The Obama government is now accepting comments on a draft policy that would sharply limit the number of species given protection under the Endangered Species Act. The policy in question is a Bush-era throwback that ignores entire populations of imperiled species.



The Endangered Species Act does not require a species to be at risk of global extinction to qualify for protections; it must be only be at risk in a "significant portion of its range." This provision ensures species are protected before they're past the point of no return and protects the ecosystems on which endangered species depend.

Unfortunately the policy the Obama administration is proposing would ignore historic losses of habitat and require species be endangered globally -- a standard that has already allowed the government to downplay the urgent plight of the cactus ferruginous pygmy owl.

Please tell President Obama's Interior Department not to shut out plants and animals that desperately need the Act's protection.