Stop the attack on wildlife and let wildlife professionals do their jobs

The natural gas, coal and other industries have launched an unprecedented attack on Pennsylvania's wildlife and the ability of our wildlife management agencies to preserve and protect the diversity of mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and amphibians that inhabit Penn's Woods. Every citizen who cares about the web of life and the natural inheritance we leave to future generations should be deeply concerned.

House Bill 1576 and Senate Bill 1047 would undermine the longstanding independence of the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission and severely limit their ability to protect Pennsylvania's threatened and endangered species.

If this bad legislation becomes law:

• It would be extremely difficult for the Game Commission and the Fish & Boat Commission to list any species in Pennsylvania as state threatened or state endangered unless the species was nearing national extinction.
• Wildlife management agency decisions now made on the basis of facts and science would be significantly politicized and subject to a cumbersome and lengthy regulatory review process.
• Every species now listed as Pennsylvania threatened or endangered would be removed from the list unless they could be approved under the new rules within two years.
• Permits for gas drilling, mining and other development activities would be allowed to be issued without making the applicant check for the presence of Pennsylvania threatened and endangered species.
• The Fish & Boat Commission's ability to protect streams that qualify as wild trout streams would be severely limited.
• The Game Commission and the Fish & Boat Commission may lose significant federal funding.

Protecting species at the state level is the most effective way to prevent their decline and extinction nationally. Robust state wildlife conservation programs are critical to avoiding a listing of a species under the federal Endangered Species Act.

Pennsylvania has a long and proud tradition of allowing independent commissions staffed by nationally-recognized wildlife experts to manage the wildlife of Pennsylvania without political interference. These bills would end that tradition.

Please contact your state representative and state senator and urge them to oppose HB 1576 and SB 1047. PennFuture now has an action alert on our web site to make it easy for citizens to take action on this critical issue. 

Help us stop the attack on wildlife in Pennsylvania and let wildlife professionals do their jobs.

Run for clean air

Despite its newly hip status and numerous "Most Livable City" accolades, Pittsburgh still suffers from poor air quality. We've come a long way from the black skies that hovered over the region like an ominous cloud, but there is much left to do. Our friends at Group Against Smog and Pollution (GASP) are raising awareness around air quality, and celebrating the work that environmental organizations, communities, and foundations have done to clean up our air with this weekend's inaugural Clean Air Dash and Festival.
 
Brought to Pittsburgh with the support of The Breathe Project, the Clean Air Dash and Festival is a 5K race, a 1-mile Fun Run/Walk, and a festival all in one, all on the South Side sliver of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail. The gorgeous trail threads its way through trees along the banks of the Monongahela River, under several bridges, and directly on top of historic mill sites. 

PennFuture is proud to support GASP and the Clean Air Dash. We'll have a table at the event this Saturday, so please stop by if you're planning to run or participate in other festival activities (yoga, rock climbing, and more). Registration for the 5k ends on Friday at noon so don't delay; registration isn't necessary if you don't plan to run. More info is available on GASP's website. 

Hope to see you there!