President Trump Must Protect Wildlife and Public Lands

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jared Saylor, Defenders of Wildlife, jsaylor@defenders.org; 202-772-3255 (office); 202-236-5855 (cell)

President Trump Must Protect Wildlife and Public Lands

Defenders of Wildlife will hold the president and his administration accountable for protecting our natural heritage

WASHINGTON (January 20, 2017) – The following statement is from Jamie Rappaport Clark, Former president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife:

“As our 45^th President, Donald Trump bears the important responsibility of protecting wildlife and the nation’s public lands now and for future generations. Unfortunately, his comments during the campaign on environmental protection and conservation and his appointments to key positions at the Department of the Interior and the EPA continue to raise serious concerns about his commitment to conservation and our environment.

“Last month, we called upon President Trump and his administration to protect endangered species, manage public lands responsibly and take a leadership role on wildlife conservation that is based on sound science in our Wildlife Conservation Agenda. We included eight immediate calls to action:

1.       Protect and restore our endangered and threatened plants and wildlife.

2.       Defend and responsibly manage our federal public lands.

3.       Invest in responsible renewable energy that minimizes impacts to wildlife.

4.       Protect wildlife from the impacts of climate change.

5.       Encourage initiatives by private landowners, states and tribes to conserve imperiled species and habitats.

6.       Strengthen our role as an international leader in imperiled species conservation.

7.       Help our youth and diverse and changing communities connect with our federal public lands and wildlife conservation heritage.

8.       Maintain our commitment to conservation based on sound science.

“We look forward for appropriate opportunities to work with President Trump and his administration to better protect wildlife and its habitat, and to promote sound management of our federal public lands for the benefit of all Americans. But we will also be swift to hold the president and his administration accountable in the courts should they side with those intent on destroying our natural heritage.”

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Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 1.2 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit www.defenders.org and follow us on Twitter @DefendersNews.