The Endangered Species Act is on the chopping block in Congress. Within weeks, Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA) plans to introduce legislation to drastically weaken and even repeal protections for endangered and threatened plants and wildlife.  Your help is needed to stop this attack on the Endangered Species Act and the creatures it protects. Please ask your Representative to oppose the Pombo extinction bill.

To send an automatic fax to your representative and for more information, visit the Center for Biological Diversity’s action alert page at http://actionnetwork.org/campaign/ESA05

What's At Stake?

For more than thirty years, the Endangered Species Act has helped save wildlife, fish, and plants from the brink of extinction. 99% of all the species listed under the Act are still with us today, and hundreds of species would likely have gone extinct without its protection.

Now, long-time Endangered Species Act opponent Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Ca.) plans to gut and then repeal this cornerstone conservation law. Rep. Pombo's proposed bill would repeal the Endangered Species Act in 2015, and in the meantime drastically weaken the Act. Had Pombo's bill been made law in 1973 instead of the Endangered Species Act, there would be no bald eagles, wolves, grizzly bears, Florida panthers, or desert pupfish in the continental U.S. today. If it is made law in the future, hundreds of endangered species could become extinct.

Rep. Pombo is expected to introduce his bill either in July before Congress leaves for its August recess, or when Congress returns in September.

What you can do: Send a letter to your Congressperson

Sample letter:

Subject: Please oppose Rep. Pombo's extinction bill

Dear [decision maker],

For more than thirty years, the Endangered Species Act has helped save wildlife, fish, and plants from the brink of extinction. 99% of all the species listed under the Act are still with us today, and hundreds of species would likely have gone extinct without its protection.

Now House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo is proposing legislation to drastically weaken, and even repeal, the Endangered Species Act. Chairman Pombo's "TESRA" bill would repeal the Endangered Species Act in 2015, and would immediately:

- Eliminate the requirement to recover endangered species

- Reduce protection of threatened species and critical habitat areas

- Politicize and eliminate scientific decision-making

- Eliminate independent federal oversight

- Bury federal biologists under mountains of useless paperwork

- Bankrupt the federal agencies by diverting conservation funds to pay landowners and corporation to obey the law

- Encourage an increase in industry litigation.

I urge you to oppose Rep. Pombo's wildlife extinction bill and support a strong Endangered Species Act.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]

If you would like to be removed from this e-mail list, please notify me by return e-mail.

************************************

Jeff Miller, Director

Alameda Creek Alliance

P. O. Box 192

Canyon, CA 94516

(510) 499-9185

Fax (415) 436-9683

E-mail alamedacreek@hotmail.com

Web site www.alamedacreek.org

“Protecting and restoring the natural ecosystems of the Alameda Creek watershed”

The Alameda Creek Alliance is a non-profit community watershed group.  Please support our efforts by becoming a member.