by Curt Ashenfelter, Executive Director
For decades, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the Pennsylvania Game Commission have successfully implemented programs to protect and restore the habitats of threatened, endangered, and rare species, such as the osprey, the great egret, the bog turtle, the banded sunfish and wild trout. Their record of success has been impressive with many species recovering to the point where they have been removed from the endangered species list. Next in line for removal is the bald eagle.
However, House Bill 1576 would have changed these successful programs in a fundamental way. The gas drilling and mining industries are now targeting the protectors of Pennsylvania's threatened and endangered species.
On March 10, 2014, Keystone Trails Association joined with a number of like-minded organizations and issued an Action Alert, calling on our members to contact their state representative and state senator to vote NO on HB 1576.
I met with a number of state representatives after March 10, and your collective voice was heard. State representatives from across Pennsylvania reported that their constituents were contacting them in large numbers to vote against HB 1576.
Due to your actions, the leadership in the House did not bring the bill to a floor vote.
Unfortunately, this does not mean that the issue has gone away. HB 1576 may be dead, but you can be sure that some creative legislator will cut and paste HB 1576 language into another bill and bring it to a vote later in the year.
We will continue to monitor the situation here in Harrisburg, and we will alert you to any new attacks on the Game Commission and Fish and Boat Commission in the weeks and months ahead.
Earlier this year, the Keystone Trails Association joined with sixteen other organizations and sent a letter to all 203 Pennsylvania state representatives. Talking points for your conversation or letter to your state senator and your state representative could include the points made below.
Dear Representative:
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 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.