Dear Friend,

Scientists warn that human activity is driving species around the world to the edge of extinction. Unfortunately, instead of working to protect imperiled species, the Trump administration is taking action to try to speed up their demise.

Today the administration announced its plans to try to gut the Endangered Species Act by weakening the Act’s regulations. This effort to remove protections for endangered and threatened species has the same two features of most Trump administration actions: It's a gift to industry, and it's illegal. Earthjustice will see the Trump administration in court.

Will you join the legal fight to defend endangered wildlife and protect this bedrock environmental law?

The person leading the charge to gut this law is Interior Secretary David Bernhardt. In his former role as a lobbyist for the oil and gas industry, he spent his time trying to dismantle the Endangered Species Act. Now, as one of Trump’s cabinet members, he’s continuing the same effort from his new position. It is unethical and illegal, and we will not stand for it.

Once implemented, Bernhardt’s plan will put imperiled wildlife at risk by:

• Not factoring in the effects of climate change when looking at how best to protect threatened and endangered species
• Putting economic interests before scientific studies
• Prohibiting species that have newly been listed as threatened from automatically receiving protections from killing, trapping, and other forms of harm and commercial exploitation

All of these actions will make it easier for the oil and gas industry and the mining, logging, agribusiness, and many other industries to make big profits, but it comes at the expense of countless species and a healthy ecosystem.

There is too much at stake not to act. We will take this administration to court because if we don’t we could lose polar bears, seals, whooping cranes, beluga whales, and so much more. Earthjustice has spent decades defending imperiled wildlife and we aren’t going to stop now. Will you help us take on this and other legal battles by making a gift today?

Thank you for all that you do.

Sincerely,