For more than fifty years, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) has helped save our most imperiled birds from extinction. But now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing changes to its rules that would weaken this crucial safety net for birds. Take action before December 22 to protect this bedrock law.

The ESA has led to the recovery of some of our country’s most iconic birds, including the Bald Eagle, Brown Pelican, and Peregrine Falcon. Since its passage, 99 percent of all protected species have avoided extinction. By applying strong protections and recovery plans, the ESA directly benefits nearly 100 of the country’s endangered and threatened bird species, including the Whooping Crane, California Condor, and Piping Plover, while helping conserve even more species by improving the health of ecosystems.

Urge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to maintain ESA protections for birds and other wildlife.

The proposed changes to the ESA rules would scale back core protections for at-risk species. Changes include removing automatic protections for species that are newly listed as “threatened.” They would also discourage actions that reduce the impact of harmful projects on a species. The proposal will make it harder to protect wildlife and habitat while jeopardizing the bedrock principle of basing the ESA’s decisions on science.

Crucially, the changes undermine a key modern-day need of the ESA: the consideration of the impact of climate change on species and habitat. This could spell danger for birds that are vulnerable to impacts like sea-level rise, wildfires, or drought, or whose populations are projected to decline and shift with an increase in global temperatures.

Take action and urge the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to uphold the Endangered Species Act and reject any changes that would put our country’s most imperiled birds in greater danger.