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Your Life-Saving Gift Will Be Matched

Found with his flippers tucked tightly against his body, California sea lion Pockets looked like a sick child with a bellyache.

Pockets was battling a potentially fatal bacterial disease, leptospirosis. We've rescued nearly 500 sea lions affected by this year's intense outbreak.

With your matched gift, you’ll not only help provide the meals and advanced medical care needed to help a sea lion like Pockets recover, but also support our researchers in learning more about this disease.

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  • Help Save the Marine Mammal Protection Act

Help Save the Marine Mammal Protection Act

The Marine Mammal Protection Act is under grave threat – and we need your help to save it.

Since 1972, this groundbreaking law has shielded whales, dolphins, sea otters, sea lions, and other marine mammals from harm. Thanks to its strong protections, not a single species covered by the MMPA has gone extinct since the law was enacted by President Richard Nixon.

But that progress is now in jeopardy.

A proposed reauthorization bill working its way through Congress right now would seriously weaken the MMPA. It introduces extreme rollbacks that would slash protections and impose damaging, unscientific restrictions. These changes would lead to more marine mammals being needlessly killed or injured — pushing some populations toward endangerment and extinction.

Worse still, the bill removes incentives to reduce threats like entanglements, vessel strikes, and offshore drilling impacts. Stripping away these vital safeguards removes protections that have been crucial to marine mammal survival.

This is not a minor adjustment — it's a significantly damaging proposal that threatens decades of progress. We must act now to stop it.

Please, call your U.S. Representative and tell them not to weaken the MMPA. Here is a short script you can share:

“Hi, my name is [Your Name], and I’m a constituent from [Your City, State]. I’m calling to ask [Representative Name] to oppose any efforts to weaken the Marine Mammal Protection Act. This landmark law has protected whales, dolphins, sea otters, and other marine mammals for over 50 years — and no species it covers has gone extinct since it was enacted. Proposed changes in the reauthorization bill would seriously undermine these protections. I urge you to reject this reckless bill and stand up for marine mammal conservation.”

The Marine Mammal Protection Act, MMPA, Marine Mammals