Dear Guardian,
Last week, the U.S. Congress passed an omnibus spending bill
that is a direct attack on the Endangered Species Act.
A rider attached to the must-pass spending legislation
blocks the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from adopting long-overdue
protections for imperiled sage grouse, which are teetering on the brink of
extinction.
Tell your Congressional Representatives: Never Again!
During happier times when Congress was wiser, the Endangered
Species Act was specifically crafted to prevent politicians from playing games
with native species on the brink of extinction. The Endangered Species Act
explicitly removes politics from decision-making, and requires decisions be
based on the best available science. The Act is the last hope for wildlife when
local efforts fail to ensure their survival.
By preventing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from doing
its job, this Congress took the fate of these imperiled charismatic western
birds out of the hands of qualified biologists, subjecting them to the greed and
shortsightedness of the oil & gas industry and its lobbyists. Both political
parties are to blame: The Republican House drafted this anti-wildlife rider,
but the Democratic Senate allowed it to get through.
Demand accountability today! Ask
your representatives to explain whether they voted for or against this
anti-wildlife legislation (and please follow up with a thank-you if they voted
“no”). Tell them that you value wildlife and healthy lands and that
Congressional attacks on our nation’s rarest and most imperiled wildlife are
unacceptable.
This crisis of conscience by the U.S. Congress demands a
nationwide response. Please circulate this alert widely to your friends who
love wildlife.
For the wild,
Bethany Cotton
Wildlife Program Director
WildEarth Guardians
bcotton@wildearthguardians.org