Help Protect the Rare and Charismatic Pacific Coast Fisher!
For thousands of years, fishers, a bushy-tailed cat-sized mammal, roamed throughout the forests of the Pacific Coast states. But over the past century, they've been disappearing at such a staggering rate that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is finally addressing the threats this imperiled species faces and proposing to protect them under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Rampant loss of forest habitat due to aggressive logging in earlier decades remains a problem, and unsustainable logging continues to impact fisher habitat. Abnormally large and severe fires as well as poisoning by rodenticide used in illegal marijuana growing operations on public lands are also contributing to the decline of this rare and charismatic critter.
Without help, fishers will lose their fight for survival and could begin to disappear from our West Coast forests.
Your voice makes a difference. Please tell FWS that you support ESA protections for the West Coast fisher!
Dear Erin Williams,
Re: Support for listing the West Coast fisher as threatened
As a citizen who cares about the survival of the fisher in North America, I applaud the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for finally proposing to list the fisher under the Endangered Species Act. The fisher was originally petitioned for listing in November 2000... fifteen years ago. As a small carnivore, the fisher plays an important role in the ecosystem. It has survived thousands of years and has managed to hold on over the last century despite unrestricted trapping during the major fur trapping era of the 19th and 20th centuries and still persisted despite massive clear-cutting operations in the 1970s and 1980s. The fisher continues to face threats including habitat destruction, wildfire, newer and more lethal rodenticides, and vegetation management that does not maintain the habitat structure that is critical for fisher survival. Their small population size also puts them at high risk.
Long overdue, I support listing the fisher as a threatened species in California and Oregon, and I support the re-introduction efforts currently taking place in Washington state to return these charismatic critters to their native landscape.
Thank you for this opportunity to comment on behalf of fishers that cannot speak for themselves but depend on us to maintain their ability to survive and thrive into the future.
[Your comments here]
Sincerely,
[Your name here]
