Wildlife Protection

Senior Counsel

Peter has been an environmental, land use, and consumer attorney and advocate since 1983. He has held various roles in Washington, DC including Of Counsel at the Center for Food Safety; Vice President for U.S. Government Policy at Conservation International; Director of International Conservation at Defenders of Wildlife; and Staff Attorney at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Additionally, he worked as a contracted consultant on endangered species recovery efforts with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Turner Endangered Species Fund in New Mexico. Prior to that, he served as an Attorney and Policy Analyst for the U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, and was also in private law practice. His career has centered on bringing the best science to bear in environmental protection efforts; he has specialized in working with scientists so their findings can inform good policy, as well as in federal litigation. Most of his work has been in aid of wildlife conservation in the fields of pesticides, genetically modified organisms, invasive species, wildlife disease prevention, international trade, land use conflicts, and other areas. Peter received his law degree from the University of Puget Sound (now Seattle University) School of Law and also has a master’s degree in Environmental Studies from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, with a focus on conservation biology.

COMMENTARY | Letter to the EPA: Take Action on “Devil’s Bargain” Pesticides

by Peter Jenkins | March 27, 2023
The environment needs protection from neonic-coated seeds, which are by far the broadest pesticide/insecticide application across the country ...

PEERMail | Whales on the Brink of Extinction

by PEER | March 21, 2023
At least three large whale species in U.S. waters are on the brink of extinction and ship strikes are the leading cause of death ...

National Strategy to Avoid Whale Ship Strikes Proposed

by PEER | March 15, 2023
Increase in Ship Size and Traffic Drive Whales to Extinction in U.S. Waters ...

BLM Oil Exemptions Threaten Sage Grouse in Wyoming

by PEER | March 8, 2023
Groups Ask for Immediate Moratorium on Waiver of Habitat Protections ...

US budget riders compromise conservation

by Kyla Bennett | February 28, 2023
The use of appropriations riders as shortcuts to pass policies to circumvent environmental laws put endangered species at risk ...

Congressional Rider Condemns Right Whale to Extinction

by PEER | February 27, 2023
In Letter Featured in Science, Experts Decry Entanglement Protections Delay ...