URGENT CALL TO ACTION:
Montana state legislature is considering a resolution that would urge the Montana US Congressional delegation (two senators and one representative) to push for legislatively delisting grizzly bears in Congress. This would resemble what we are seeing with wolves, where activists are constantly beating back amendments, riders and other legislation to remove wolves from the Endangered Species List. This resolution, HJ15, cannot be vetoed by the Governor and seeks to remove ALL Montana grizzly bears from the protections of the Endangered Species Act. This would include Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzlies as well as the bears of Northern Continental Divide and Cabinet-Yaak Ecosystems.
HJ15 passed Montana's House of Representatives and has been transmitted to the state senate. There will be additional, more targeted Calls to Action in the coming weeks. Now, please start with the following:
MONTANA RESIDENTS:
Call your AND email your State Senator, indicating that you are a constituent and that you oppose HJ15 because it bypasses the Endangered Species Act which has a proven record of success. Phone numbers and email addresses found HERE. If you have more time, please continue on to the Everyone Else section below.
EVERYONE ELSE:
1) Write Montana State Senators with this tool. There is even a place for out of state residents. Please write in your own words (including any connection you have to Montana or whether you are a hunter/angler) or copy and paste the following:
I oppose HJ15, which would ask Montana's congressional delegation to seek the grizzlies removal from the Endangered Species list in the US Congress. The process is already underway for delisting of Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bears. The USFWS is currently considering input from scientific experts and over 450,000 public comments submitted on the Yellowstone delisting. Passing HJ15 would silence all of those voices and turn a deaf ear to science. Even worse, HJ15 seeks to remove Endangered Species Act protections for Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem and Cabinet-Yaak grizzly populations. USFWS has not yet begun delisting processes for either of these populations, which means that USFWS and its scientists have not yet weighed in on the health of these populations. Nor have the public as well as independent grizzly experts.
Through this resolution, Montana is seeking to bypass the Endangered Species Act, one of the most successful environmental laws in our nation's history. In the forty years since its passage, the Endangered Species Act has brought countless species back from the brink of extinction, including bald eagles, humpback whales and sea otters. It has a 99% success rate! The State of Montana should not seek to mess with a process and system that works to save species. I urge a NO vote on HJ15.
2) Email State Senators with the same messages as above. Email addresses are HERE.
3) Send a postcard to the State Senators with the following message. "I oppose HJ15 as it undermines the Endangered Species Act and ignores science." Postcard stamps are .$34 each. Mailing addresses can be found HERE.
