Please, please sign and share this, in order to safeguard our Endangered Species Act. Defenders of Wildlife has made it easy for us to ask our representatives to say NO to #HR4315 #HR4316 #HR4317 #HR4318
Thank you!!!
The House Natural Resource Committee in April, passed the first wave of bills to emerge from a recent report that outlines a legislative strategy to weaken, or even eliminate, Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections and, ultimately, to increase the likelihood of future extinctions. These bills, expected to come to the House floor soon, are damaging to the ESA and should be opposed.
H.R. 4315 ("21st Century Endangered Species Transparency Act") directs the Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Commerce to post online the "best scientific and commercial data" underlying each proposed and final determination regarding the potential listing of a species. H.R. 4315 ignores the lack of agency resources to create such an online system involving massive amounts of data. Further, H.R. 4315 fails to account for real-world issues surrounding data sharing and thus would likely do more harm than good. H.R. 4315 ignores situations in which public disclosure of data could further imperil the species at issue--by facilitating poaching, for example. H.R. 4315 could also undermine scientists' work by requiring the release of some data before researchers have had their studies peer reviewed and published. Such a requirement would likely result in fewer scientists being willing to participate in the process of evaluating species' status. All told, this bill will only create bureaucratic hurdles that would likely delay the process of protecting species and distract from legitimate conservation efforts.
H.R. 4316 ("Endangered Species Recovery Transparency Act") would establish a burdensome set of reporting requirements that focus entirely on the costs of ESA enforcement cases without acknowledging or accounting for the important role citizen suits play in protecting species and holding federal agencies to the law. Rather than furthering transparency, H.R. 4316 would needlessly drain limited agency resources--all in the name of building a misleading case against citizen enforcement of the ESA. Despite repeated declarations by Rep. Hastings (R-WA) and others that enforcement actions have somehow derailed the ESA, the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has rejected such claims. Indeed, researchers recently concluded that citizen enforcement of the ESA has proven essential to the effective implementation of the Act. The House Natural Resources Committee's Republicans are already bombarding the Department of the Interior with document requests that have "significantly impacted the Department's ability to accomplish its core mission for the American people." H.R. 4316 would further squander agency resources and slow the ESA's implementation.
H.R. 4317 ("State, Tribal, and Local Species Transparency Act") directs that all data submitted by a state, tribal, or county government be deemed the "best scientific and commercial data available." Thus H.R. 4317 directs federal wildlife agencies to utilize state, tribal, and county provided data even if such data is not developed by scientists or of very poor quality. The "best scientific and commercial data available" already includes all state, tribal and county data, so long as it actually constitutes the best science available. H.R. 4317 also amends Section 6 of the ESA to direct federal wildlife agencies to provide all data used in listing decisions to states prior to making ESA listing decisions. This requirement is duplicative and unnecessary. Section 4 already requires the Secretaries of Interior and Commerce to give actual notice of any proposed listing determination to any affected state. Moreover, the federal wildlife agencies already work extensively with the states under Section 6 of the Act, which requires that the agencies "cooperate to the maximum extent practicable with the States." H.R. 4317 does nothing to improve the science used in ESA decisions. To the contrary, this bill would mandate the use of deficient and less sound scientific information.
H.R. 4318 ("Endangered Species Litigation Reasonableness Act") seeks to dissuade citizens from enforcing the Endangered Species Act by restricting their ability to recover litigation costs when they prevail in court. Under H.R. 4318, a prevailing citizen's request for reimbursement under the Endangered Species Act would be subject to the restrictions of the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA). EAJA affords a vital means of court access for citizens from across the political spectrum. EAJA's fee cap, however, can make it difficult for citizens to retain counsel. The cap on fees included in EAJA often falls well below market rates for attorneys. Further, H.R. 4318 would deny federal courts their existing authority under the ESA to ensure that any award of costs in ESA litigation is both "appropriate" and "reasonable" (Section 11). H.R. 4318 unnecessarily disrupts this judicial oversight and discretion. In subjecting ESA cases to EAJA's below-market cap on reimbursement, H.R. 4318 would make it more difficult for citizens from across the political spectrum to obtain counsel and challenge illegal government actions.
Please protect the Endangered Species Act, our nation's safety net for imperiled species, by opposing all of these harmful bills H.R. 4315, H.R. 4316, H.R. 4317 and H.R. 4318.
Thank you.
_______________________________________
SPEAK OUT AGAINST ATTACKS ON
THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT!
SAVE OUR SKINS!
Overview.
Action: Letter Campaign
Issue: ESA
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Speak Out Against Attacks on the Endangered Species Act
It's hard to understand how some in Congress think they were elected to sacrifice our wildest and most vulnerable creatures for political gain. This session, Congress took aim at the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the form of 13 different provisions that would strip funding and authority away from the ESA and its ability to protect our nation’s most vulnerable wildlife.
But, this grim anti-environment faction isn't quitting. Congress still needs to pass spending bills and when they do so, we expect a new wave of legislative attacks on the ESA and other cornerstone environmental laws.
A recent poll shows that most Americans agree on the importance of protecting endangered species. Ninety-two percent agree that decisions about wildlife management and which animals need protection should be made by scientists, not politicians; 90 percent agree that the ESA has helped hundreds of species recover from the brink of extinction; and 87 percent agree that the ESA is a successful safety net for protecting wildlife, plants and fish from extinction.
During the budget battle, we will be in the halls of Congress, as we have all along, to defend against attacks on the ESA.
Will you stand with us? We stand for keeping:
The polar bear's Arctic Ocean homeland, which already is feeling the impacts of climate change, free from unsafe and risky drilling practices
Salmon abundant and healthy in rivers threatened by political water deals
The haunting voice of gray wolves echoing throughout the Northern Rockies, where for decades it had been silenced
Please take time now to tell your Congressional representatives to support science-based wildlife management and to oppose any legislation that would weaken protections for any American wild animal and the Endangered Species Act.
The petition letter:
RE: Speak Out Against Attacks on the Endangered Species Act
Dear Congressional representatives,
Congress has taken aim at the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the past years by proposing to strip funding and authority away from the ESA and its ability to protect our nation's most vulnerable wildlife species.
I don't want to see Congress legislate the demise of wildlife in America. Please support science-based management and the full recovery of endangered species.
A recent poll shows that most Americans agree on the importance of protecting endangered species. Ninety-two percent agree that decisions about wildlife management and which animals need protection should be made by scientists, not politicians; 90 percent agree that the ESA has helped hundreds of species recover from the brink of extinction; and 87 percent agree that the ESA is a successful safety net for protecting wildlife, plants, and fish from extinction.
I am counting on you to protect our wildlife. Please oppose any legislation that would weaken protections for any American animal species and the Endangered Species Act.
PLEASE SIGN AND SHARE!
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HASTINGS' ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT "REFORM"
IS THE MOVIE "GROUNDHOG DAY"
ALL OVER AGAIN
By Jamie Rappaport Clark,
President and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife
Reposted from Defenders of Wildlife
February 5.2014
Rep. Doc Hastings recently released a report
and a set of proposals that would effectively gut the Endangered Species Act (ESA),
severely curtailing the act’s ability to protect the nation’s most imperiled species.
He calls it ESA “reform,” but the real goal of Rep. Hastings’ proposals is to drastically weaken or eliminate key protections in the ESA, long a goal of corporate special interests and polluters.
If you think that you have seen this “movie” before, you have. Just like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, I feel like I have relived this ESA “reform” moment numerous times before. While the lead characters may differ, the script is always the same. About every six years or so, some anti-environmental member of Congress decides that the time has come to “reform” the ESA into oblivion. Lest they be accused of championing the extinction of manatees or whooping cranes, they always first profess their deep love and support for endangered species, never hesitating to list some of the most beloved charismatic ones. Then they roll up their sleeves and lay out their plans for a step-by-step dismantling of the law.
There are important reasons though, why the ESA has endured.
Decades ago, when America faced smog-choked skies, polluted waterways and the near extinction of some of our most iconic species like the bald eagle and grizzly bear, the nation collectively decided that our treasured natural resources needed protection, that they were too valuable to our way of life and our economy to let perish or further degrade. Americans came together to safeguard our nation’s air, water and wildlife and our leaders passed some of this country’s bedrock environmental laws: the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.
But today, members of Congress like Rep. Hastings have turned their backs on the values our nation embraced decades ago when we passed these laws. They have forgotten or forsaken their responsibility as stewards of our natural resources.
And sadly, more and more, it seems too many members of Congress are siding with development, logging, oil and gas, mining, and other polluting industries, who for decades have laid blame for all types of economic maladies at the ESA’s door. The ESA is a law that these groups simply want to go away, and if it won’t go away, they want to make it meaningless. And it would appear they have an ally in Rep. Hastings.
Make no mistake: we can absolutely protect imperiled species and habitats for future generations, even as we grow our economy. In fact, when we work together to protect our natural resources, we reap numerous economic benefits.
Economists estimate that value provided by natural habitat in the nation’s 48 contiguous states amounts to $1.6 trillion annually – equivalent to more than 10 percent of the U.S. GDP.[1]
But fear-mongering that pits conservation against the economy is what people like Rep. Hastings seem to prefer and so he promotes tall tales to prove his points. In fact, it is just window dressing for gutting the ESA, a deregulation goal that Hastings and polluting industries have sought for decades.
Hastings and his friends can continue to throw false accusations at the ESA, but they can’t change the fact that, ultimately, support for or against the ESA will come down to a question of Americans’ values. Are we a country that still believes we should protect our nation’s imperiled wildlife heritage for future generations? Or are we going to abandon decades of meaningful endangered species progress and allow anti-environmental ideologues to dismember the ESA, accelerate species extinction, and pass on a more compromised environment to our children?
Because in the end, the bottom line is this: Rep. Hastings’ proposal will cause more extinctions by imposing new road blocks to listing new species deserving of the act’s support. It will also provide significant loopholes to circumvent wildlife protection. Worse still, it will cut out the ability of citizens and watchdog groups to make sure the government does its job and complies with the law.
So please think twice when you hear Rep. Doc Hastings and his congressional allies with anti-environmental voting records say it’s time to ‘reform’ the ESA. Their real goal is to make it go away, condemning us to a future without many of the incredible wildlife and plant species we have cherished for generations.
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Updated February 4. 2014
Join Defenders of Wildlife. Tell your Representatives to vote NO to H.R. 3590 and H.R. 3964 and H.R. 2954
Please ask your Representatives to OPPOSE H.R. 3590 - Going to floor today! War on Wolves continues!
Find your United States Senators here:
Find your United States House of Representatives here:
http://keepwolveslisted.blogspot.com/p/petitioning-u.html
Thank you Robin Chriss
Tell your Senators and Representatives:
DO NOT PASS
THE ENDANGERED SPECIES SELF DETERMINATION ACT
Bill S.1731 in the Senate and
Bill H.R.3533 in the House
http://keepwolveslisted.blogspot.com/p/petitioning-u.html
Read this and take action. Please.
This is truly horrifying. Do NOT allow this to pass.
All links to your state Congress are here:
Find your United States Senators here:
Write them. Call them. Fax them.
Tell them NO NO NO !
to H.R. 3533 and S. 1731
Full Text of H.R. 3533:
THE ENDANGERED SPECIES SELF DETERMINATION ACT
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr3533/text
And here's the really good part:
"Any action by the Governor of a State under this subsection shall not be subject to judicial review in any court of the United States or in any State court."
O
The Endangered Species Management Self-Determination Act known as Bill S.1731 in the Senate and as Bill H.R.3533 in the House is a new dangerous bill meant to give state governments more sway over land use decisions and would allow states to regulate endangered species. Sadly, we know all too well what state management of wildlife, especially of wolves, life looks like - cruelty and slaughter.
This bill was introduced by Senators Rand Paul (R-Ky) and Dean Heller (R-Nev), along with Rep Mark Amodei (R-Nev). Take note if you are a resident of these states and these are your Representatives.
The following quote from Rep. Amodei says it all:
“Bureaucrats in Washington should not be able to lock-up millions of acres of land and devastate entire local economies simply to avoid lawsuits from environmental organizations,” Amodei wrote. “Local governments should determine how best to manage their lands and have the ability to choose recovery plans that work for their state.”
Demand Congress opposes this bill
We need to flood our representatives with demands that they oppose this bill.
Contact the members of the House Committee on Natural Resources and let them know you oppose the bill
We are each represented by 2 Senators for our state and 1 Representative for our district. You can find out who your representatives are here. http://beta.congress.gov/
Watch this bill's progress.
You can watch the status of this bill by clicking here :
http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill/1731?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22Endangered+Species+Management+Self-Determination+Act%22%5D%7D
to watch its progress in the Senate and here in the House. See who opposes and who supports it and who you should be putting pressure on to stop this act.
BILL WOULD ALLOW STATES TO REGULATE ENDANGERED SPECIES
This news will have a direct impact on the protection of our wolves.
Please contact your Congresspeople , and tell them:
DO NOT PASS Senate Bill 1731 !!!
Find your United States Senators here:
Find your United States House of Representatives here:
Reposted from Oliver Starr with Good Wolf
BILL WOULD ALLOW STATES TO REGULATE ENDANGERED SPECIES
Please take a moment to snail mail, call, or email your representatives in Washington!
http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/energyenvironment/190811-bill-would-allow-states-to-regulate-endangered-species
Tea Party Bill Would Eviscerate Endangered Species Act
As America Celebrates 40th Anniversary of Landmark Law, Right-wing Senators Seek to Tear It Apart
WASHINGTON— Tea Party senators introduced a bill this week that would effectively end the protection of most endangered species in the United States and gut some of the most important provisions of the Endangered Species Act. Senate Bill 1731, introduced by Tea Party Sens. Rand Paul, Mike Lee and Dean Heller, would end protections for most of the species that are currently protected by the Act and make it virtually impossible to protect new species under the law. It would also eliminate protection for habitat that’s critical to the survival of rare and struggling animals and plants around the country.
“Here we are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act this year, and the Tea Party wants to tear it limb from limb,” said Brett Hartl, endangered species policy director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s really a sad testament to how out of touch the Tea Party has become with the American people, and how beholden they are to industry special interests that are more interested in profits than saving wildlife, wild places and a livable future for the next generation.”
In its 40-year history, the Endangered Species Act has been more than 99 percent successful at preventing extinction for wildlife under its protection and has put hundreds of plants and animals on the path to recovery, including bald eagles, grizzly bears, whales and sea turtles.
Despite this successful track record, the bill’s most extreme provision would require that every five years all protected species be removed from the list of threatened and endangered species, eliminating all legal protections. No matter how close to extinction they might be, every listed species would then have to wait until Congress passed a joint resolution renewing their protections under the Act for another five years. Five years later, this process would start over again, eliminating all protections until Congress passed another joint resolution.
“The strength of the Endangered Species Act — in fact all of our nation’s environmental laws — comes from the requirement that science, not politics, guide the protection of our wildlife, air and water,” said Hartl. “This bill would allow extreme ideologues in Congress to veto environmental protections for any protected species they wanted, just so they could appease their special-interest benefactors.”
The bill would eliminate all protections for the critical habitat of endangered species and allow state governments to effectively veto any conservation measures designed to protect an imperiled species within their respective state. Meanwhile federal wildlife agencies would need to complete onerous accounting reports to estimate the costs of protecting endangered species rather than completing tangible, on-the-ground conservation activities to protect species and the places they live.
“This bill would devastate species protections and open the door to log, mine and pave some of the last places on Earth where these animals survive,” Hartl said. “It’s a boon for profiteers like the Koch Brothers but will rob every American who values wildlife and wild places.”
Thank you to
Center for Biological Diversity
Artwork by Susan Seddon Boulet
PETITIONING THE U.S.SENATE
PROTECT THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT FROM CONGRESSIONAL ATTACKS
Petition by
Marjorie Mulhall, with Earthjustice
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