December 28th, 2013 marked the 40th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, one of the world's strongest and most effective wildlife protection laws.

Unfortunately, just at this time when we celebrate four decades of success with the ESA, a bill that could rightly be called the “Extinction Act” has been introduced by anti-environment lawmakers in the House and Senate (H.R. 3533 / S. 1731). This bill would gut the ESA and put imperiled species at greater risk.

Tell your senators to oppose this harmful bill and any other legislation that hurts imperiled wildlife!

Some of America's most iconic species—from the bald eagle and the brown pelican to the American alligator—were rescued from the brink of extinction thanks to the Endangered Species Act. But if anti-wildlife lawmakers get their way, the ESA’s vital protections would be cast aside.

Earthjustice is fighting to stop legislative attacks on the Endangered Species Act, and we need you to contact your senators to defend the ESA by opposing the Extinction Act and other anti-wildlife bills.

The Extinction Act would harm imperiled species by:

-Automatically removing them from the lists of endangered and threatened species after five years, whether or not they’ve recovered.

- Letting politics win over science by requiring that state governors give their consent before species in their states can be listed under the ESA, and requiring a joint resolution of Congress to approve the listing of species as threatened or endangered.

- Undermining citizens’ ability to enforce the ESA in court and to help protect imperiled species by filing citizen listing petitions.

And that’s just the beginning! Anti-environment lawmakers are actively seeking new ways to undermine the Endangered Species Act and advance the agenda of their supporters in destructive and polluting industries.