Tell Congress to defend the Endangered Species Act

Why this Matters

Legislation moving in Congress would gut the Endangered Species Act, the law that has kept species from disappearing since Nixon signed it in 1973. The list of animals it protects reads like a description of this coast. Coho salmon run up the Alsea. Marbled murrelets nest in old-growth in the Siuslaw and feed in the surf where we walk. Southern resident orcas that pass offshore are down to a number small enough to count. The northern spotted owl is still here because of this law. Weakening the Act does not make those species less endangered, it just removes the requirement that anyone do something about it.

Steps to Take

Step 1

Send your message through Sierra Club's Defend the Endangered Species Act action page.

Step 2

Name a species you have actually seen. A murrelet at Cape Perpetua, a coho in the Alsea, a gray whale off Yaquina Head. Specific beats general every time.

Step 3

Point out that the Act works. It is one of the few conservation laws with a measurable record of pulling species back from the edge, and that record is the argument.

Step 4

Ask your representative and senators to oppose any bill that narrows listing criteria, weakens critical habitat designation, or shortens consultation requirements.

Sample Text

Option 1

I am asking you to defend the Endangered Species Act. I live on the Oregon Coast, where this law is the reason we still have coho in our rivers and marbled murrelets in our forests. My family watches gray whales migrate past every year. None of that is guaranteed, and all of it depends on a law that requires the federal government to act before a species is gone rather than after. Please oppose legislation that weakens it.

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Option 2

The Endangered Species Act has worked for more than fifty years, which is why it is under attack. It is the last line of defense for salmon, orca, wolves, and grizzlies. Gutting the listing process or narrowing critical habitat does not solve any real problem, it just makes it easier to approve projects that would otherwise have to answer for their damage. Please vote against any bill that does this.