grateful for your help"

I was thrilled to receive a letter with such personal touch... and omg! included with this lovely letter was an adorable sea turtle plush ! How does it get better than that ? lol

Turtle will be once again making a journey... as she will be sent on to Heather Windmiller as gratitude for all her tremendous efforts in writing articles for our DOW campaign last month. CONGRATS & THANKS to Heather- you deserve it :)

The work to assist Defenders of Wildlife will, of course, continue... future articles are already on the schedule and will be published here on the EFA blog. Those EFA members who would like to continue to donate a portion of their sales should consider tagging those products with DEFENDERS. This will enable Treasury Makers, such as myself, to pick up on those listings for future marketing promotion. Brizel4TheAnimals will continue to donate 10% of all Silk Tapestry Box sales to Defenders of Wildlife as well as 10% to current & future EFA cotm.

If you'd like to make a donation to Defenders, now or in the future, you will find the quick link to their website on the left hand column of this blog, click their logo or HERE to arrive to their donation form. Once you are done making a donation, please remember to report the donation on the EFA website- click HERE to make that report.

A special THANKS to the COTM group & to all

those who support Defenders of Wildlife !

written by Nicole from brizel4TheAnimals

ViSiT DOW's WEBSITE

www.defenders.org

To read about Defenders of Wildlife

see September 1 EFA post HERE

Looking at Climate Change: POLAR BEARS

written by Heather Windmiller

thebluewindmill

Mama Polar Bear & Cub

by thebluewindmill

Looking at Climate Change

part I: POLAR BEARS

Global warming along with environmental disasters such as the Gulf Oil Spill are taking their toll on our wildlife here in the United States... from the sea turtles of the southern coastal waters of Florida to the Pikas of the mountain strongholds in the western Great Basin region... to the polar bears to the northern ice of Alaska.

This feature highlights polar bears, explaining briefly how these environmental changes are impacting their day to day lives, and also includes a petition that seeks legislative action to increase their chance of survival. Etsy for Animals is supporting Defenders of Wildlife this month, not only through our Charity of the Month program, but also through petition signing.

Defenders of Wildlife, an organization dedicated to creating change to safeguard wilderness habitat and the creatures that inhabit it, have presented the following information about polar bears in their Fact Sheet.

USFWS National Digital Library

Photo Credit: Miller, Susanne

As their name suggests, ursus maritimus, polar bears are mainly a marine bear, spending much of their time searching for prey. The adult male maintains a weight of 550-1700 lbs while the adult female maintains a weight of 200-700 lbs.

“Individual polar bears can travel thousands of miles per year following the seasonal advance and retreat of sea ice. They are dependent on older, more stable pack ice to survive. The most important habitats for polar bears are the edges of pack ice, where currents and wind interact with the ice, forming a continually melting and refreezing matrix of ice patches. These are the areas of greatest seal abundance and accessibility.”

USFWS National Digital Library

Photo Credit: Elizabeth Labunski

Pregnant females commonly have two one-pound cubs and nurse them until they are 20-30 pounds, which means they need to eat a lot in summer and fall to build up enough fat reserves in order to nurse the cubs to a healthy weigh and they remain with their mother for at least 2 1/2 years. A female bear will only have about five litters within her lifetime, “one of the lowest reproductive rates of any mammal".

Rainbow Warriors

Polar Bears in Northern Lights

by thebluewindmill

Females need the older, thick stable ice to den their cubs. They need soft, deep snow to insulate their cubs from harsh weather as well as sufficient fat reserves to support the mother’s health and to provide milk for her cubs during their denning. The lack of sea ice has forced the polar bears’ prey, the bearded and ringed seals, to move to more favorable conditions to give birth and rear their young, making them harder to find.

USFWS National Digital Library
Photo Credit: USFWS

Non-breeding polar bears do not den or hibernate in winter but continue to search for food throughout the year. Polar bears hunt the seals by stalking them through their breathing holes in the ice, and as the ice pack diminishes the thinning ice creates a loss of habitat and an overall reduction of their food source vastly decreasing successful hunts.

The polar bear, the most carnivorous of bears, could become extinct by the year 2050... only 40 years from now. Their survival depends on us addressing climate change and reducing fossil fuel emissions... without which the sea ice in the Arctic will continue to disappear causing polar bears to starve and drown.

USFWS National Digital Library
Photo Credit: Miller, Susanne

“What is man without the beasts? If all the beasts were gone, man would die from a great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected.” Chief Seattle

"Defenders of Wildlife is working with Congress and the Obama administration to ensure that policies and resources are made available to address the worst impacts of climate change..."

"Reason For Hope: the polar bear is an iconic symbol of global warming, and among the first species to be so affected by it. More and more countries around the world, in particular those that incorporate Arctic landscape like the United States, Russia, Canada, and Greenland, are pledging to fight global warming in order to preserve the polar bear..."

Polar Bear Cub

by mvegan5

"Send a message to senators urging them to say “Yes!” to comprehensive legislation to address climate change and “No!” to more dangerous offshore drilling."

TAKE ACTION PETITION #1

Save Sea Turtles and Polar Bears

from Big Oil's Double-Barreled Thread:

https://secure.defenders.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1779

"

Unique areas within Alaska’s Western Arctic Reserve are key habitat for our struggling polar bears... The Bureau of Land Management is working on a new management plan for the entire reserve -- and we can help ensure that these amazing places are protected. Urge the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to provide maximum protection for the homes of polar bears, migratory birds and other wildlife living in the Western Arctic Reserve."

TAKE ACTION PETITION #2

Help Protect the Homes of Polar Bears

(deadline for comments is Friday Sept 24th !)

https://secure.defenders.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1891

Click on the link above to visit DOW's website !

You can also take a peek at Defenders blog HERE

To read more blog articles on Defenders of Wildlife

see September 1 post HERE

and September 2 post HERE

EFA COTM TREASURY: Facing the Fight... & DEFENDERS OF WiLDLiFE TAKE ACTiON

Curated by Rebecca from KneeDeepOriginals in support of September's COTM: Defenders of Wildlife

"What fight, you ask ? The fight for a better climate for our wildlife and our habitats and environment. Team EFA, also known as Artists Helping Animals, has teamed up with Defenders of Wildlife as the Charity of the Month, and each of these shops supports DOW by donating a percentage of sales to its efforts."

FACiNG THE FiGHT with BLACK & WHiTE

featuring EFA members

supporting our COTM program:

WoodsEdge, oceloteyes, thoseparasoldays,

pippichick, faeriegood, rubyandbeeboutique,

thebluewindmill, marjoriescorner, mvegan5,

brizel4TheAnimals, KneeDeepOriginals,

BohemianAngel, gogobadger, rendachs,

FeaturingAnimals, theanimalsmagicshop

Click HERE to see this Treasury on Etsy !

"More offshore oil drilling is not the way to a new clean energy future; it is not helpful for addressing climate change; it is too costly a risk to take with our coastal resources and coastal economies. America needs a clean climate bill to address climate change and to move America towards a cleaner energy future... if we continue to industrialize our coasts, we'll see more carbon pollution, more climate change and more devastating oil spills." Defenders of Wildlife

To take a stand and make your voice heard,

please sign this DOW petition

to ensure that policies and resources are made

available to address the issue of Climate Change:

https://secure.defenders.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1779

Click on the link above to visit DOW's website !

You can also take a peek at Defenders blog HERE

To read more blog articles on Defenders...

see September 1 post HERE

and September 2 post HERE

EFA TREASURY & DOW PETiTiON: Support a New Beginning for Wolves

SUPPORT A NEW BEGiNNiNG FOR WOLVES

curated by cobaltcat

in collaboration with brizel4TheAnimals

featuring 100% EFA members:

BohemianAngel, thebluewindmill, cherokeemoon,

DeerMountainWoodArt, theanimalsmagicshop,

brizel4TheAnimals, faeriegood, IndieWolf,

KneeDeepOriginals, WoodsEdge, wildcatphotography,

backroomtreasures, thedoghouse, mvegan5

Click HERE to visit Etsy Treasury !

To learn about wolves,

click HERE to read this month's

feature article by theanimalsmagicshop

"Gray wolves in the Northern Rockies have just been placed under federal protection due to a recent court decision. Unfortunately, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming are still looking for ways to reduce their wolf populations. Defenders of Wildlife is working with the states, ranchers, hunters and other stakeholders to ensure a healthy future for wolves in the region." Defenders of Wildlife

To support Defenders of Wildlife's work

on creating a new beginning for wolves,

please sign this petition:
https://secure.defenders.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1851

Click on the link above to visit DOW's website !

You can also take a peek at Defenders blog HERE

To read more blog articles on Defenders of Wildlife

see September 1 post HERE

and September 2 post HERE