The Center for Biological Diversity is a nonprofit group that relies on members to help protect endangered species. It uses the law, scientific requests, artistic media, and community efforts to achieve its goals. The group was started in 1989 by Kieran Suckling, Peter Galvin, Todd Schulke, and Robin Silver. It is located in Tucson, Arizona, with its main office in the historic Owls Club building. The center also has offices and workers in New Mexico, Nevada, California, Oregon, Illinois, Minnesota, Alaska, Vermont, Florida, and Washington, D.C.
Background
In 1989, a group called the Greater Gila Biodiversity Project was formed with the help of a small grant from the Fund For Wild Nature. The group aimed to protect endangered species and important habitats in the Southwestern United States. Over time, the group grew and became known as the Center for Biological Diversity.
Kieran Suckling, Peter Galvin, and Todd Schulke started the group after they believed the United States Forest Service was not doing enough to protect endangered species from harm caused by logging, grazing, and mining. As surveyors in New Mexico, the three men found a rare Mexican spotted owl nest in an old-growth tree. However, the Forest Service ignored their discovery and continued planning to lease the land to timber companies. Suckling, Galvin, and Schulke believed the Forest Service had a duty to protect species like the Mexican spotted owl but instead prioritized corporate interests. They shared their concerns with the media, which led to the old-growth tree being protected. This success inspired the creation of the Center for Biological Diversity.
In 1990, Suckling, Galvin, and Schulke claimed the Forest Service was allowing logging in areas where Mexican spotted owls lived. In 2010, a Forest Service spokeswoman denied this, stating logging did not occur in those areas and that owl nests had 100-acre protected zones. She suggested the founders might have been mistaken about logging in nearby areas. However, the Forest Service was incorrect. In December 1989, a petition to protect the Mexican spotted owl was filed, partly because 55% of the owl population lived in areas scheduled for logging. In March 1993, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed that the Forest Service was harming the owl and added it to the endangered species list, noting that 61% of the owl’s habitat was in areas open to logging.
By 2008, the Center for Biological Diversity expanded its mission to address global threats to biodiversity and climate change. In 2011, the Center reached a legal agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, requiring the agency to take action to protect 757 previously overlooked species. The Center employs both paid and unpaid lawyers to use lawsuits to drive change, claiming a 93% success rate for their cases. A 2010 article in the New York Times noted that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was the main target of the Center’s legal work. The agency stated that the many petitions and lawsuits over endangered species had used too many resources, making it harder to protect species effectively.
In 2017, the Center’s total revenue was over $20.1 million. By March 2019, the Center had at least 160 employees, including more than 40 lawyers.
Press
In 1989, an article in a New Mexico newspaper reported that the founders of a group claimed the Forest Service focused more on its relationship with large timber companies than on protecting forest wildlife for the public. After the article was published, efforts to save an old-growth tree and the species that lived there were successful. A critic reportedly called the Forest Service the "Forest Murder Service."
In 1994, Kieran Suckling, who later became the director of the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), stole hiking boots and slippers from a Wal-Mart. He admitted guilt and was fined $67. He later said the act was due to a mix of financial hardship and poor judgment, mostly the latter. The group’s board suspended him from his role for three months and stopped him from speaking to the media for six months. Some people began calling him the "Shoeman."
In 2005, an Arizona jury ruled that CBD owed $600,000 in damages to Jim Chilton, a rancher and businessman. CBD had tried to cancel Chilton’s permit to graze livestock on public land and posted photos on its website, claiming Chilton’s activities harmed wildlife and damaged the environment. Chilton’s lawyers showed wider photos of the same area, revealing healthy trees, green spaces, and areas used for events. The jury found CBD’s photos misleading. $100,000 of the judgment was for harm to Chilton and his business, while $500,000 was added to punish CBD and prevent similar actions. CBD argued its claims were protected by the First Amendment but lost its appeal and had to pay the judgment.
On June 13, 2007, the Center for Biological Diversity opposed a proposal by the George W. Bush administration to reduce protected areas for spotted owls in the Pacific Northwest. Noah Greenwald, a representative of the group, said the plan was part of a pattern of reducing protections for endangered species. The Center noted that the reduction was similar to 25 earlier decisions by the Bush administration, which cut protected areas by an average of 36 percent.
On December 16, 2008, the Center announced plans to sue the U.S. government over new regulations that would weaken the Endangered Species Act. The lawsuit, filed in California with Greenpeace and Defenders of Wildlife, criticized the Bush administration and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne. The Center argued the rules violated the law and skipped required public review. The regulations, proposed in August 2008, were approved quickly, with public comments reviewed in 2–3 weeks and environmental impacts analyzed briefly.
In 2015, the Center partnered with Conservation CATalyst to release a video of El Jefe, one of the last jaguars in the United States. The video, viewed by over 100 million people, raised awareness about jaguar conservation.
In 2019, the Center sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services program for killing thousands of native animals in Washington state. In 2020, the case concluded that Washington State had overstepped its authority, requiring restrictions on bear hunting.
In 2025, the Center sued the federal government, challenging the selection of an image for the 2026 America the Beautiful Pass.