The Bush administration is asking our advice on how to best protect our nation’s land, waters and wildlife.  They are holding a series of “listening sessions” across the country to get people’s input on cooperative conservation projects, including one  scheduled for this Friday September 15th  in Colorado Springs.  (See below for more details)

The Cooperative Conservation listening tour is an opportunity to speak out in support of the Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act and other environmental laws.  Please attend a session near you to speak in support of strong protections for our nation’s wildlands and wildlife.  

If you’ve been involved in a local cooperative effort to protect endangered species, you can speak from personal experience about how environmental protections brought people in your community together to conserve natural resources.

The Bush administration’s hidden agenda behind these events is to build momentum to weaken our nation’s critical environmental laws.  They’ve already proposed a package of “Cooperative Conservation Legislation” that would weaken the Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act.

Please tell them that you support strong environmental laws, including the Endangered Species Act, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and forest protection laws and that you do not want to see them weakened or replaced by voluntary programs.

The future of our nation’s environmental laws is in your hands.  Please attend a listening session to show your support for the Endangered Species Act. 
 
You can submit written comments via email at: Beth_Duff@ios.doi.gov.   It would be particularly good to share your personal stories on local conservation efforts in your community.

• Colorado Springs, Colorado, 9 a.m., September 15, 2006, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, University Center Gymnasium

Fact sheets on 'Good Samaritan Act' and 'Healthy Forests Partnership Act' - parts of the Administration's Cooperative Conservation agenda.

• America ’s conservation laws, like the Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act, have paved the way for cooperative conservation by setting goals for recovering endangered species and cleaning up the nation’s rivers and waterways.
• The Bush Administration wants to dismantle the very laws that brought people and communities together to address local conservation needs. By moving to weaken the Endangered Species Act, the Administration is undermining cooperative conservation.
• Cooperative conservation is an important new tool for recovering endangered species but is not a substitute for the vital safety net the Endangered Species Act provides for animals, fish and plants that are on the brink of extinction.
• Every species needs a home. Scientists tell us over and over that for a species to recover, it needs a place to live.   The Endangered Species Act is the most effective tool we have to protect the habitat needed for recovery of endangered fish, plants and wildlife.