Sea Turtles and Polar Bears

From: Rodger Schlickeisen, Defenders of Wildlife

<a href="http://action.defenders.org/may9deadline">A
Call to Action for Polar Bears</a>

<IMG height=150 alt="Polar Bear on Sea Ice (Photo: Hopkins, Nat'l Geo)" align="right"
src="https://secure.defenders.org/images/content/pagebuilder/26749.jpg" width=200 border=0 />
Global warming and habitat loss could drive America's polar bears to extinction by the end of the century or sooner.

Urge Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to give America's vanishing polar bears a vital lifeline by extending full protections to these
iconic ice hunters under the Endangered Species Act.

Click this link to take action
http://action.defenders.org/may9deadline

You are Making a Difference
Last week, the actions and donations of caring wildlife supporters like you helped Defenders.

Loggerhead Sea Turtle
Secure a six-month moratorium on bottom longline fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, where threatened and endangered sea turtles were
dying at an alarming rate.

Lynx
Reverse regulatory changes made by the Bush/Cheney administration that would have shredded the safety net for 1,300 threatened and
endangered species.

Your action for sea turtles made a difference

Dear Andrew,

I'm proud to report that -- thanks to your caring support -- Defenders of Wildlife has been able to secure two major victories for
wildlife in recent days.

* A six-month moratorium on a fishing practice that threatened Gulf of Mexico sea turtles; and

* The reversal of a regulatory change that threatened protections for hundreds of imperiled species.

Help us secure another win for wildlife! Urge U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to support full protections under the Endangered
Species Act for America's vanishing polar bears.

I know that your action today can make a difference for polar bears.

For months, Defenders of Wildlife has been raising the alarm about bottom longline fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, where threatened
and endangered sea turtles have been drowning and dying at alarming rates the victims of razor sharp hooks on fishing lines that
span anywhere from four to nine nautical miles.

To save these turtles, the Defenders legal team engaged in intense negotiations with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS),
taking legal action and mobilizing nearly 50,000 caring Defenders supporters like you to speak out in favor of closing the bottom
longline fishery in the Gulf of Mexico.

Last week, our efforts paid off in a huge victory for threatened and endangered sea turtles. On Wednesday, the NMFS ordered a
6-month emergency closure of the bottom longline fishery in the Gulf of Mexico, providing a crucial lifeline to protect the lives of
imperiled sea turtles from capture and death in the fishery.

Now we need your help to save the lives of threatened polar bears in Alaska. Please take action now.

We're already seeing progress in the fight to save threatened and endangered species like the polar bear. For months, we've worked
with Congress and the Obama administration and in the media to reverse disastrous changes that the outgoing Bush/Cheney
administration had made around the enforcement of the Endangered Species Act -- changes that threatened the nearly 1,300 wildlife
species protected by this bedrock conservation law.

And last Wednesday our work for threatened and endangered species paid off when the Department of the Interior and the Department of
Commerce announced that they would formally withdraw the Bush/Cheney changes. In the two days before the decision, more than 37,000
dedicated Defenders activists called on the Obama administration to reverse changes that would have gutted enforcement of the
Endangered Species Act.

Unfortunately, Interior Secretary Salazar has so far stopped short of reversing an 11th hour regulatory change by the Bush/Cheney
administration that denies polar bears important Endangered Species Act protections from the threat of global warming -- a threat
that could drive these iconic ice hunters to extinction in America by the end of the century.

Help us save polar bears. Please urge Secretary Salazar to reverse the Bush/Cheney rule that denies our polar bears the protections
they so desperately need!

Thank you so much for your help in the last few weeks! Your actions on behalf of our sea turtles and other threatened and endangered
species are already making a big difference for America's imperiled wildlife. I hope you'll continue to support our work and take
action today to help us save polar bears

Click this link to take action
http://action.defenders.org/may9deadline

Sincerely,
Rodger Schlickeisen
President
Defenders of Wildlife

Defenders of Wildlife is a national, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and
plants in their natural communities.

Defenders of Wildlife can be contacted at:
1130 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036

May 15 Boston Environmental Justice Task Force meeting

Jewish Alliance for Law & Social Action

Next Meeting, Friday, May 15, 12:30-2:00 pm
JALSA Office, 18 Tremont Street, Boston, Suite 320
by Government Center

The recent winner of the Mayor's city-wide "Greening the City" competition, Jess Lerner, will speak with us about the campaign that
she is developing. This campaign, which is supported by Mayor Menino, was selected as the winner in a competition to create an
innovative environmental awareness and action campaign for Boston. Jess, who runs the green consulting business Green on the Inside,
is a member of our Task Force and we congratulate her on being selected. She has expressed interest in explaining her project,
brainstorming ideas, listening to feedback, and potentially partnering up with us.

Get a Little Greener: Boston's Public Awareness and Action Campaign involves a PSA campaign to make citizens aware of what they can
do every day, using local people to come on TV and the radio and say what small action they are taking, one thing at a time. The
slogan is "Green a Little. Change a Lot." Once the ads begin running everywhere from TV to the T, the city will launch an
interactive website that will include tips on what you can do, chats and blogs, and a place where people can log in and record green
points for their eco actions. The city will periodically recognize those people and neighborhoods with the most green points, giving
people an opportunity to be in the next ad, or contributing something green to that community. Each community would develop a green
task force to incorporate non-profits, inner city awareness, and local activists as partners to ensure that everyone has the tools
and knowledge to take action. This would ultimately put Boston on the green map of the country, be excellent publicity for the city,
and get every person out there involved with going green- easily and affordably.

Continuing Previous Discussions:

At previous meetings we discussed the advantage of submitting joint proposals to more effectively handle the stimulus money that is
being spent on green jobs and to ensure that the money ends up where it is most needed, particularly for job training and education
programs.

Please also send in your suggestions about how we could most efficiently use the time together, and please invite others whom you
think would be interested or would have something to add to the discussion. Please bring any additional information you might have
about green jobs/green communities opportunities.

Rick Reibstein and Erica Mattison, Co-Chairs.
RSVP mailto:office@jalsa.org

For further information, call David Perechocky at 617-227-3000

News from Lubee Bat Conservancy

From: Allyson Walsh [mailto:awalsh@lubee.org]
Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 1:13 PM

Visit www.lubee.org for the newsletter with graphic images and links.

Lubee Flying Fox Conservation
Quarterly e-news Jan Feb Mar 2009

Adopt-a-bat

With the symbolic adoption of a fruit bat, you join Lubee's efforts to save bats.

Each adoption is fully tax deductible. Adoption kits include a photo and certificate depicting your chosen bat AND a plush bat

Visit our web site to Adopt-a-bat

Thanks to our Bat Fest'08 sponsors

PPI Construction Management
Disney
Alternatives Global Marketplace
AMF Alley Katz
Dampier's Septic
Gainesville Health & Fitness Center
Gator Mania
Grandiflora
Hatchett Creek Farms
Hippodrome
Lowe's
Macaroni Grill
Office Plus
O2B Kids
Produce Distribution Center
Renaissance Printing
Satchel's
Sears Portrait Studio
Skate Station Funworks
Sweetwater Organic Coffee
The Garden Produce
The Great Frame Up
43rd St. Deli and Breakfast
Wards

Dear Lubee Friends,

Thank you for subscribing to our e-news. Please be sure to check out our new website at www.lubee.org

We do hope you enjoy our news and share this link with others. Please forward this email to friends and encourage them to sign up to
receive this newsletter and add a link to our site on their web pages.

We are trying to improve our communications with you and share our news on a more frequent basis. So please do expect regular
quarterly news from us during 2009!

At the Bat Center

Bat Fest '08Batfest

The 4th Annual Bat Festival held October 25, 2008, shattered previous attendance records by bringing in over 1,300 visitors.
Although the event was held during the University of Florida Homecoming weekend, the bats once again proved to be the real stars of
the night. Bat Fest '08 was the first year we had food vendors and partnered with BloodSouth, whose Blood mobile was on site. At the
festival, tours and talks, kids activities and live didgeridoo music entertained visitors, adding a global feel to the festivities.
Lubee Bat Conservancy is already planning on making this year's festival bigger; including more child-friendly activities and
hosting additional vendors. The 2009 Annual Bat Festival will be held Saturday, October 10, 2009. If you missed the fun last year,
don't make the same mistake twice! Mark your calendar for Bat Fest'09, join our mailing list and/or visit our web site, and we will
notify you of Bat Fest'09 developments.

Filming for WebosaursNigel Marven
Lubee hosted Nigel Marven for two days, filming educational "Webosodes" for Webosaurs - a social gaming platform for children ages
6-10 where 3D avatar customization, in-world exploration, virtual battles and action-packed games are combined to create the
ultimate interactive experience.

www.webosaurs.com
Webosaurs also seeks to promote environmental awareness and education by implementing various in-world campaigns which encourage
children to support eco-friendly causes.

Research News
Development of an artificial insemination protocol in the flying-fox (Pteropus spp.)AI study

Cooling experiments were conducted using semen collected from several different flying-fox species held in captivity at the Lubee
Bat Conservancy in a research study by Debbie Melville from Queensland University (Australia) and Dr Linda Penfold,from White Oaks
Conservation Center (Florida). Analysis of the sperm membrane will provide an insight into its fragility during attempts to cool
sperm to permit artificial insemination. A key element to this collaborative study was the availability of Pteropus species held
outside Australia. Analysis of the data has only just started; however, it appears that there are male-male differences and species
differences of the sperm membranes.

Field News

Friends of the Fanihi
Fanihi is the local name given to the only flying foxes to reside on US Territory (the island of Guam) in the Pacific Ocean, and
islands closeby, including Rota, Saipan and isles known as the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands. The CNMI Division of
Fish and Wildlife (DFW) biologist on Rota and local NGO, Rota Conservation and Ecotourism (RCE), participated in the annual Island
Fiesta of San Francisco de Borja in October 2008. The Fiesta provided a celebratory atmosphere where conservation awareness for the
Mariana fruit was raised by handing out T- shirts, caps, stickers and education materials produced with funding from Lubee. The
t-shirts are proudly worn by locals and have even been sighted on Guam and Saipan. The shirts stimulate conversation about the bats
whenever they are worn.

Keeper Diaries
For the Love of Bats

Ever wonder what it's like to spend your day working alongside 250 bats? Lubee Bat Conservancy's expert staff of animal keepers
would like to tell you all about it. By following the link to Keeper Diaries Blog, you will read articles written by the keeping
staff discussing everything from a typical day, to a tense situation involving a challenging bat birth. Lubee keepers practice all
aspects of animal care: basic animal husbandry, training, enrichment, education, and research. Learn how getting to know an
individual bat's personality translates into better management, and how each bat needs special care and attention.

A Ray of SunshineSunshine
A Little Golden-mantled Flying Fox (Pteropus pumilus) named Sunshine or "Sunny'" was born 19 June 2008. He was rejected by his
mother and the decision was made to hand raise him. He has done well throughout the entire hand-rearing process and our keepers
taught him to fly. He is currently fully integrated into a male colony.

Species News
The Pemba Flying Fox (Pteropus voeltzkowi)

A once critically endangered bat species, the 'Pemba flying fox', has made a dramatic return from the brink of extinction, according
to new research. As recently as 1989, only a scant few individual fruit bats could be observed on the tropical island of Pemba, off
Tanzania. Due to a community based conservation program initiated with funding provided to FFI by Lubee, it's numbers have soared to
an astounding 22,000 bats in less than 20 years, the new research finds. Continue reading this article from Science Daily

Lubee is succesful because of its dedicated team of staff, interns and volunteers, and also because of you, the people and
organizations who make our work possible. I'd like to extend my personal thanks to each and every one of you who has visited our
website, and especially those of you who have been kind enough to provide support to Lubee through web donations.

In these uncertain economic times, non-profit organizations everywhere are suffering, making now an ideal time to give a small gift.
Lubee's Bat Center operates from private endowment funds, and thus 100% of gifts received go directly to field conservation science
projects through our Small Grants fund.

Sincerely,
Curry Purple flower
Allyson Walsh, Director
Lubee Bat Conservancy

Put a halt to Arctic drilling

The Arctic seas are no place for hasty drilling!

Tell the Minerals Management Service to halt all new oil and gas leases.
http://action.wilderness.org/campaign/arctict02/xg7nnkbr2ekdt87?

Polar bears, walruses, seals, whales and ocean-going birds like eider ducks and loons call the Arctic Ocean home. Their survival in
an environment seemingly so inhospitable is a wonder of nature. But as climate change continues unabated, these creatures - already
facing a harsh environment - become some of the most vulnerable on earth.

Incredibly, their plight may get worse, as the Minerals Management Service (MMS) considers offering 73 million acres of Arctic
waters to new oil and gas leasing. That's an area the size of Arizona.

It's critically important that you speak out in defense of these creatures.

The receding ice cap has made it harder for the animals - marine and land-based - to get around and find food, including the polar
bears that hunt here each year, and the Pacific walruses that live here year round. In fact, 90 percent of the entire Pacific walrus
population can be found in these waters.

But not just wildlife is at stake. Wholesale leasing in this area would endanger the centuries-old way of life of Native
communities, whose very culture centers on wildlife and ecosystem integrity.

Please click here to tell the MMS to halt new leases in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas.

There is simply no safe way to drill in these waters. Studies have shown that even seismic testing of potential drilling sites is
known to have an impact on marine animals' habits and lifecycles. And research conducted by the MMS indicates that with extensive
drilling, small crude oil and other petroleum spills are inevitable. MMS predicts a 40% chance of a large spill. Making matters
worse, the technology to clean up a spill in Arctic waters full of broken sea ice doesn't even exist.

We need science to guide decisions with such long-lasting effects, not pressure from the oil and gas industry. Until there is
scientific evidence that drilling won't harm wildlife, all new oil leases should be taken off the table.

Write the MMS today to ask that they halt all new leases until the science on drilling is in.
http://action.wilderness.org/campaign/arctict02/xg7nnkbr2ekdt87?

Thanks for all you do,
Kathy Kilmer
The Wilderness Society

Victory for Polar Bears and Other Wildlife

Your actions are helping to restore protections for polar bears and hundreds of other imperiled species. Learn more about the
victory you helped achieve. http://action.defenders.org/site/R?i=oCdGFA6jWc0qHcmUJGqVPg..

Dear Andrew,

It's about time we got some good news!

Thanks to your efforts -- and those of the more than 49,000 other caring people who took the time to contact their Senators -- we've
helped secure an important victory for polar bears and other imperiled wildlife. On behalf of all of us at Defenders, I especially
want to thank the thousands of activists who personally called their Senators last week.

Last Thursday, the Senate rejected an attempt by Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski to strip language from the omnibus spending bill that
would help restore vital protections for polar bears and hundreds of other species protected by the Endangered Species Act.

The Senate last night passed the omnibus bill -- including the provisions in the bill to reverse the Bush Administration's assault
on the Endangered Species Act that Senator Murkowski had sought to remove. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law
later today.

This victory would not have been possible without your efforts, and it underscores the important difference that we can make when we
work together to protect our polar bears, wolves and other wildlife.

We'll have plenty of tough fights in the days ahead. But for the moment, please accept my sincere gratitude for helping us secure
this important win for America's vanishing polar bears and other imperiled species.

For the Wild Ones,
Rodger Schlickeisen

Rodger Schlickeisen
President
Defenders of Wildlife

P.S. To see how your Senators voted on Murkowski's amendment* please check out the chart below.

Voting for Polar Bears (52)

Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennet (D-CO)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Burris (D-IL)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Gillibrand (D-NY)
Hagan (D-NC)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kaufman (D-DE)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
McCaskill (D-MO)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Merkley (D-OR)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schumer (D-NY)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Udall (D-CO)
Udall (D-NM)
Warner (D-VA)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)

Voting Against Polar Bears (42)

Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Begich (D-AK)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Collins (R-ME)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Nelson (D-NE)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Shelby (R-AL)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Wicker (R-MS)

Not Voting: Conrad (D-ND), Johanns (R-NE), Kennedy (D-MA), Landrieu (D-LA), Sessions (R-AL)

* S.Amdt. 599 to H.R. 1105 (Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009)

WILDALERT NEWS: March 2009 Update

WildAlert Community News March 2009

IN THIS ISSUE:

* Welcome
* Take Action
* Support Our Work
* Inside Story
* News

PACIFIC WALRUS

Pacific walrus mothers and young spend most of their lives at sea, making them particularly vulnerable to Arctic Ocean oil spills.

TELL YOUR FRIENDS

Tell Your Friends about Wilderness Society News today

Your purchases can help protect wilderness if you use The Wilderness Society/BAC credit card.

WELCOME

With a new administration in place, we're seeing some good signs for the future of wild lands. However, not all is rosy just yet. Unfortunately, I have some alarming news to report.

The Minerals Management Service is considering offering more leases to the oil and gas industry in a 73-million-acre area of Arctic Ocean waters off Alaska's northern coast. That's an area the size of Arizona!

These waters are the lifeblood of Pacific walruses, polar bears, endangered bowhead whales, sea birds, and many other special creatures that are already struggling in the face of climate change.

What's so disturbing is that there's no safe way to drill there. Studies show that even seismic testing of potential drilling sites has an impact on marine animals. The MMS' own research found that crude oil and petroleum spills are inevitable, and they predict a 40% chance of a major oil spill.

Oil exploration will only exacerbate survival-related stresses for animals of the Arctic Ocean. Please join me in asking the Obama Administration to put a hold on this project until there's enough research to fully understand the impacts drilling would have on the abundant creatures that depend on Arctic waters.

Thank you for all you do to protect our wildlands and wildlife.

Best wishes,
Kathy Kilmer

P.S. Be sure to check out the status of the historic piece of wilderness legislation you've helped move through Congress.

________________________________

Take Action

The Minerals Management Service is considering allowing more leases for unsafe oil and gas drilling in Arctic Ocean waters where Pacific walrus, polar bears, endangered bowhead whales, sea birds, and other creatures struggle for survival.

These animals are struggling under the stresses of climate change. Oil exploration and drilling will only make survival more difficult by exposing marine life to booming seismic testing, air and water pollution, and oil spills for which no ice-water cleanup technology exists. Help us protect this fragile ecosystem by halting the leases.

________________________________

Support Our Work

Protect Alaska's Wildlife – Donate Today!

Polar bears, walruses, and other animals that call the Arctic Ocean home are at risk from declining sea ice, just one of the effects of climate change. These animals would be subjected to even more harm if the Minerals Management Service (MMS) moves forward on new oil and gas leases in a 73 million acre swath of the Arctic Ocean.

We must stop this misguided plan. Despite the fact that no technology yet exists to clean up spills in icy waters, the MMS predicts over 900 small crude oil and petroleum spills and a 40% chance of a major spill, putting Arctic Ocean wildlife and the native communities that depend up on them at substantial risk.

Please make an emergency donation today to help The Wilderness Society protect Arctic wildlife from oil and gas drilling, and thank you for your help.

________________________________

Inside Story

The Scoop on Pending Wilderness Legislation

It's a thrilling time to be part of wilderness conservation. Since August, the WildAlert community has sent a resounding 120,000 letters to Congress in support of historic legislation that would protect spectacular places, from Oregon's Mount Hood to Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park.

In January, your support helped the Omnibus Public Land Management Act gain passage in the Senate. Then in February, when the vote in the House of Representatives was expected to be razor close, you helped again, either by making phone calls or by sending letters. Since then, the House vote has been unexpectedly postponed, primarily because Congress has been focused, understandably, on passing the economic stimulus bill.

Our wilderness lobbyists are in daily contact with House members about this bill, and we know that House leadership considers the bill to be a priority. Unfortunately, it is impossible to say with certainty when the House will vote, but we expect the timeframe to be within weeks. We know you want to see a victorious resolution as much as we do. That's why we must persist until there is a final vote and this well-deserving legislation becomes law. Until then, we hope you'll continue to be part of this historic effort.

________________________________

In the News

Wild Lands Spared from Dirty Oil Shale Development...For Now

Good news! The Secretary of Interior has cancelled the Bush Administration's second round of public land leases for oil shale research and development. The cancellation gives the public needed time to weigh-in on oil shale development before wild lands are leased. Not only is oil shale believed to be economically unviable, but it's one of dirtiest fuels on the planet. Learn about it here.
http://action.wilderness.org/ct/Spd1I6E1fmsK/

Yet More Calls to Drill Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

While there's a lot of positive change afoot in Washington, some things just never seem to change. One of those is the Alaska congressional delegation's single-minded determination to drill in one of America's last true wilderness areas, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This is in addition to calls for drilling in the wildlife rich Arctic Ocean. Read more.
http://action.wilderness.org/ct/S1d1I6E1fms-/

Remembering Wallace Stegner

The Wilderness Society has been guided by truly remarkable leaders in conservation. Renowned western writer Wallace Stegner was one of them. In February, the beloved author and member of The Wilderness Society Governing Council would have turned 100. We celebrate his life here
http://action.wilderness.org/ct/S7d1I6E1fmsD/

________________________________

Words to Inspire

"We are the most dangerous species of life on the planet, and every other species, even the earth itself, has cause to fear our power to exterminate. But we are also the only species which, when it chooses to do so, will go to great effort to save what it might destroy."
- Wallace Stegner

________________________________

The Wilderness Society's mission is to protect wilderness and inspire Americans to care for our wild places. As a subscriber to WildAlert, you join more than 310,000 Wilderness Society members and supporters in protecting and restoring America's wild places.

1615 M St, NW
Washington, DC 20036
1.800.THE.WILD
action@tws.org
www.wilderness.org

Response to protecting endangered species

From: Mel_Martinez@martinez.senate.gov

Below is a response to the recent comments I received from you:


Dear Mr. Weitzen:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the Bush Administration's proposal to reduce interagency reviews of projects that potentially affect endangered species. I appreciate hearing from you and would like to take this opportunity to respond to your concerns.

The 1973 Endangered Species Act (ESA) (P.L. 93-205) was enacted to protect species of plants and animals at risk of extinction by preserving the habitat they depend on. Currently, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) must approve any actions by other federal agencies that may affect endangered species.

On August 11, 2008, the Bush Administration proposed reducing permitting and administrative delay that would allow individual federal agencies to bypass FWS or NOAA in cases where projects would only affect endangered species indirectly. Thousands of interagency consultations each year delay projects including home building, highway development, and environmental restoration projects, frustrating FWS officials and stakeholders alike.

I believe a balance must be struck between environmental responsibility and government management. Threatened and endangered species must continue to be protected under the ESA while we attempt to improve the review process for the benefit of both the public and the environment.

I strongly support initiatives to protect endangered species throughout our nation, and on May 21, 2007, I joined several of my Senate colleagues in co-sponsoring the Endangered Species Recovery Act of 2007 (S. 700). This legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow landowners whose property contains the habitat of an endangered or threatened species, and who enter into a habitat protection agreement, a tax credit for costs relating to habitat protection easements and restoration. I believe that this legislation could greatly assist our efforts to preserve important wildlife habitat by encouraging cooperation between federal agencies and private land owners.

Again, thank you for sharing your views with me. If you have any further questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me. In addition, for more information about issues and activities important to Florida, please sign up for my weekly newsletter at http://martinez.senate.gov.

Sincerely,
Mel Martinez
United States Senator