Fri 9/6: Congress is back on Monday! Let them know that saving our wildlife heritage should be their priority too. There is no Plan “B” after extinction.

4 out of 5 Americans supp ort the Endangered Species Act.

Action #1 -Ask your legislators to use the “Congressional Review Act” against the GOP’s attack on the Endangered Species Act.

“Within hours of Monday’s announcement, the state attorneys general of California and Massachusetts joined a conservation group, Defenders of Wildlife, in declaring the changes illegal and vowing to challenge them in court.”You can anticipate that we will see many states join this action,” said Maura Healey, attorney general of Massachusetts. “The way this was done was illegal under federal laws and this is an administration that needs to be held accountable. These changes violate the purpose of the Endangered Species Act and sounds like the plan of a cartoon villain and not the president of the United States.”

On Monday, the Trump administration, against all scientific advice and the will of the American people, announced new rules to weaken the Endangered Species Act, a bedrock law which has protected some 1600 plant and animal species by preventing economic interests from influencing which species are declared as endangered. The ESA brought the bald eagle, the American alligator, the California condor, the humpback whale and the grizzly bear back from the brink of extinction, so we can still be thrilled when we see one. This priority is now being reversed. Our legislators need to invoke the Congressional Review Act to block the gutting of our wildlife in favor of the fossil fuel industry. This action empowers Congress to review new federal regulations issued by government agencies and overrule them with a joint resolution. Congress has 60 days to do this.

Federal: Minimal script: I’m calling from [zip code] to urge Rep./Sen. [___] to invoke the Congressional Review Act to block implementation of the administration’s changes to the 1973 Endangered Species Act.

Minimal script to our Governor: I’m calling to urge Governor Newsom to take the strongest possible action to fight the rollback of protections to endangered species within California and that I support State Attorney Becerra’s action to challenge the administration in court.

Contact

Rep. Julia Brownley (CA-26): email,DC (202) 225-5811, Oxnard (805) 379-1779, T.O. (805) 379-1779
or Rep. Salud Carbajal (CA-24): email. DC (202) 225-3601, SB (805) 730-1710 SLO (805) 546-8348
Senator Feinstein: email, DC (202) 224-3841, LA (310) 914-7300, SF (415) 393-0707, SD (619) 231-9712, Fresno (559) 485-7430
and Senator Harris: email, DC (202) 224-3553, LA (213) 894-5000, SAC (916) 448-2787, Fresno (559) 497-5109, SF (415) 355-9041, SD (619) 239-3884
Who is my representative/senator?: hq-salsa.wiredforchange.com
Governor Newsom: (916) 445-2841

Action #2 – Send a letter to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt.

The NRDC has a letter outline ready to send to Trump, Wilbur Ross and David Bernhardt. You can use some or all of their model but PERSONALIZE it, especially at the beginning. Letter form here.

Talk about what wildlife means to you. Include the lengths you’ve gone to in order to see wildlife.
Talk about how you want your grandchildren to feel that shiver of awe when a huge bird of prey flies overhead. Or when they see a bear, or a wolf.
Talk about how the economics of protecting wildlife for eco-tourism far outweighs the profits to extractive industries.
If you are religious, add information on how the Bible mandates the responsibility mankind has towards other creatures. Great resource here. Even the story of Noah’s ark emphasizes that all the creatures of the world, not just livestock for human consumption, be saved from the flood. Noah is commanded ” …to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth.”