Speak up for environmental protections: don't let Bush co-opt cooperative conservation

Please help ensure that these sessions are not used to undermine environmental laws. Submit a public comment letter to let the administration know that voluntary conservation efforts complement, but absolutely cannot replace, strong environmental laws. You can also go to http://cooperativeconservation.gov/sessions/index.html to check for listening sessions in your area that you may be able to attend in person.

The Bush administration has already proposed a package of “cooperative conservation” legislation that would weaken the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act [link: http://cooperativeconservation.gov/pdfs/JointLetteronProposedLegislation.pdf]. The administration may use input from these sessions to promote these and other harmful changes to environmental laws, so it’s vital to respond with a strong conservation message.

You can help by getting on the record as a supporter of a strong Endangered Species Act and other environmental laws. Please submit a written comment to the Bush administration regarding its cooperative conservation listening tour. 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. These stories will greatly increase the strength of your comments.

California listening sessions:

Redding, California, 1 p.m., September 13, 2006, Cascade Theatre

Colton, California, 10 a.m., September 28, 2006, Colton High School Auditorium