Remove Anti-wildlife Riders From Interior Appropriations Bill

Today I take pen in hand to write and urge you to reject the anti-wildlife riders attached to the House Interior Appropriations bill now being considered. These provisions weaken protections for a wide range of wildlife now legally protected under the Endangered Species Act. If allowed, this will imperil the populations of species of long-eared bat, lesser prairie chicken, gray wolf, sage grouse, Right and Rice whales, Yellowstone grizzly bear and I’m sure others. If you dig deeper in the ‘why’ of these de-listings in sections of HR 4821, there are undoubtedly driven by some form of human industry that relies on the habitats of these animals being available for human use and exploitation. It also signals a terrible precedent of humans not respecting nature, but considering everything is simply a resource to be exploited. There are similar riders in the Senate version of the bill (S.2605), specifically the Columbia Basin Sage Grouse. While it’s certainly important to fund the government, the decimation of wildlife populations is not important. In the long run, we cannot fully know what the loss of any of these species would mean to the ecosystems and areas where they are found. Undoubtedly, it would be a negative effect on other species, or allow invasive species to move in — ones that the human residents don’t want either. I urge you to talk to your colleagues on the committees that control these bills, and get these provisions removed. Thank you for your service.