Please read the following and then visit the website to send your letter
today.  The website is The American Bird Conservancy's and is set up to
easily add your own comments.

PROTECT ENDANGERED SPECIES FROM HARMFUL PESTICIDES

ACT NOW TO PROTECT AMERICA'S MOST IMPERILED SPECIES. A SIMPLE MOUSE CLICK
CAN SAVE ENDANGERED BIRDS, BUTTERFLIES, MAMMALS AND OTHER WILDLIFE.
WWW.SAVEOURBIRDS.ORG

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) needs your written comments
telling them to protect endangered species from harmful pesticides.

The EPA has proposed a program seeking to protect endangered species from
the damaging effects of pesticides that is potentially confusing for
landowners and  inadequate to meet species conservation goals.  Instead of
readily providing individuals with all the information they need to apply
pesticides safely and comply with the Endangered Species Act, the EPA is
proposing a program that places the burden on the individual to find out
the risks associated with pesticide use and how pesticides can be used
within the law.  The agency is also proposing a highly restrictive and
narrow review of the potential negative impacts pesticides may have on
threatened and endangered species.

Please send your comments by Monday, March 10, 2003

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the federal agency that
registers toxic pesticides. These hazardous chemicals can kill birds and
other wildlife  To ensure that a pesticide will not impact endangered
species and to help safeguard these rarest of animals, the EPA must
currently consult with expert biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service or National Marine Fisheries Service.

Now EPA wants to change the law so that they can exempt themselves from this
procedure.  They want to remove some of the checks and balances crucial to a
fair and unbiased government.  They formulated this proposal after lengthy
consultations with representatives from the pesticide industry, but with no
input from the conservation community.

Now you can change that.  Visit www.saveourbirds.org and click to send an
automatic email to the EPA, Fish and Wildlife Service, and other key
regulators expressing your opposition to this and any other proposal that
will weaken the Endangered Species Act.

THE DEADLINE FOR YOUR COMMENTS IS MONDAY, MARCH 10. PLEASE ACT NOW TO KEEP
THE "PROTECTION" IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

TELL THE EPA:

* It has a legal duty to ensure that threatened and endangered species are
adequately conserved and protected against harmful pesticides

* To eliminate confusion for landowners and other citizens any restrictions
on pesticide use must be mandatory and appear on the pesticide product
label, not in pamphlets or on a website.  Labels must include the name of
the species to be conserved, what restrictions apply and where they apply.

* EPA must consider the full range of negative impacts that a pesticide
could have on endangered species conservation including the direct killing
of individuals of a listed species, harm to habitat or harm to other
non-listed species that endangered species depend on for food.

The Environmental Protection Agency has a responsibility to help lead the
nation in it's stewardship of America's endangered fish, plant and wildlife
resources.  To meet this responsibility the EPA must make a programmatic
commitment to conserving species under the Endangered Species Act that
includes mandatory restrictions on pesticide use and clear instructions to
landowners that enable them to comply with the law.The current proposal of
the EPA to accomplish this has two serious shortcomings that must be
overcome in order for the agency to contribute effectively to the nation's
endangered species conservation efforts.

The agency's proposal places the burden of obtaining information on
appropriate pesticide use on the pesticide user, relying on obscure
pamphlets and a website to communicate information.  Also, The proposal
lacks a requirement to consult with agencies expert in the scientific
management of fish and wildlife, such as the US Fish and Wildlife Service
and National Marine Fisheries Service, to determine the impacts of
pesticides on listed species.

To address these shortcomings the final agency program should require that
pesticide labels prominently display any restrictions necessary to conserve
species and all the information necessary for pesticide users to comply
with the ESA .  The final program should also require full consultation
with the FWS and NMFS to determine the effects of pesticides on endangered
species.

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