From: [email protected] Subject: Call Your Congressman Monday and Tuesday // Help Fix The ESA Land Rights Network American Land Rights Association PO Box 400 – Battle Ground, WA 98604 Phone: 360-687-3087 – Fax: 360-687-2973 E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected] Web Address: http://www.landrights.org Legislative Office: 507 Seward Square SE – Washington, DC 20003 Call Your Congressman Monday and Tuesday // Help Fix The ESA Don’t fail to do your part. House Resources Committee To Vote On ESA Wednesday September 21st. You can make a difference -- Help Fix The Endangered Species Act *****You’ll love the new bill. It is greatly improved over the first June draft. *****Call Your Congressman Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 19-20 You May Call Any Congressman At (202) 225-3121 Here Are Some Suggestions For What You Might Say: -----1. I support and want you to pass the Pombo ESA Update bill. Here are some additional reasons: -----2. Landowners, ranchers and businesses who lose property rights under the Endangered Species Act should be properly compensated. -----3. Recreation advocates, hunters, fishermen and off-highway vehicle users should not have their access cut off by the Endangered Species Act. There should be no net loss of recreation access. -----4. I don't want to lose all property rights improvements in the Pombo ESA bill by insisting on fixing everything wrong with the ESA in one bill. -----5. The future of conservation lies in establishing an entirely new foundation for the conservation of endangered species - one based on the truism that if you want more of something you reward people for it, not punish them. Incentives work better than penalties. -----6. Voluntary incentives should be available to landowners and businesses to encourage and compensate them for maintaining habitat for endangered or threatened species. -----7. I support an effort in Congress that will fix the ESA. I understand it may take several steps with more than one bill over a year or two to reach this objective. It makes sense that all the necessary changes are not likely to pass in one piece of legislation. -----8. I want to support property rights advocates in Congress to get the best deal we can get for farmers, business and landowners. I do not support an all or nothing approach that could save no landowners. -----9. The Act must require a plan to recover species before the species is listed. The ESA doesn’t require such a plan. Listing species just hurts landowners unless there is plan in place to actually recover species and protect landowners. ----10. The updated ESA should reaffirm the "takings clause" of the Constitution that ensures citizens just compensation for the taking of private property. ----11. Species should be managed using "best available scientific information", habitat should be designated after a recovery plan is in place and there should be extensive coordination with local and state governments before listing a species. ----12. Economic impacts and benefits should be considered before the designation of critical habitat so we do a better job of recovering species without endangering the livelihoods of American families. ----13. Protecting habitat should require an economic impact statement that accounts for the impact on landowners and communities. Action Items: -----A. Call your Congressman at (202) 225-3121 to support Chairman Pombo and his bill to fix the Endangered Species Act. Also any other Congressmen with whom you are familiar. -----B. Print out a copy of the ESA Testimony Questionnaire at www.landrights.org Fax it to the House Resources Committee at: F(202) 225-5929 -----C. Call five friends to urge them to call. -----D. Please forward this message as widely as possible. -- To unsubscribe from this mailing list; please visit http://governance.net and enter your email address.