John,

From the tiny longtail to the 2 foot-long eastern hellbender, salamanders across the country could soon see their forest and pond habitat destroyed and polluted by pipelines.

Add your name today to say NO to clean water protection rollbacks and YES to salamander protection today.

SAVE SALAMANDERS

The Environmental Protection Agency is currently trying to weaken a key part of the landmark Clean Water Act, which gives states and tribes the right to review federally licensed projects that will impact water quality, like pipelines and dams, and certify that they comply with state water quality standards. This new proposal would constrain state and tribal voices by limiting project review time and allowing federal agencies to override a state or tribal decision related to protecting waters within their borders. If states like New York can’t have a voice in protecting their own waters, rivers, and ponds, salamanders and other species that are highly sensitive to tainted water will suffer.

Protecting clean water is a key part of addressing the global decline of amphibians here at home. Salamanders are sensitive to water pollution because their permeable skin—which many salamanders breathe through rather than using lungs—also permits for easy entrance of toxins into their bloodstream. And some species return annually to the same waters and ponds that they were born in to reproduce. But if the current Administration’s proposal succeeds, the rights of states and tribes to defend their waters could be diminished—at high and possibly fatal cost for salamanders.

Don’t let these incredible amphibians succumb to polluted water and lost habitat: Tell the Environmental Protection Agency to halt its siege on the Clean Water Act today.

For more than 50 years, the Clean Water Act has allowed states, tribes, and the federal government to cooperatively manage our water resources, and ensured that local voices are heard when it comes to projects that would negatively impact waters within their borders. From stopping a dangerous coal terminal in Washington state that would have harmed salmon and orca in the Northwest, to requiring a Maryland dam to institute safeguards to protect the Chesapeake’s blue crab, the Clean Water Act has been a key tool in protecting wildlife. But state-level environmental concerns, like the kind that saved Washington’s wildlife, could be deemed irrelevant if the Environmental Protection Agency successfully narrows the scope of this authority.

With the Trump administration keenly interested in boosting energy development, wildlife are at an increased risk of habitat harm or destruction. The Constitution Pipeline for natural gas, in particular, would slash a 100-foot wide swath in southeast New York, disrupting waterways 251 times and destroying or degrading at least 95 acres of wetlands—on top of the removal of thousands of acres of trees. But a country crisscrossed with new pipelines for fossil fuels doesn’t have to be our future: Tell the Environmental Protection Agency to not fast-track dirty pipelines to protect clean water and vital salamander habitat.

Thank you for all you do to protect vulnerable wildlife and their homes.