The San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex, a vital habitat for wildlife and a gateway for urban residents to encounter nature, is at a crisis point. Over the last three years, federal staffing has declined by 60% on the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Now, with current federal cutbacks, it is getting much worse for all of the 7 Refuges of the Refuge Complex, and for the entire National Wildlife Refuge System. This scenario is putting nature's balance at risk in the protected lands and water of the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. 

Please help protect and preserve the National Wildlife Refuge System and Hatcheries managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Throughout the country, and locally, the protection of wildlife and their habitats is decreasing, the access to these beautiful wild lands for observation and learning experiences is diminishing, and public buildings, trails, and levees are in critical need of maintenance and repair. Our children, who should be the next custodians of these precious lands, are increasingly deprived of the opportunity to engage with and value nature. Our efforts to engage volunteers as a temporary measure to offset these losses do not make up for the loss of staff to manage them, and the loss of the scientific efforts of dedicated experienced professional biologists, and Refuge managers and staff. 

In light of these concerns, we need to elevate public awareness, to create a public outcry, and to call upon Congress to recognize the urgency of the plight of the over 570 National Wildlife Refuges in the country, vital to protecting both land and water habitat. Greater funding is urgently required: to protect our wildlife, restore US Fish and Wildlife service staff, rebuild infrastructure, maintain visitor services, preserve levees to keep neighboring cities safe from flooding, and to support habitat restoration - which also helps protect our shorelines from tidal wave erosion.

We call on you to invest in our children, fostering a sense of stewardship for nature within them - an investment that helps ensure not just the future of the Complex, but of our shared environment and planet. 

It is time to acknowledge and act upon supporting the inter-dependence of life, people, and habitats. Please sign the petition, and voice your support.