Media Contacts
Cat Lazaroff
Communications Director
(202)
772-3270
Not a journalist but need help? Contact our Member Services
team:
1-800-385-9712
Sign up for our Press List
Get Defenders Headlines
Get the latest wildlife conservation news and information... right when we post it online.
For Immediate Release
A statement from Defenders of Wildlife President Rodger Schlickeisen on the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009
The following is a statement from Defenders of Wildlife President Rodger Schlickeisen, in anticipation of the upcoming vote to pass H.R. 1105, the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 on the floor of the House of Representatives.
“Once again, House and Senate Interior and Environment appropriations subcommittee chairs, Rep. Norman Dicks (D-Wash.) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) have led the way in producing a funding bill that takes significant steps towards reversing the deterioration of programs that support our treasured public lands and wildlife, as well as making important advances towards addressing the damage caused by climate change.
“The bill builds on the 2008 Consolidated Appropriations bill, providing, among other things, desperately needed funding increases for endangered species protection and our National Wildlife Refuge System, which has seen the loss of hundreds of jobs for agency biologists, wildlife refuge managers and other crucial staff.
“The bill also provides a sizeable boost, more than six times the current amount, for the groundbreaking new National Global Warming and Wildlife Science Center, established in last year’s funding bill to provide federal and state agencies and other stakeholders with the necessary science tools to help wildlife and habitats weather the impacts of global warming. For the first time, language is included that directs the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with other federal agencies, states, tribes and other stakeholders, to develop a national strategy to assist wildlife and natural systems in surviving the impacts of global warming, a necessary effort given the complex and growing menace of climate change.
“Finally, the bill paves the way for the reversal of last minute rule changes by the Bush Administration that undermine the Endangered Species Act and protections for the polar bear. This would allow Secretary of the Interior Salazar to erase a potentially devastating part of Bush’s sorry legacy.”
###
Defenders
of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in
their natural communities. With
more than 1
million
members, supporters and subscribers, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading
advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for
generations to come.
