[DATE]

The Honorable [NAME]
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Or

The Honorable [NAME]
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Senator or Representative [NAME]:

I am writing to express support for the Endangered Species Act and to strongly oppose any bill that proposes to change or weaken its protections, including Rep. Dennis Cardoza's H.R. 1299, "Critical Habitat Reform Act of 2005" and any bill that grows out of Rep. Richard Pombo's report entitled, "Implementation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973." For over thirty years, the ESA has been a safety net for wildlife, fish and plants on the brink of extinction. It has been successful in preventing the extinction of the American Bald Eagle, the gray wolf, the pacific salmon, as well as many other species.

We must protect the habitat of endangered fish, plants and wildlife and we must hold true to the Act’s principle of recovery as the ultimate goal. One of the most effective ways to protect species is to protect the places where they live. The ESA protects the critical habitat that is needed to prevent the extinction of endangered fish, plants and wildlife. The Act requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to use the most rigorous science available when developing common sense solutions to prevent the extinction of endangered fish, plants and wildlife.

The ESA stands for fundamental principles that I believe in. I cannot allow it to be weakened or removed. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to be good stewards of the environment and leave behind a legacy of protecting endangered species and the special places they call home. No species, however small or insignificant, should be lost on our watch. Extinction is forever.

However, the ESA is under threat from developers, and the politicians they give money to. Using soft sounding words such as “update” and “reform,” the regulated community seeks to undermine and weaken the very principles for which the Act was passed.

Please support the Endangered Species Act and oppose any bill that proposes to change or weaken protections for listed species and habitat. Thank you for your work to protect our nation’s environment and natural resources. I look forward to hearing your stance on these issues.

Sincerely,

[Your name]
[Your address]