Help Protect the Endangered Species Act!

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Jamila

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Legislation to significantly change the way science is used to protect endangered species has passed out of committee and is expected to be voted on by the entire House later this week. The bill would cripple federal efforts to protect and preserve wildlife and their habitats. Please protect the Endangered Species Act today by sending a letter to your representative urging a NO vote on H.R. 3824.


Here is a sample letter:



Dear Representative,


I urge you to vote NO on H.R. 3824. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) has successfully protected wildlife, fish, and plant species from the brink of extinction and we must continue to use independent science to preserve and protect both threatened and endangered species, as well as their habitats.


I am concerned the bill will greatly undermine protection of habitat that species need for survival. The legislation would roll back protection for endangered species by eliminating requirements that allow for a species' recovery.


The use of science in protecting wildlife is an invaluable service to the ESA. H.R. 3824 includes several provisions that will dramatically undermine the use of independent science in listing species, determining necessary habitats, and ensuring future survival. For example, while the ESA leaves the decision of what constitutes the "best available scientific data" to scientists, H.R. 3824 would transfer this authority to the Secretary of the Interior, a political appointee.


This bill would cripple federal efforts to protect and preserve wildlife and their habitats and would adversely change the way science informs ESA decisions. Please vote NO on H.R. 3824 and help ensure a future for countless threatened and endangered species. I look forward to a response from you on how you intend to vote on this legislation.



Sincerely


_________________________________________

What's At Stake:
The Endangered Species Act has protected numerous species of wildlife, fish and plants from the brink of extinction. Since the Act was signed in 1973, its protections have been enormously successful, keeping more than 99 percent of listed species from extinction. Today, the Act is under siege. Representative Richard Pombo (R-CA) has introduced a bill that will irreparably damage this historic Act.

Currently, the Act requires the designation and protection of habitat that is “essential to the conservation of the species,” including recovery. H.R. 3824 repeals the requirement for critical habitat designation. While requiring recovery plans and recommending that they identify certain areas occupied by the species that are of “special value” to the conservation of the species, there are not guidelines as to what "special value" means. The bill also prohibits the federal government from issuing across-the-board regulations pertaining to these plans.


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Information provided by the Union of Concerned Scientists

http://www.ucsusa.org

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Please help protect the Endangered Species Act.

:up:


Thank you for your time and concern about the future of some of America's most endangered wildlife. :)
 
Thanks Jamila.....will do...

Actually, I've got my own "edangered" situation at the moment..it's not about animals that is. It's about me. I'm about to be officially a homeless person in about 5 days. And I mean this in the worst possible way. Hello Angel has moved my post to Zoo Confessionals, I hope you'll at least take the time to read it. Sorry to spill my guts online but when you read the post you'll understand better....
 
Teta - I will read about your situation in Zoo Confessionals.

I won't say that I'm sorry (even though I am) because people don't need words when they are in the situation you're in - they need help. :ohmy:

I have been telling people in this forum for the last two months that this can easily be my fate in the next two months if something doesn't change soon (like someone who will pay a liveable wage to hire me).

People in this forum have castigated me and disbelieved that this situation could happen to someone who can post on Interference.

Now it is (temporarily I hope) is happening to you.:sad:

Keep in contact with me if you want. I can't offer much but I can offer that listening ear since I'm in the middle of something very similar right now.

And thanks to AvsGirl41 for helping protect our natural wildlife.:wink:
 
The Endangered Species Act is endangered! The landmark law that has protected so many threatened species -- from eagles to salmon to bears -- is being targeted by a powerful Congressman. If we don’t act now, the law will be twisted to protect developer profits instead of wildlife on the brink of extinction.

Tell Congress to protect endangered species, not developer profits.

This week the House will vote on a bill by Rep. Richard Pombo (CA) to severely weaken the Endangered Species Act. Rep. Pombo took more than $340,000 from agribusiness and energy companies in the last election, and his bill shows it. It’s tilted in favor of developers and would strip away protections for truly endangered animals.

The Pombo Bill does away with critical habitat -- one of the most effective ways to save endangered species. It would also repeal all provisions that shield wildlife from the harmful impact of pesticides. And it would allow Bush Administration political appointees to continue to manipulate science to fit their political agenda.

Save our wildlife and wild places.

On top of that, this bill would make us pay developers to comply with the law: It requires taxpayers to compensate developers for complying with the Endangered Species Act and sets no limits on these payments. This provision would set a dangerous precedent of paying companies simply to comply with the law and would drain funding that is urgently needed to protect wildlife and their habitat. If that sounds crazy, that’s because it is.

Please help us stop this assault on one of our nation’s most important environmental laws. For decades the Endangered Species Act has protected threatened animals and wild places -- now we’ve go to protect it.


Sincerely,

Deb Callahan
President
League of Conservation Voters
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http://www.lcv.org

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Conservation is a votable issue - please let your Congressperson know that!

:up:
 
Who's Deb Callahan?

FYM should have some more universal threads on thngs like this. Half this forum is from overseas, ie the US.
:wink:
 
The Endangered Species Act should be re-thought. It is the tail wagging the dog and, for example, has a direct impact on the ability to provide affordable housing.
 
If it wasn't for the Endangered Species Act, nb, the American bald eagle would be extinct by now.

Preservation of our national symbol (the American bald eagle) was one of the reasons the Endangered Species Act was created.

:yes:

In my post, Deb Callahan is identified as the president of the League of Conservation Voters

http://www.lcv.org

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Here is a corroborating article why preservation of the Endangered Species Act and other conservation measures are so critically important to the healthy survival of our planet:

http://animal.discovery.com/news/afp/20050919/amphibians.html
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Amphibians on Verge of Planetary Extinction
AFP


Sept. 21, 2005 — Scientists on Monday proposed a vast plan to rescue amphibians from planetary extinction, warning that inaction could have disastrous environmental consequences.

The conservation plan, which would cost $400 million over a four-year period, is "the most ambitious" ever proposed to prevent the extinction of species, said a declaration issued by the international Amphibian Conversation Summit held in Washington, D.C.

The call to action is designed to address the precipitous decline of amphibians documented for the past 20 years due to the loss of habitats and diseases linked to global warming.


The endangered class of vertebrates includes frogs, toads, salamanders and caecilians — legless animals that resemble earthworms.

The plan represents the only hope of addressing an extinction crisis "unlike anything that the world has previously experienced," said the statement, issued by scientists meeting under the auspices of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

Nearly a third of amphibians, representing 1,856 species, are threatened with extinction and 122 others have been declared extinct since 1980, the scientists said.

The declaration appeals to "governments, the business sector, civil society and the scientific community for urgent and immediate adoption" of the plan.

The scientists called specifically for expanded research into a fungal disease, chytridiomycosis, which has decimated amphibian populations. They also urged efforts to document the range of amphibian species, combat global warming, protect key areas for amphibian survival and breed endangered species in captivity.

The conference described amphibians as playing an essential role in the planet's ecosystems by regulating insect populations that would otherwise damage crops or spread diseases. These animals are the proverbial "canaries in the global coal mine," the declaration stated.

"It is the worst crisis of the modern era," said Claude Gascon, vice president of Conservation International, which co-hosted the meeting.

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Please help be a good steward of the land and the inhabitants thereof.... :angel:
 
Two items from above which need to be stressed:


If it wasn't for the Endangered Species Act, nb, the American bald eagle would be extinct by now.

Preservation of our national symbol (the American bald eagle) was one of the reasons the Endangered Species Act was created.

and

Nearly a third of amphibians, representing 1,856 species, are threatened with extinction and 122 others have been declared extinct since 1980, the scientists said.


Those two points should stop and make us think right there about what we're doing to our environment. :tsk:
 
Have you ever considered how many species become extinct through natural processes?

While the Act does protect some animals, like the American Bald Eagle, it can be used to stop development with a finding of some sub-species of rat or other creature.
 
nb, the scientists above are not talking about the natural extinction of species - they are very blunt (as other scientists have been) in laying the aggravated rate of species extinction directly due to loss of species' natural habitant due to uncontrolled development of land.

:(
 
And here is the latest from Congress:


Just moments ago, the U.S. House of Representatives hastily - and narrowly - approved the first major changes to the Endangered Species Act since 1988. This vote represents the most serious attack on endangered species protections I have seen in the nearly 30 years I have been working on these issues.

As the debate on this legislation moves to the Senate, Environmental Defense is calling on leaders there to proceed more cautiously. In the days and weeks ahead, we will be enlisting your support as the fight in the Senate heats up.


Today's vote in the House takes direct aim at our endangered species protections. It complicates both listing new species and implementing recovery plans for species already on the list. Unfortunately, the losers are the nation's bald eagles, ocelots, grizzly bears, ivory-billed woodpeckers and other endangered species.


The Senate has an opportunity to act more responsibly, and we urge them to do so.


The Senate stepped between the overly-hasty House and rare plants and animals once before. In 1978, the House was roiled that the Supreme Court stopped construction of a dam in Tennessee to protect endangered fish. It passed a bevy of crippling amendments to the ESA. The Senate rejected virtually everything the House had done and the Endangered Species Act survived.


Because the Senate stood strong, whooping crane numbers have increased ten-fold, California condors soar in the Grand Canyon, wolves roam in Yellowstone and black-footed ferrets are once again found in the Great Plains. The ESA has also helped restore our national symbol, the American bald eagle, from a few hundred pairs to over 8,000 pairs in the continental United States.


If successes such as these are to continue, the Senate must again reject the overreaching of the House.


In the weeks and months ahead as the fight to protect endangered species moves to the Senate, we need your help to win the battle there, so please stand by.


Thank you for your commitment to protect America's natural heritage.

Sincerely,

Michael Bean
Chairman of the Wildlife Program
Environmental Defense


http://www.environmentaldefense.org
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I will continue to provide reputable sources in support of the Endangered Species Act to explain just HOW VITALLY IMPORTANT to the survival of U.S. wildlife this legislation is.

Thank you for your time and concern. :hug:
 
Jamila said:
nb, the scientists above are not talking about the natural extinction of species - they are very blunt (as other scientists have been) in laying the aggravated rate of species extinction directly due to loss of species' natural habitant due to uncontrolled development of land.

:(

Now I'm as much of an animal lover as the next person, but I'll tell you froim personal experience, no legislation can stop the types of destruction responsible for the endangering of once common reptiles and amphibians (at least in West Michigan). My family has rented property on the same lake for over 65 years. When I was little, my uncle would take us on frog hunts (yes, we'd let them all go when we were done) and we'd easily scoop up 35 green, bull, and leopard frogs in an hour. But then, everyone else on the lake decided that they simply couldn't have fun unless they owned 3 sea-doos, 2 speed boats, and one pontoon boat per family. The boats polluted the water and tore out a lot of the water plants (the lake at it's deepest is 24 feet and most sections are only 12 deep in the middle). Then, these people bought all of the properties surrounding the protected coves that were full of animals and plants. Instead of just being happy that they could own a nice cottage and enjoy nature, they paid someone to dredge these sections of the lake and remove all the wildlife so they could use their watercrafts.

So how can legislation tell people they can't by yet ANOTHER stupid watercraft? Mind you, I'd be perfectly happy if there were laws of this nature, but you just can't tell people what "toys" they can and cannot buy.

Anyway, my point is that we don't need these big Acts to make a difference, we need normal people to just STOP wasting resources and destroying land just so they can have their weekend fun.
 
LivLuv - you make my point perfectly.

Since people are not willing to stop their destructive behaviors in society is the REASON WHY LAWS TO PROTECT SOCIETY ARE MADE!

So, by your own admission, our destructive ways of treating our environment is causing the environment to suffer and put species at risk.

So, if we're not willing to stop this selfish behavior on our own, the government has EVERY RIGHT AND RESPONSIBILITY to enact legislation to try to protect species and stop our destructive behavior.

Your rationale is like saying because you can't stop people from their pedophile behavior, then society shouldn't try to stop that destructive behavior to some of society's most vunerable population. :ohmy:

We need BIG Acts to let people know that their destructive behavior WILL HAVE NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES for them - whether in fines or jail time.

Sometimes those sorts of consequences is the only way to ultimately change people's behavior - which is what I surmise you want. ( a change in people's behavior)
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Be a good steward of the land and the inhabitants thereof....:yes:
 
Lies speaks to personal responsibility which I support. The Act is a broadbrush attempt to achieve a lesser goal, with significant negative consequences to people. The Act needs fine tuning.
 
But Jamila, how do these BIG ACTS address things like putting too much stress on concentrated, local environments because of increased use of vehicles and watercraft? I don't see how they address this issue at all....
 
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