Action – They are voting to exterminate the endangered gray wolf today in the House. Call your representative this morning!
Kitty Block, acting president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, issued the following statement: “Some members of Congress and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are moving to remove federal protections from wildlife threatened with extinction. This is shameful pandering to a vocal minority of special interests and an affront to American taxpayers who have supported and underwritten decades of efforts restoring these species. The duty of the federal government is to protect threatened and endangered species, not to pander to trophy hunters and predator-control agents.”
Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] to ask rep. [_____] to vote “NO” on HR 6784 – “Manage our Wolves” Act.
Contacts
Rep. Julia Brownley: (CA-26): DC (202) 225-5811, Oxnard (805) 379-1779, T.O. (805) 379-1779
or Rep. Salud Carbajal: (CA-24): DC (202) 225-3601, SB (805) 730-1710 SLO (805) 546-8348
Other Contacts: http://www.phoneyourrep.com
Background
(defenders.org) “On the same day it is holding a congressional hearing on an extinction package that would cripple endangered species protections, the House Natural Resources Committee approved a bill that will strip the gray wolf of endangered species protections throughout the continental United States. Referred to as the “Manage our Wolves Act,” H.R. 6784 removes all gray wolves from the federal endangered species list and gives full management control to individual states.
Jason Rylander, senior staff attorney at Defenders of Wildlife, issued this statement:
“Science, not politics, should decide when to list and delist species. Gray wolf recovery is well underway, but the work is not done. If Congress really is committed to preserving and protecting wildlife, they would spend their time finding the funding needed to recover species, not attacking the process.”
- This bill directs the FWS to promulgate an administrative rulemaking to delist the gray wolf throughout the continental United States. The gray wolf is currently listed as endangered in most of the lower-48 states.
- While the return of gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains and the Great Lakes has been an incredible success story, this iconic American species still only occupies a small portion of its former range and wolves have only just started to re-enter areas like northern California, where there are large swaths of suitable habitat. This bill would reverse the incredible progress that the ESA has achieved for this species over the past few decades.
- This bill precludes judicial review of the FWS’s administrative delisting, thus furthering a damaging trend of Congress undermining the ability of Americans to seek out justice and defend our civil rights, public health, and environment.
- Text of the bill can be found here. The final vote was 19 to 15 in favor of the bill with no amendments.
Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With over 1.8 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit Newsroom.Defenders.org and follow us on Twitter @DefendersNews.
More reading: House committee to vote on removing federal protecction for gray wolves. (animalwelfareinstitute)
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