Search
Close this search box.

Action Alert: Help Stop Another Attack on the Endangered Species Act

On Tuesday, July 17 — tomorrow! — the Senate Environment and Public Works committee will hold a hearing on what is perhaps the most egregious attack to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to date.

We need you to stand with Maine Audubon and our conservation allies across the country in solidarity against this bill by signing our petition, below.

Senator John Barrasso’s (R-Wyoming) “Endangered Species Act Amendments of 2018” is nothing more than a politically motivated attempt to undermine this successful, popular law at the expense of sound science and the conservation of imperiled species.

I know that the Endangered Species Act works — for wildlife and for people. As the Director of Maine Audubon’s Piping Plover & Least Tern Recovery Project, I’ve seen these shorebirds make significant progress under the ESA. I’ve also witnessed first hand how the ESA facilitates cooperative relationships between landowners, volunteers, municipalities, and biologists. Senator Barrasso’s bill would erode this important law.

Please take a moment to add your name to our letter urging Maine’s Congressional delegation to stand up to attacks to the ESA. Your signature will show that Maine people are paying attention — and that we won’t accept any effort to weaken the ESA. Thank you.

To the Maine Congressional Delegation,

We, the undersigned birders and supporters of Maine wildlife, urge you to protect the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and to oppose the numerous threats in Congress that would weaken or undermine the ESA’s effectiveness.

The Endangered Species Act is one of our nation’s most successful environmental laws, and provides an essential safety net for imperiled species. A report released in 2016 by the American Bird Conservancy found that populations of 78 percent of U.S. mainland birds once listed as threatened or endangered under the ESA are now stable, increasing, or have recovered enough to be delisted. The Piping Plover is a bird that needs sandy beaches to raise its young, but development and heavy human use can put these birds at risk. Thanks to the ESA, beach managers, biologists, and private landowners are successfully working together to make sure people and plovers can share Maine’s beaches.

As bird populations face increasing threats from habitat loss, invasive species, pesticides, and climate change, the need for the Endangered Species Act remains as strong as ever. These species are part of our natural heritage, and we owe it to future generations to protect them. We are counting on you to keep federal protections like the Endangered Species Act intact as a critical lifeline to save America’s wildlife from extinction.

Please protect and defend the Endangered Species Act, our nation’s most effective and important law for species conservation.

Thank you for your consideration.

Please note that this letter has been sent and we are no longer accepting signatures. Thank you.