Alumni Action Alert: Can we save 12,000+ species?

Many alumni asked us over the years for more opportunities to get engaged in important issues. Now we send an Alumni Action Alert each month on a particular issue or campaign The Public Interest Network is working on, along with some actions that you can take to help protect the environment, public health or the public interest.

Quick action: Sign Environment America’s petition calling U.S. senators to support the Recovering America's Wildlife Act.

Problem: As many as one-third of America's fish and wildlife species are at risk of extinction. From high-flying birds to deep sea fish, species of all sizes and shapes have been touched by climate change and habitat loss. Preventing their extinction requires urgent and direct action.

Solution: Saving species requires that we protect and restore habitat, and that takes funding. The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act would give states the resources they need to prevent species’ decline before they hit the endangered species list. This bipartisan bill goes beyond preventing extinction and works to build healthy, sustainable animal populations.

The Recovering America's Wildlife Act earmarks $1.397 billion annually for state fish and wildlife agencies, and $97.5 million to tribes, to carry out wildlife conservation efforts. These efforts prioritize wildlife that are declining in population, but often are not yet on the endangered species list and would help states and tribes expand or improve habitats and remove invasive species. The bill aims to emulate past state-level conservation victories such as protecting nesting habitat for the red-cockaded woodpecker and successful efforts that brought bald eagles and other species back from the brink.

Opportunity: This legislation is currently moving in Congress. If passed, the Recovering America's Wildlife Act will provide funding to every state, territory and the District of Columbia to conserve more than 12,000 species.
States need the funding to effectively implement conservation work, and the bipartisan Recovering America's Wildlife Act can make this happen. By speaking up in support of this bill, you can help build the necessary support to see it enacted.

Actions:

• Sign Environment America’s petition calling U.S. senators to support the Recovering America's Wildlife Act.

• Call your U.S. senators asking them to support the Recovering America's Wildlife Act, which pledges funding to conserve more than 12,000 species.

• Share this petition on social media with a personal message – bonus points if you can include a photo of wildlife – sharing why you are supporting this bill to conserve more than 12,000 species nationwide.