This Congress has seen at least 80 different legislative attacks on the Endangered Species Act. In its 42 years, the Endangered Species Act has prevented the extinction of 99 percent of the species placed under its protection. In spite of this bedrock law’s record of success and wild popularity, it is being targeted by anti-wildlife members of Congress at a previously unseen level of frequency and ferocity.

ESA Attacks

 

As the omnibus government spending bill makes its way through Congress, it is crucial that President Obama commit to reject any anti-Endangered Species Act provisions should they arrive on his desk. Any one of the anti-Endangered Species Act policy riders could weaken protection for the many species the law protects. Gray wolves, grizzly bears, blackfooted ferrets, beluga whales, and many more species could find their protections slashed.

This week, 25 members of the U.S. Senate joined 92 members of the House of Representatives in asking that President Obama oppose all legislative attacks on the Endangered Species Act in the Interior appropriations bill. Included in these “riders” that these Senators and Representatives are urging President Obama to reject, is one that would delist gray wolves.

This Congressional effort to safeguard the Endangered Species Act is being led by Representatives Raul Grijalva (AZ), Niki Tsongas (MA), Anna Eshoo (CA), Mike Thompson (CA), and Debbie Dingell (MI) in the House, and Senators Booker (NJ) and Boxer (CA) in the Senate. You can read their release including the letter here.

You can join these members of the Senate and House of Representatives in acting to protect one of America’s most important conservation laws by asking President Obama to Veto Extinction. 

Please call the White House at (202) 456-1111 and ask to leave a message for President Obama.

When you call, you don’t need to say a lot—just let them know your name, where you’re calling from, and this main message:

Hello. My name is [Full Name] from [City and State].  I respectfully request that President Obama reject all policy “riders” in government spending legislation that undermine the Endangered Species Act 

This is a critical time that could determine the future of the Endangered Species Act. Please make a short call to the White House today.

After you have made your call, please click here to report it.

If you would rather not make a call, you can purchase a call to be made on your behalf through the website Amplifyd.com and a percentage of the cost will be donated to the Endangered Species Coalition.

Update 11/17/15: 150 organizations including the Endangered Species Coalition sent a letter to the White House urging that President Obama flatly reject all riders that undermine the Endangered Species Act.

Stay Informed!

48 comments on “House & Senate Dems to President Obama–Veto Extinction

  1. This is occurring because groups like Earth Justice, DOW, and others are using the ESA for their personal agendas and making money off of lawsuits. Nothing more than that. To say the ESA has saved 99% of the species on the list is ridiculous. What is does is divide people, What is does is hamper what the fish and game associations can do to fix problems. What is does is destroy the livelihoods of people who live in areas with endangered species. The wolf debacle is a prime example. Wolves are no where close to being endangered, yet they are treated as if they are. Nuts.

  2. President Obama.
    Thank You very much for the Support You’ve shown for the ESA. This Law is ONE OF OUR PRIMARY” Tools in Fighting the Exploitation of the Environment! To “Protect” our Environment overall. This VITAL Legislation Needs Protection at ANY COST!
    Any “Rider” to ANY BILL or Budget should be REJECTED! Thank You, Bobby Deems

  3. Dear President Obama,

    Please vito any legislation that will exploit our precious animals and environment. I am confident that with your recent decision to ban the Keystone Pipeline that you are aware of the further threat that this will impose on our future generations. Thank you for being the caring man who hears the voices of the people.

    Sincerely,

    Debra Flagg

  4. Do you realize that because of Americans, our wildlife is becoming extinct. Your grandchildren will never see a lion, a tiger, a cheetah, a elephant, a rhino because you let hunters, poachers murder them. The Hunters mainly come from America. You reckon you are responsible for the world. the rulers. Imagine a wo9rld without them, also lets include the bears, the seals, the foxes, the badgers, the birds. and now Palm oil which is burning our lands. If they die we will. we arent the only species to be allowed to live on planet earth.

    1. Vera Schonberg…..We Americans fight as hard if not harder than all to save wildlife. We do not reckon we save the world….we do. What other nation is called upon in a World crisis….The USA is who. I’m a proud American and an Animal advocate. Your stereotyping is offensive and ignorant. I notice you do not mention the Greed of the countries that allow the Hunting ? Do they share no responsibility ??? Get off your ‘hate America’ bandwagon. Have a lovely day.

  5. We humans have the responsibility to keep our animals safe. Wildlife doesn’t belong to anybody. It’s just plain murder when we kill them for our own selfish conveniences. Please help keep them safe. When they go we will be next.

  6. Please Mr. President help our wildlife to be safe. Animals deserve to live too and their lives are in our hands. Please do the right thing and vito any legislation that will exploit our precious animals and environment

  7. Hello, I have great respect for President Obama. I would like to request that President Barack Obama reject all policy riders in government spending legislation that undermine the Endangered Species Act. I would like to add that our wildlife can’t speak for themselves. I will be their voice until I can no longer breathe. Thank you, Demitrice Levet Venters, R.Ph.

  8. President Obama,please reject any policy riders in legislation that seek to undermine the Endangered Species Act! We have to protect our wildlife before there is none left.Please help us save animals and keep standing up to big business that wants to ruin our eenviorment like the Keystone pipeline.Thank You.

  9. Please keep our wildlife safe. We need them, and they need us. Our world is a much more beautiful place with them in it, and they deserve to live out their God-given lives unmolested by people seeking to destroy them. Thank you!

  10. DID YOU KNOW…….

    ANIMALS AND HUMANS HAVE
    60-90 % THE SAME DNA!!

    WE ARE ALL CONNECTED TO
    Lions, Elephants, Bears, on and on!

  11. Please don’t allow anything to take away any protection we have for our wildlife and the environment. It’s is so vital we stop killing everything around us.Animals are the LEAST protected it seems. We can’t have those who want to kill for trophies, entertainment and constant development and just out of shear greediness and selfishness take away what so many of us love and want to see thriving for future generations. This planet was not made for just humans alone. We must learn to live with and respect the animals who live here too.

  12. STOP KILLING OUR WILDLIFE! THIS PLANET WAS NOT MADE FOR MAN ALONE! ANIMALS NEED PROTECTION. DON’T TAKE THAT AWAY!

  13. Please continue to protect endangered species (and all animals) so that future generations who are yet to be born might enjoy them. Once they’re gone, they’re gone forever and eventually so will we……We need them because there’s a balance in nature, of which we are a part, and that must never be disturbed. Thank you.

  14. The Endangered Species Act needs not only to be protected and strengthened, but improved by naming additional animals to be protected from human destruction.

  15. Save our wildlife. Animals are not ours to kill or abuse. We need to protect all endangered species before they vanish.

  16. Please let us end wildlife trafficking.
    End trophy hunting ban wildlife trophies to arrive home.
    The future must not face the extinction of declining numbers of wildlife

  17. President Obama, we MUST protect our wild life! Please veto any and all riders trying to sneak in to erode the Endangered Species Act. The will of a handful of hunters should not trump the will of the vast majority of public opinion. Please BAN TROPHY HUNTING and BAN any and all trophy imports into the U.S. from outside the U.S. The time is now, before it’s too late!

  18. Mr. President YOU have the power to do so much good for our Precious animals. PLEASE fight to PROTECT all ANIMALS for this I promise you that your name will be remembered for generations to come. PLEASE open up your HEART to stop all the pain and suffering of Millions of animals at the hands of merciless hunters.

  19. All wildlife is in danger of extinction! The more we meddle with nature the more it gets damaged! Nature had it right in the first place! Abundant and healthy environment and wildlife is vital to this planet! We are not! Anyone watch that great PBS series “Earth A New Wild”?

  20. We owe it to the wildlife of this world to keep them protected and not to kill them for our own pleasure. Humans are the only species that kill for greed.

  21. Please make sure our legislation reflects the same commitment we show to the environment to our wildlife. Our wildlife provides protection.

  22. We owe it to the wildlife of this world to keep them protected and not to kill them for our own pleasure. Humans are the only species that kill for greed.
    Our wildlife is one of the treasure of our planet we need take care of it.
    Please make sure our legislation reflects the same commitment we show to the environment to our wildlife. Our wildlife provides protection.

  23. The demise of life on the planet begins when endangered species are ignored. Ecology emphasizes the balance of nature. We need carnivores. We don’t need more callous, greedy, self-serving people who don’t understand that Earth supports a fragile, rare biosystem.

  24. Please do not allow short-sighted greed for our wildlands and wildlife to desecrate these amazing resources for all Americans. Ignorant legislators should not work against the ESA and we look to you to protect what is unique in our continent.

  25. CHIEF SEATTLE HAS SAID”-WITHOUT THE ANIMALS MAN WOULD SUFFER FROMA GREAT LONELINESS OF SPIRIT….WHATEVER HAPPENS TO THE ANIMALS EVENTUALLY HAPPENS TO MAN.” THINK ABOUT IT.

  26. this congress who would try to gut the endangered species protectionn are absolutely despicable and total paid off puppets of big industry!

  27. A world without its creatures of the Earth, Air and Sea, would be a bereft, diseased, impoverished and sterile place to be. It is beyond comprehension how any thinking and observant person could possibly want to kill any wildlife, especially of the endangered species, just to satisfy their own selfish bloodlust. Usually falling into the category of, “The despicable in hot pursuit of the inedible” (Oscar Wilde).
    For members in Congress, to behave in such an irresponsible and short-sighted manner, is both abusing their positions of power, and betraying all life on Earth, human or otherwise. Their reasons are driven by their own selfish, psychopathic bloodlust, and that of their, usually, wealthy and equally depraved family and friends, and/or corporates. One wonders what such twisted souls are doing in Congress in the first place?
    It has become vitally important that President Obama vetoes, rejects and repels these heartless, ignorant, self-serving, murderous-intent, blinkered attacks on the Endangered Species Protection Law.
    Imagine a world over-run by humans and nothing else _ Yuk! Yuk! And Yuk again! Extremely unhealthy, uninspirational, and totally boring _ bereft of joy, delight and happiness. It would then be better for the human race to cease to be altogether.

  28. Please…..save our wildlife before it is to late. Without change and protection of these endangered animals future generations will only know them by pictures. Our generation must be the change for these animals. Thank you.

  29. Please help save the animals. They are not anybody’s commodity. They are precious and need to be protected. Fire Ashe who has not done anything to help the animals.

  30. Dear Mr. President,
    Please save our remaining wildlife for future generations to come. It has been so long that hunters have extinguished wildlife an alarming rate because these animals have not been declared endangered by the USFWS which should be the forerunner in saving wildlife. Things need to change for our wildlife not tomorrow but today. Thank you.

    1. Couldn’t agree with you more. You are absolutely right !!!!!
      Save the wildlife. They too have a right to live freely.
      Have a heart. Live and let Live !!!!! STOP the killing !!!!

  31. save our voiceless and immobile brothers from a world full of apathy , we are not the only ones surviving here

  32. “A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”
    ― Albert Einstein

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