For over thirty years, the Endangered Species Act has been a safety net for wildlife, plants and fish that are on the brink of extinction. But last fall, the House of Representatives passed Rep. Richard Pombo's (R-CA) bill to cut the heart out of the nationally beloved Endangered Species Act. If made law, this bill would not only end critical habitat protection for the forests, beaches, wetlands, and meadows that at-risk species call home -- it would also require taxpayers to pay people not to break the law and kill endangered species.

This year, the Endangered Species Act is already under attack on more than one front. One recently introduced bill, S. 2110, would undermine the Endangered Species Act’s crucial protections for endangered wildlife and habitat while spending scarce taxpayer dollars to reward private landowners for obeying the law.

But that's just the beginning

In the next few weeks, we believe opponents of endangered species protection may introduce legislation in the Senate that would undermine the Endangered Species Act and put countless endangered species at risk of extinction.

Now that Rep. Pombo's "Extinction Bill" has passed the House, any endangered species bill that comes out of the Senate would have to be conferenced (or merged) with Rep. Pombo’s terrible bill. This means that any Senate bill, even a good one, could serve as "Trojan horse" for Rep. Pombo’s goal of gutting the Endangered Species Act completely.

We have to convince our Senators to oppose any legislation that that would squander our natural heritage and wildlife or abandon the strong protections of the Endangered Species Act. We need your help to make this happen.