facebook-pixel

Letter: Support the Endangered Species Act

A monarch butterfly perches on milkweed at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Md., Friday, May 31, 2019. Farming and other human development have eradicated state-size swaths of its native milkweed habitat, cutting the butterfly's numbers by 90% over the last two decades. It is now under considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

I am writing in support of the Endangered Species Act and in opposition to efforts by Congress and Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to weaken it.

I am a conservationist and I am concerned about the loss of plants, fish and animals, because every species of plants, fish and animals as well as insects, is vital to a healthy balanced planet that I want my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and on, to inherit.

I believe that protecting and saving our animals is important to the health of the planet. The Endangered Species Act is a safety net for fish, plants and wildlife on the brink of extinction. Since President Nixon signed the law in 1973, hundreds of species have been saved from disappearing forever, and many more are on their way to recovery.

In Utah, the Endangered Species Act protects the sage grouse and other plants, fish and animals from extinction. But now, some members of Congress and the administration are trying to weaken the Endangered Species Act to benefit developers and the oil and gas and mining industries.

Proposed policies would undermine science and make it harder to protect important habitat for imperiled fish and wildlife.

We have a responsibility to future generations to be good stewards and protect endangered species and the special places they call home.

I hope that I can count on Sens. Mike Lee and Mit Romney to defend the Endangered Species Act.

Gaya Covington, Taylorsville

Submit a letter to the editor