Though it was generally lost in the din of news this past week, an 
extremely disturbing story has emerged about an end-run the 
administration is attempting around the Endangered Species Act -- 
essentially gutting it by reinterpreting it from within, instead of 
re-legislating it through Congress.

The proposal would, among other things, set biologically 
nonsensical time limits on protection, eliminate any way to stop 
federal projects like dams or logging even if scientific evidence 
shows they may drive a species to extinction, and define a species' 
range to mean only the land it now occupies -- thus eliminating any 
chance for reintroductions like those that have benefited peregrine 
falcons and gray wolves, to name just two.

The most comprehensive analysis of the proposal is at Salon.com:

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/27/endangered_species/


This is something every birder and conservationist should be aware 
of, and screaming to their elected officials about.

PLEASE, go to the website,

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/officials/congress/?district=05&lvl=MD

type in your zip code, select both your Congressperson and your
Representative and email them the message below.

I have recently read of Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne's attempt to
modify the Endangered Species Act. His proposal is to limit the number
of species that can be protected and curtail the acres of wildlife
habitat to be preserved. It shifts authority to enforce the act from the
federal government to the states, and it dilutes legal barriers that
protect habitat from sprawl, logging or mining. In effect, Secretary
Kempthorne's proposal renders the Endangered Species Act ineffective.

I am strongly against these changes. Please stay abreast of any attempts
to weaken the Endangered Species Act and use your influence to defeat
them in Congress.


It's quick and painless.

Dean Newman
California, MD