Defend the Endangered Species Act

The Endangered Species Act is our country’s most essential environmental law protecting plants and animals: it brought the bald eagle, our national bird, back from near extinction. Yet some members of Congress want to weaken the law and clear a path for industry to mine, log, and drill away our natural heritage. The threats to the law are very real and very serious.

Tell Congress you value native wildlife and want to see all imperiled species protected.

Note: Only U.S. Residents will be able to send an email targeting U.S. Congresspeople.

Photo Credit: WildEarth Guardians

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Dear [Decision Maker],

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I am writing to ask you to be a champion for imperiled wildlife and protect the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We, the American public, recognize the value of the ESA and support recovery and protection of our most imperiled plants and animals. Polls from 1999 and 2011 both show that 84 percent of the public, across both political parties, support the ESA. The public at large understands the law is an effective safety net providing balanced solutions to save animals and plants at risk of extinction.

This bedrock environmental law, passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, is wildly successful at doing what it is supposed to do: prevent extinction. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), only nine of the approximately 1,400 domestic species ever added to the list of threatened and endangered species have been declared extinct. Seven of these were most likely extinct before they received the Act's protection. The Act's success rate in preventing extinction is over 99 percent: can you say that about any other law? Research shows that by 2006, the ESA had prevented the extinction of at least 227 species. 
 
Portrayed by opponents as a rigid and draconian law that prevents land use and development, the ESA is actually one of our nation's most flexible laws. It offers a variety of tools and incentives for private landowners to participate in species conservation. A survey conducted between 1979-1999 found less than 1 percent of federally funded or permitted activities--two out of 11,000 projects reviewed annually--were prevented from moving forward due to protections for endangered species. Of all the projects reviewed under ESA section 7 requirements between 2008 and 2015, none were halted. The positive effects are many and broad: people recreating on our public lands once again have the opportunity to see species once nearly gone, including grizzly bears and bald eagles.

Preventing extinction is a moral imperative and an intelligent investment in our shared future. Whether you care about species because of their intrinsic right to exist and thrive, or because of moral, ethical, environmental, cultural, economic, medicinal, or religious reasons, support for preventing extinction is broad and deep and crosses partisan lines. Making room for all species alongside ourselves will lead to a healthier environment, which is good for all species, including humans.

I call on you to oppose all attacks on the ESA, whether by stand-alone legislation, misguided regulations or riders. Extinction is non-partisan. Preventing extinction should be non-partisan. Please use your power to keep the ESA strong and ensure our country's natural heritage remains intact for this and future generations.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State ZIP]