On Monday 17 environmental groups from around the state wrote a letter to every member of the House of Representatives expressing their opposition to House Bill 1576 (Pyle-R-Armstrong) making fundamental changes in the way threatened and endangered species are listed and protected in Pennsylvania.

The groups included: PennFuture; Sierra Club-Pennsylvania Chapter; Pennsylvania Environmental Council; Clean Water Action; PennEnvironment; Appalachian Mountain Club; Chesapeake Bay Foundation; The Nature Conservancy-Pennsylvania Chapter; Audubon Pennsylvania; Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania; Keystone Trails Association; Pennsylvania Forest Coalition; American Rivers; Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association; Natural Lands Trust; Wildlands Conservancy and Pennsylvania Land Trust Association.

The text of the letter follows--

On behalf of the undersigned conservation and environmental organizations, we urge you to oppose House Bill 1576 and Senate Bill 1047. These proposals would undermine the ability of our wildlife management agencies to protect the mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians of the Commonwealth.

The current process allows scientists and wildlife management experts from the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission and the Pennsylvania Game Commission to designate state threatened and endangered species, and wild trout streams in the case of the Fish & Boat Commission, on the basis of the best scientific data available. Among our serious concerns with the legislation, House Bill 1576 and Senate Bill 1047 (Scarnati-R-Jefferson) would subject these decisions to an additional, lengthy and cumbersome regulatory review process requiring the approval of persons with no particular expertise in science or wildlife management.

The manner in which the commissions list species is deliberate, grounded in scientific data, subject to rigorous analysis and review by other scientists and resource professionals, and open to public comment.

Protecting species at the state level is the most effective way to prevent their decline and extinction nationally. Effective state conservation programs are critical to avoiding a listing under the federal Endangered Species Act, and the requirements that accompany such a designation.

We urge you to protect the wildlife of Pennsylvania and oppose House Bill 1576 and Senate Bill 1047.

A copy of the letter is available online.

House Bill 1576 has been Tabled in the House since November 13 when the bill was amended and reported out of the House Game and Fisheries Committee.  Click Here for more information on the issue.

2/3/2014