1. United States
2. La.
3. Letter

The Endangered Species Act is the essential tool for stopping the extinction crisis in its tracks, and we cannot guarantee species survival and recovery without the strong backstop of a fully protective ESA. I oppose any effort by this administration to weaken the Endangered Species Act. In the coming decades, a million of the Earth’s species face the possibility of extinction due to climate change, pollution, and habitat loss. Even species that are not yet on the brink will face huge population declines. This extinction crisis means an unraveling of the web of life that supports us, from wild rivers and wetlands where fish thrive, to cool, shady forests humming with birds and other wildlife, to the pollinators that support our food supplies. Humans are not isolated from the natural environment, and what happens to other creatures will affect our own lives, too. The Endangered Species Act is widely effective and wildly popular. I am a steadfast defender of the Endangered Species Act and all the life it sustains, and I hope your department will stop your efforts to erode this critically important law.