No Waiting List for Endangered Species Protection!
- by: Care2.com
- recipient: Interior Secretary Ken Salazar
Recently, the U.S. Interior Department denied Endangered Species protection to the sage grouse, an animal whose populations are dwindling due to excessive oil and gas drilling in their habitat.
The Interior Department said that the animal met the requirements for protection, but that there was a backlog of other species being considered that are a higher priority.
This decision will allow drilling to continue and may cause sage grouse populations to continue to decline. Do we really need some species to wait while others are protected? How can we put a higher urgency on one species when so many need to be protected?
Please tell Interior Secretary Ken Salazar that if a species needs protection, it should get it...not be sitting on a waiting list.
Dear Interior Secretary Ken Salazar,
I read about the decision not to protect the sage grouse under the Endangered Species Act. I understand that there is a very rigorous process involved in listing a species. But I am frustrated that an animal that the Interior Department says needs protection is not getting it because there are other animals that are higher priority.
It seems to me that if an animal needs protection, it should get it. We cannot put animals on a waiting list while their habitat continues to be destroyed. If this happens, many animals will surely suffer a huge population decline.
I understand that this is not a simple issue, and that Endangered Species protection is a complicated process. But these days we need to move a lot quicker in order to stop the environmental damages that we are doing. I urge you to give ESA protections to all animals that qualify, not just those at the top of the list.
Thank you for your time.
Respectfully,
[Your name]
