Tell Congress to ensure all endangered species receive funding!

In the United States more than 10 species have been declared extinct since 2010 -- including two butterflies, two beetles, two freshwater snails, a snake, a crustacean, and a pocket gopher. There are currently 1,600 endangered species in the United States that could suffer the same fate.

The science is clear -- species are being lost faster than before. It also shows that the way to save species is through funding their recovery.

Will you demand that all endangered species in the United States receive the fighting chance they deserve?

Dear Representative {user_data~Rep Last Name},

I request that you provide the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service the critical funding the agency desperately requires to protect, conserve and recover our nation’s endangered species and natural ecosystems. The Endangered Species Act is one of the best tools we have to stem the current wildlife extinction crisis, yet it has been chronically underfunded for decades. While Congress provided a modest increase for the Service in Fiscal Year 2021, it fell woefully short of what is required to meet the needs of our most imperiled animals and plants.

To begin to make up for lost ground and to support the Biden Administration’s commitment to addressing the threat of climate change to biodiversity, the data show that the Service requires a budget of $592.1 million, distributed across five programs, starting in FY2022. The scientific community agrees that significantly more funding is needed – to date more than 1,900 scientists have signed a letter originally published in the prestigious journal Science in November 2019, entitled “Solve the biodiversity crisis with funding” calling on Congress to fully fund conservation programs that protect biodiversity from severe and growing threats.

The world is in the midst of a staggering wildlife extinction crisis. Wildlife and plant populations are crashing around the world, with one million species facing extinction in the coming decades due to threats of habitat loss, climate change, wildlife exploitation, pollution, and other human activities. The earth is literally on fire, and wildfires from California to the Amazon to Australia have taken a massive toll on wildlife and altered entire ecosystems. The Bobcat fire—one of the largest in Los Angeles County history—destroyed more than 115,000 acres between the San Gabriel and Antelope valleys, scorching one of the most abundant wildlife habitats in L.A. County. But perhaps most starkly, the devastating global impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrate just how dangerous it can be when we fail to sufficiently protect biodiversity. Over 1,600 species are now protected in the United States under the Endangered Species Act, and thousands more are likely to need protection if action is not taken to address these threats. In North America alone, almost two-thirds of bird species have declined, some precipitously, in recent decades. The eastern monarch butterfly population, which numbered over a billion, has declined by 85% in just two decades, while the western population of monarch butterfly has crashed by 99.9%. Only 1,914 western monarchs were recorded overwintering in California this year, indicating that the migration has already collapsed. In the continental United States, more than 10 species have been declared extinct since 2010, including two butterflies, two beetles, two freshwater snails, a snake, a crustacean, and a pocket gopher. Numerous other species haven’t been detected in decades and will likely be declared extinct within the coming years.

Fortunately, the United States has the strongest wildlife conservation law in place to help combat the global extinction crisis, the Endangered Species Act. Despite the protections the Act provides, decades of underfunding have prevented it from realizing its full potential. Too many species sit in limbo at the edge of extinction, or are being lost altogether, when we can ensure they remain part of our rich natural heritage. This funding package will ensure every listed species receives a minimum of $50,000 per year for recovery and will allow the Endangered Species Act to be implemented in the way Congress intended when it dedicated our country to protecting the species and the habitats that need it most.

The current extinction crisis is a wake-up call to society and Congress that more must be done. Conserving our planet’s natural heritage is a monumental challenge, but we can do more. And we know what to do for our most imperiled wildlife and plants. That means providing sufficient funding for the listing program to ensure species are recognized as imperiled; for planning and consultation to ensure basic protections are applied to species; for recovery planning and recovery work; and for collaborative work across public and private lands to ensure we work together to protect our natural heritage. The sooner we act, the more species can be saved from extinction, and the faster species can be recovered and delisted. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
{user_data~First name} {user_data~Last name}
{user_data~City}, {user_data~State} {user_data~Postcode}

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