Washington, DC — In response to the release of 9 bills that would undermine the Endangered Species Act by House Republicans, the Endangered Species Coalition released the following statement from Program Director Tara Thornton:
“Rep. Bishop and other anti-wildlife Republicans in Congress are not content to try and sell our beloved public lands, but have been relentless in their efforts to undermine our most important safety net for fish and wildlife on the brink of extinction. The Endangered Species Act is one of our most successful conservation laws, having prevented the disappearance of hundreds of imperiled species. Thanks to Endangered Species Act, humpback whales still swim our coasts and bald eagles still soar our skies. It sad that some members of Congress and the special interests they take money from wish to deny future generations of Americans the opportunity to enjoy our amazing wildlife.”
Although some members of Congress have been seeking to weaken the Act, public opinion research indicates that the law continues to maintain broad, bipartisan, public support. A 2015 poll conducted by Tulchin Research found that 90 percent of American voters across all political, regional and demographic lines support the Endangered Species Act.
The Endangered Species Act was a landmark conservation law that passed with overwhelming bipartisan support: 92-0 in the Senate, and 394-4 in the House. In 2017, more than 400 organizations signed a letter to members of Congress opposing efforts to weaken the Endangered Species Act, noting the law has a 99 percent success rate, including some of the country’s most exciting wildlife recoveries, like the bald eagles, humpback whales, American alligators, Channel Island foxes, Tennessee purple coneflowers, and more.
Scientific consensus indicates that we are in the sixth wave of extinction. The main tool in the United States to battle this human-caused crisis is the Endangered Species Act, which has been very effective in keeping species from sliding into extinction.
5 comments on “House Unleashes Barrage of Bills to Weaken Endangered Species Act”
Recently I worked in Texas on the restoration of the Whooping Crane habitat with Earthwatch. Our work and similar programs are critical to the significant improvement in the population of Whooping Cranes; going from about 14 living birds to now over 400 in the flock. The Endangered Species act was a critical step in the restoration as has it been in many other species. Here in Michigan the Kirtland’s Warbler is another example of success all because of the dramatic efforts of funding and work from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the support of the Smithsonian Institute and thousands of hours of volunteer work. Protection and ecological management of the wild habitat is critical to these continued protection efforts.
We, as caretakers of our planet must take our mission to protect our wild endemic species. In achieving this, we need to understand that, as a species we must treat all animals with due respect for their sentiency, meaning that they feel pain as we do. We do not “own” animals simply because we share space with them on the planet, just as they don’t “own” us. They are not our property. This extends to animals that carnivorous humans slaughter and eat, and to animals that humans make slaves of to “entertain” us. Can’t we let go and let them be free to thrive in their natural environments? We need to have some dignity and humility as we go about living in our little world.
Our Wild Life needs to b protected..Y don’t u people ever learn from past mistakes, or do is u just don’t care about our wildlife and environment and just care about the money. Don’t u have enough of money???
To threaten the endangered species or wildlife in general is an atrocity and must be fought at the highest level. What is the purpose?