But this May, with the growing oil spill, the threat of more drilling in the Arctic Circle and another Endangered Species Day upon us, it’s hard not to think about the wildlife.

One species I’m worried about this year is the Brown Pelican. Last November they were taken off the endangered species list, after recovering from the impacts of DDT. What will happen to them now that the BP oil spill is polluting their habitat?

And what about the many other species out there, that may disappear before most of us ever knew they existed?

But I don’t want to get everyone down.

Here are three things you can do to raise awareness about endangered wildlife in your community.

First, change your Facebook profile pic to a species you care about. You can download free photos you can use on Facebook here.

Second, you can share wildlife facts with us via Twitter. Just use the #speciesday hashtag, and let wildlife enthusiasts know what wildlife you care about. Need help getting started? We put together some sample tweets to pick from.

And finally, don’t forget to take action. Right now Shell Oil is getting ready to drill in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas— both important polar bear habitats. Stop them by pushing Secretary Salazar to block their leases. 

Both those seas are so far north, that Shell can only drill in the summer. If we can delay Shell Oil just one or two months, they’ll have to wait an entire year before they can try again.

Last year, NWF supporters like you pushed Secretary Salazar to finalize a proposal to create special protected habitat areas for polar bears. If we could accomplish that, I know we can protect polar bear habitat now.

>>Take action now!>>

On Endangered Species Day, it’s important to think about the many wildlife species at risk. But don’t let it get you down. Together we can make a difference.

Started by the Senate in 2006, Endangered Species Day is celebrated every year on the third Friday in May. This year’s momentous 5th anniversary Endangered Species Day promises to be the most engaging yet.

Endangered Species Day Resolution and Proclamation

Recently, the Endangered Species Day resolution was unanimously passed in the U.S. Senate. The resolution (S. Res. 503) “encourages the people of the United States to become educated about and aware of threats to species, success stories in species recovery and the opportunity to promote species conservation worldwide and to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.”

Each year, over 100 events are held at parks, refuges, schools and museums around the nation. Events will be held at the United States Capitol, United States Botanic Garden, the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Maine Wildlife Park, the Bozeman Fish Hatchery, and many other locations!

We’ve detailed all of the exciting events and activities for you to be part of at our Endangered Species Day website. Also there, you can find a comprehensive Endangered Species Day toolkit to plan last minute events, including educational materials, media materials and outreach materials.

Endangered Species Day Landmark Events

Endangered Species Day at the U.S. Botanic Garden
100 Maryland Ave SW
Washington, DC 20002
Friday, May 21, 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM

The U.S. Botanic Garden is one of many botanic gardens worldwide that actively participate in the conservation of endangered species by maintaining live specimens in their collections, studying wild plants at risk, banking seeds of rare plants, and introducing rare plants to the horticultural trade. As one of 62 repositories for plants that have been seized by customs agents through the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Botanic Garden accepts and cares for orchids and succulents. The event will focus on endangered plants and their relationship to pollinators and the environment.

Endangered Species Day at the Chula Vista Nature Center
Sweetwater Marsh National Wildlife Refuge
Chula Vista, California
Friday, May 21, 10:30 AM

The Chula Vista Nature Center is a living, breathing, flapping, buzzing and splashing home to the unique animals and plants of Southern California. The Nature Center aquariums are home to Moray eels, Leopard sharks, stingrays, guitarfish and other marine life found in San Diego Bay. Rescued birds thrive at exhibits like Raptor Row and Eagle Mesa. Owls, pelicans, gnatcatchers and eagles are just a few of our resident native birds. The Nature Center partners with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park, and independent biologists to captive – breed and release one of California’s most endangered water birds – the Light-footed Clapper Rail.

Golden Gate National Park Endangered Species Weekend
San Francisco, CA
May 21, 22 & 23, 2010

At the Golden Gate National Park there are more federally protected species than any other unit of the National Park System in continental North America: more than Yosemite, Yellowstone, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks combined! This is an opportunity to learn more about the many species in the park, It is also an opportunity to write about all the work that is being done to help, and why the Park is so important to the residents of San Francisco and Marin County. California red-legged frog, coho salmon, mission blue butterfly, Presidio clarkia are but a few of the species that will be focused on this weekend.

We really hope that you can participate in an Endangered Species Day event near you. To find more information about these and other events, please see the full events list on our website. Happy Endangered Species Day!

Anytime the government decides to build a levy, a dam, or other similar projects, they follow 25 year-old principles and guidelines that don’t prioritize the environment. Unfortunately these guidelines have produced a generation’s worth of projects that jeopardized aquatic ecosystems and wildlife habitat.

Following these guidelines, the government approves projects that drain wetlands, redirect rivers and streams, and put American wildlife at risk. But for the first time since 1983, the government has proposed new guidelines. But these new guidelines still don’t require that water projects protect and restore the environment. They’re asking for input from you.

If you speak up now, you can change the future for populations of fish, birds and aquatic mammals.

A more environmentally-responsible policy doesn’t just make sense for wildlife. The more we alter our landscape, the more we put our communities at risk of extreme floods and droughts. Our government should support projects that protect existing floodplains, waterways and nature’s built-in defenses against extreme weather. It’s no myth that what’s good for wildlife is good for people.

As the federal government updates its rules and regulations, it’s asking for input from you.

What are your priorities? Let your officials know you support water projects to protect the white pelican, and the health of your local community.

For more information, visit the Corps Reform Network.

Tomorrow, if we take action now to confront the climate challenge, college students might find themselves in a booming green jobs market.

Today, American children live with the risk of increased fires, increased droughts, more severe storms and increased health risks. Heat waves disproportionately affect kids with asthma and increased flooding means increased waterborne diseases like e.coli and West Nile virus.

Tomorrow, if we take action now to confront the climate challenge, our children could have a safe and healthy place to grow up in and the promise of a diverse and thriving planet.

In nature, wolf packs all come together to raise pups. Wolf parents can count on the whole pack to babysit, teach and look after newborn pups. Every wolf does what it takes to make sure the pups grow up healthy and strong.

Moose mothers are also protective, forming close bonds with their calves and making sure they survive their first harsh winters.

For the orange clownfish, the father takes on much of the protective role by guarding the eggs from predators and keeping the place clean right up until the eggs hatch.

We can take a tip from nature and step up to protect America’s children.

By speaking up for the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act; by promising to reduce our carbon emissions 20% by 2020; by creating a green jobs market; and by making sure polluters can no longer get away with releasing dangerous levels of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, we can safeguard our natural world for generations to come.

Urge your senators to pass the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act today.

This post is part of Blog Action Day and was written with the help of Rachel Faulkner.

Check out this new video from our friends at Consequence 09, and get more involved with making a difference through your campus at www.nwf.org/campusecology.

We can avoid the consequences of tomorrow, by acting today to speak up for strong legislation and by making a difference in our own communities. How are you making a difference? Leave a comment below to let us know.

Frogs are dying out. National parks face threats from severe drought and storms. Bears can’t hibernate the whole winter.

So here’s what you can do TODAY.

When your U.S. senators vote on the upcoming climate and clean energy bill, they’ll also be voting for funding to protect public lands, natural resources and America’s iconic wildlife species.

To help ensure they cast their vote for wildlife, click here.

The whales are calling too. Carbon pollution is causing our oceans to grow more acidic, having a strange and scary effect on whales and other sea mammals. Whales use sonar to communicate, sending signals back and forth to each other across the waters, but whales can also pick up sonar from submarines, fishing boats and other large bodies in the ocean. When an ocean becomes more acidic, sonar signals get amplified, and sea mammals get confused. Scientists think that dolphins and whales are unable to tell the difference between a friendly hello and a passing ship. To sea mammals, the ocean is becoming overwhelmingly loud.

We can bring that cacaphony to the Senate today. The more people who call– the more their phones are ringing off the hook– the more our elected officials will see how important it is to make sure this climate bill protects our natural world. From whales, to frogs, to bears, our wildlife need us to call today.

Go ahead, make the call now and leave a comment below to let us know how the call went!

From Mount Rainier to the Everglades, our national parks exist because of our past commitment to conservation.

Now we’re being called on again to make sure our national parks make it to the next generation.

This Thursday, Oct.1, Americans from coast to coast will be calling their U.S. senators to urge for a climate and clean energy bill that protects our parks, public lands and the many other wonders of the natural world that we cherish.

As climate change is already impacting our wildlife and landscapes, America’s outdoor and nature enthusiasts are raising the voice for their protection.

Let us know if we can count on you to make the call too.

Former deputy Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett put it well:

“As conservation islands, our parks were a triumph of foresight. But islands they no longer are. Their continued protection requires conservation partnerships — partnerships to address conservation challenges that transcend park borders.”

And it’s true. What you do in your life has an impact on our national parks, even the ones that are thousands of miles away from where you live.

So, tell your friends and family that this Thursday, October 1, is the day to speak up for our national parks and demand a cleaner and healthier natural world.

Let us know that you can make the call by leaving a comment below this post and telling us which cherished landscape or national park will be inspiring you to make the call.

Scientists think it has something to do with their highly permeable skin. The slightest changes in environment (like a 1 degree rise in temperature) can have drastic effects. These changes threaten the bullfrogs you might hear in your backyard and the exotic Amazon Milk frog that’s native to Brazil.

But don’t feel blue. You can do something. As a wildlife enthusiast, you’re the best person to speak up for the frogs, and speak up for the strong climate and clean energy legislation needed to help them thrive.

This Thursday, Oct. 1, people from across the country will be calling their U.S. Senators to ask for a wildlife friendly climate and clean energy bill.

As wildlife enthusiasts, we’re seeing firsthand how global warming is already affecting the natural world we cherish. That’s why, we’re the people who need to speak up.

Here’s how:

1. Tell your friends and family that Thursday, Oct. 1 is a big day to help make the difference.
2. And, let us know that we can count on you to call your senators this Thursday, Oct.1.

As one famous frog once said, “It’s not easy being green,” but it is easy for you to make the call on Thursday, ask your friends and family to do the same, and speak up for strong climate and clean energy legislation to protect amphibians everywhere!

We’ve known for a while that kids don’t get outside as often as they used to. Blame video games, blame fear of direct sunlight, blame whatever you like. But right now, it’s time to focus on solutions.

Take your pick. Speak up with NWF today to help get more of America’s kids outside.

• Support the 21st Century Youth Conservation Corps: Tell Congress to fund training for the next generation of America’s conservation leaders.
• Speak up for the No Child Left Inside Act: Help get more hands-on environmental and outdoor education into classrooms across the country.
• Ask the U.S. Surgeon General to promote a ‘green hour’ for all Americans: Make it a national health priority to get outside and soak up some sun.

Once you’ve sent these important messages to your elected officials today, shut down your computer (unplug it too, to save some energy) and run outside to get your Vitamin D. After all, kids aren’t the only ones who need their daily sunlight…

…So, go on now, be out there!

Okay, actually the polar bear, panther and bar-tailed godwit have almost nothing in common–other than the fact that they’re all wildlife that live in North America (although the bar-tailed godwit is somewhat of a world traveler).

But one thing these creatures all have going for them right now is the chance that Congress will dedicate 5% of funds generated from capping global warming pollution towards helping to protect them.

What exactly does this mean?

The climate and clean energy bill that Congress is currently considering would charge certain big polluters to help fund America’s transition to a safer and cleaner natural world.

Specifically, 5% dedicated funding for natural resources means that wildlife managers and wildlife agencies around the country will receive funding to protect wildlife populations and natural resources like America’s lakes and streams, forests, parks and many more of the wild places we cherish.

So, when you’re thinking about the polar bear and the panther (maybe a polanther?), and wondering what they have in common, you might think about how they might both benefit from a dedicated fund to help their populations thrive.

Put simply, by speaking up today you can help protect the Alaskan wilderness and the Florida Everglades all with one fell swoop.