Last week, staff from Maine Audubon were in Washington D.C. to hand-deliver a petition signed by more than 1,800 Mainers asking Maine’s Congressional delegation to protect the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Maine Audubon Advocacy & Outreach Manager Nick Lund met with staff in the offices of Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, and Representatives Jared Golden and Chellie Pingree. “This petition was Maine Audubon’s largest ever, and shows how committed our members and supporters are to protecting the Endangered Species Act,” says Lund.
Since 1973, the Endangered Species Act has been one of the nation’s most popular and effective wildlife-protection laws. It has succeeded in keeping 99% of all listed species from extinction and facilitated the recovery of species including the Bald Eagle and the American Alligator. Maine Audubon works in Maine to protect ESA-listed species including Piping Plovers and Atlantic Salmon.
However, the Endangered Species Act is at risk. The Trump Administration has proposed to cut funding and reduce staffing to implement the Act. Various bills in Congress could undermine the effectiveness of the Act or protections for certain species. Thankfully, Maine’s Congressional delegation understands the importance of the Endangered Species Act. Senator Collins recently shepherded a Senate Interior Appropriations bill that provides adequate funding for the ESA and is free of damaging riders, for example, and both Representative Golden and Representative Pingree voted against a House proposal to exempt Department of Defense lands from ESA compliance.
Maine Audubon’s recent visit to Congress served as an important reminder to Maine’s federal representatives that the Endangered Species Act is as popular as ever with Mainers, and worth protecting.
