WVEC Action Memo

July 20 , 2005

Below:


From:    American Lands Alliance & The Endangered Species Coalition
Date:    July 13, 2005

Pombo Gearing Up to Introduce Wildlife Extinction Bill
Calls Needed to Congress to Urge Opposition

House Resources Committee Chair Richard Pombo has tipped his hand. Details of his planned Anti-Endangered Species Act legislation have been circulated on Capitol Hill and written about in the New York Times and other major papers.   (See http://www.stopextinction.org/ for this coverage.)

The Endangered Species Act is a safety net that protects wildlife, fish and plants on the brink of extinction.   Rep. Pombo's bill would cut large holes in this safety net.   In the coming months, Congress will likely vote on Pombo's plan to gut the Endangered Species Act.   It is critical that Members of Congress stand up for our natural heritage and oppose his scheme to repeal the protections that the Endangered Species Act provides.  

We need your help to stop this bill.  

TAKE ACTION:   Please call or write your Representative and ask them to oppose Representative Pombo's bill that would weaken the protections of the Endangered Species Act.

To call your Representative dial the Capitol switchboard at:   (202) 224-3121

To email your Representative look up the e-address at: http://www.house.gov/

Background

Representative Pombo's Developers' Wildlife Extinction bill would gut the Endangered Species Act on behalf of developers, oil companies, timber companies, mining companies and extreme property rights groups.   We have not yet seen the full legislative language, but have seen a summary of the major points.  

According to reports, the bill would:

  • Expire the Endangered Species Act in the year 2015
  • Change the definition of conservation, to abandon the nation's commitment to recovering species on the brink of extinction
  • Redefine the definition of endangered species so that the species must be endangered throughout its entire range.   (If this provision was law when the ESA was first enacted, it would have been impossible to list the bald eagle, the grizzly bear, the gray wolf and many other species who are endangered in the lower 48, but not endangered in Alaska or Canada.)
  • Weaken protections for species listed as "threatened" under the law
  • Weaken habitat protection, by requiring only occupied, and not unoccupied, habitat be protected
  • Exempt federal agencies from the requirement to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on actions that might impact endangered species
  • Require the federal government to pay landowners for the cost of complying with the law, under an onerous "takings" provision

The Endangered Species Act is a safety net that protects wildlife, fish and plants on the brink of extinction.   It has been enormously successful in preventing the extinction of hundreds of species, including bald eagles, gray wolves and Pacific salmon. We must not diminish protections for these magnificent animals, or for the places they call home.

For more information, visit http://www.stopextinction.org/

Lisa Dix
National Forest Program Director
American Lands Alliance
ldix@americanlands.org
Ph: 202-547-9105; Fax: 202-547-9213

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From:   American Lands Alliance
Date:    July 15, 2005

Call on Congress to Eliminate Federal Timber Sale Program Subsidies
Ask Your Representative to Cosponsor NFPRA Today

Representatives Jim Leach (R-IA) and Louise Slaughter (D-NY) are getting ready to introduce the National Forest Protection and Restoration Act (NFPRA).   The NFPRA would protect and restore national forests by redirecting federal spending of over $1 billion in yearly timber sale subsidies to put rural communities to work restoring forests. It will save taxpayers money, reduce the deficit, cut corporate welfare and help communities adapt to wildland fire.

TAKE ACTION:  

Call your Representative at 202-224-3121 and ask them to help end taxpayer waste and sign up to be an original cosponsor of the National Forest Protection and Restoration Act today .  

Background

Over 130 members of Congress have endorsed the National Forest Protection and Restoration Act in the past, as well as over 220 Ph.D. scientists, including Pulitzer Prize winning author Dr. Edward O. Wilson, 200 conservation organizations, religious groups, businesses, and, according to numerous polls, the majority of the American public. Even large Fortune 500 companies such as Staples Office Supply, Inc. and Lowe's Hardware made specific commitments in support of ending federal subsidies for public lands logging.   For more information go to: http://www.forestadvocate.org/campaigns/protect&restore/about.htm

Talking Points

  • Preserves America's national forest heritage, protecting and restoring the ecological values of our federal public forests by ending the federal government's timber sale program on National Forests, National Wildlife Refuges, BLM Lands, and National Parks.
  • Saves taxpayers over $300 million annually.
  • Redirects logging subsidies towards scientifically-based ecological restoration of native biological diversity.
  • Protects communities by reducing the incidence of severe fire using prescribed burning and manual hazardous fuels treatments.
  • Immediately protects all roadless areas and old growth forests by canceling logging projects in those areas.
  • Provides funding for worker retraining; and gives preference to displaced timber workers for jobs in the woods doing ecological restoration.
  • Provides permanent funding to Counties for schools and roads.
  • Provides funding for environmentally sensitive non-wood alternative paper and construction materials.

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"WVEC Memo" memo

Dear WVEC members,

In the future, we will be sending you occasional "Memos" (like this one) that contain notices from other organizations that relate to issues in West Virginia. We do this to give you the opportunity to take action on these issues from the comfort of your home in a timely fashion.

Please do not confuse these occasional "Memos" with the "Action Alerts" that come your way.

The "Alerts" will continue to be more of an emergency nature, with immediate action being the key.

Thanks
Chuck Wyrostok
Outreach Coordinator

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