John,
The Trump Administration just gutted key National Environmental Policy Act safeguards, threatening wildlife and communities in all 50 states.
For more than 50 years, Americans in every zip code have been able to speak out so that federal actions do not harm the land, waters, and air their community and wildlife depend on because of the landmark National Environmental Policy Act. And rigorous environmental impact reviews ensure the public knows exactly how pipelines, factories, and other federal or federally-permitted projects could affect cherished species like the sandhill crane and its habitat.
But the White House has just slashed these environmental protections, silencing the public and putting the health and safety of Americans—in the middle of a pandemic—at risk.
Our leaders need to hear from you today: Urge Congress to oppose these reckless rollbacks today.
For half a century, the National Environmental Policy Act has given Americans a voice in projects that would impact their communities and wildlife. Projects like the Dakota Access Pipeline—which White House regulators pushed through using a slipshod environmental assessment—threaten the health and safety of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, the Missouri River watershed, and vital habitat for the sandhill crane and other wildlife. Relying on the National Environmental Policy Act, a judge recently ruled that the project’s environmental risk to nearby communities and wildlife was not properly assessed and required the pipeline to cease operation.
As with countless examples across the country, until now, the National Environmental Policy Act—when allowed to work—creates a process that gives a voice to the public and protects the role of science in federal decision-making. It has required the government to “look before they leap” on taxpayer funded projects, avoiding costly, destructive plans that pollute our most vulnerable communities and wildlife.
The White House rollback changes virtually every aspect of how the National Environmental Policy Act is implemented. This is bad for people and bad for wildlife. Tell your senators and representative in Congress to oppose the White House’s effort to take away your voice today.
Thank you for joining us in this fight for wildlife.
