‘Zombie Apocalypse’ Energy Bill Passes the House - Full of Riders that Harm #Wildlife

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Haley McKey, 202-772-0247

hmckey@defenders.org

WASHINGTON (May 25, 2016)– Today, the House of Representatives passed an amended version of S. 2012, the “Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2016,” a bill loaded down with controversial anti-wildlife and anti-public lands provisions. They include a large number of unrelated bills previously passed by the House that are strongly opposed by the Obama administration. 

This controversial energy legislation contains extreme, partisan proposals such as the House sportsmen’s bill, H.R. 2406, which would overturn two federal court decisions and strip Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in Wyoming and the Great Lakes region, block efforts to crack down on the illegal trade in African elephant ivory and bar conservation measures for wolves, bears and other iconic carnivores on over 100 million acres of federal lands in Alaska. The energy package also includes damaging legislation that, under the guise of responding to California’s drought, would dramatically weaken protections for salmon, migratory birds and other fish and wildlife in California’s Bay-Delta estuary and threaten thousands of fishing jobs in California and Oregon. The bill includes language that would undermine forestry safeguards, leaving the nation’s forest lands open to increased logging and destruction.

Statement from Former Defenders of Wildlife President and CEO Jamie Rappaport Clark:

“This Energy Bill is like the zombie apocalypse – it’s an army of previously passed House bills that died in the Senate, but here they are again, back from the dead and out to cause the destruction of our nation’s wildlife and public lands.

“The House sportsmen’s bill, apart from having nothing to do with energy policy, is a minefield of riders that have serious consequences for wildlife here in the United States and abroad.

“The many riders that plague this bill are varied, but they share a common thread. They all spell disaster for wildlife- and they show us that House lawmakers aren’t serious about reaching any agreement with the Senate on an energy bill in the short time remaining in this session.”

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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. To get the latest news from Defenders, follow@DefendersNews.