“Conservation Progress Is Possible" If President Bush Delivers on Commitmentsible”

November 03, 2004 — By National Wildlife Federation

Statement by Larry J. Schweiger
National Wildlife Federation President

WASHINGTON, DC – “We congratulate President Bush on his re-election and look forward to working with him and his administration to address the pressing wildlife and conservation challenges facing the nation.

“Conservation progress is possible if the president delivers on commitments he and his administration have made to the American people.

“The president and his cabinet secretaries have compiled a considerable list of new commitments, pledges and statements concerning conservation over the past several months. They affirmed for the first time that human activity contributes to global warming. President Bush personally announced the goal of stopping the annual loss of wetlands and adding three million acres of new wetlands to the nation’s wildlife habitat rolls. The president and numerous administration officials reached out to hunters and anglers, saying the administration is listening to their concerns. They announced a national conservation summit to convene early next year. They suspended oil and gas leasing in Montana’s wildlife-rich Rocky Mountain Front. They pledged to restore the Great Lakes. They made commitments to pursue policies to make the nation’s air and water cleaner and safer.

“As America’s conservation organization working to protect wildlife for future generations, we pledge to work with President Bush and his administration to fulfill each one of these commitments.

“The test will come quickly. Will President Bush endorse the McCain-Lieberman bill to reduced global warming pollution and adopt a more balanced energy plan that protects the nation’s most cherished wild landscapes like Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Wyoming’s Red Desert and New Mexico’s Otero Mesa? Will he fully enforce Clean Water Act wetlands protections and abandon the current policy that ends those protections for up to 20 million wetland acres? Will he strengthen the current proposal to reduce mercury emissions so that all Americans, including anglers and pregnant mothers, can safely consume fish from the nation’s lakes, river and streams? Will he put real money into cleaning up and restoring the great waters of our country?

“The National Wildlife Federation remains optimistic that much good can be accomplished in the next four years. After all, the quality of life for all Americans and the legacy to future generations is at stake. Our optimism, however, is tempered by resolve to oppose vigorously any efforts by the administration or Congress to turn back the clock on conservation progress.

“We call on President Bush to live up to his conservation pledges, and commit ourselves to working with him to do so.”

Protecting wildlife through education and action since 1936, the National Wildlife Federation is America's conservation organization creating solutions that balance the needs of people and wildlife now and for future generations.