Take Action
How to take action
Thank you for taking action for wildlife! Your voice is very important and as a resident of your state, your voice matters in your state government and in your federal government. You have bills and actions to take in both governments.
The most important action you can take is to make contact with your legislators. Ask your legislators to co-sponsor wildlife protection bills. Your legislators work for you. They want to hear your concerns and the legislation that is important to you.
Setting up a face time call or a zoom meeting during covid-19 is just as effective as an office meeting. Many times a staffer will be meeting with you. Most meetings will last from 15 minutes to 30 minutes. Always make the ask at the end of your meeting to support or co-sponsor the bill of your concern; follow up in a week to see if they have questions or to get an answer.
FEDERAL
Another effective way to contact your legislators is by phone. The numbers can be obtained by the links below or by calling 202-225-3121. They will put you in contact with your senators and representative. Leave a voice mail if a staff member doesn’t answer and then follow up on the call. Making a phone call or taking an action once a week is acceptable.
Emails or letters are other ways to be an effective advocate for wildlife issues when contacting your legislators. Always be polite and remember, they work for you!
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Every state has 2 senators and one representative for your district.
The site below will let you know who your senators and representative are in Washington D.C. On the far right, type your address in the box for your 2 senators and representative. Below the box click on Representatives to find your representative email and phone number.
Click on Senators to find your 2 senator’s emails and phone numbers.
http://www.congress.gov
Other useful information on the Senate and House of Representatives.
Contact information on your senate :
http://www.senate.gov/
Contact information on your house of representative:
http://www.house.gov/
Washington’s switch board number is 202-225-3121.
State
State governments have different bills then the federal government but the process is similar. Again, the most important action you can take is to contact your state legislators. Check and see what wildlife bills are introduced in your state congress. As a resident in your state, you can voice your concern of the horrors of trapping being allowed in your state.
Calling, emailing and letter writing are other ways to be an effective advocate for wildlife in your state. contacting your legislators once every week is acceptable.
Don’t know your state legislators, the link below will identify them according to where your live.
FEDERAL BILLS TO SUPPORT
Interest in learning more? Click on the Bill number to be redirected to additional reading.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is tasked with managing the vast majority of our nation’s federally protected wild horses and burros. For decades, as a method of limiting the number of wild horses and burros on the range, the agency has relied on helicopter roundups to chase wild horses into trap pens using low-flying helicopters. These chaotic operations, widely used in western states, often result in horse injuries and fatalities — and have cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars over the last decade. Horses who survive the ordeal are consigned to a life of captivity in government-funded holding facilities.
Mink farms confine animals in overcrowded, unsanitary cages where they live out their lives with no access to their natural environment and no ability to engage in natural behaviors. Meanwhile, this industry poses a major risk of disease transmission, including COVID-19 and avian flu, to people and wildlife populations. Mink farms in the U.S. have been the site of numerous confirmed outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
new motor vehicles (e.g., certain cars and trucks) sold by manufacturers must be zero emission vehicles; land and livestock managed by certain publicly-traded corporations must be managed with regenerative agricultural practices.
The Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Transportation, and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) must create grants to pay up to 50% of the costs of meeting those requirements.
DOE must also issue regulations regarding the sourcing, recycling, and disposal of materials used to manufacture renewable energy sources (e.g., equipment that stores renewable energy). The goals of the regulations must be to (1) eliminate the use of rare earth metals in the manufacture of those sources, and (2) ensure the recycling of all such materials.
USDA must issue regulations that (1) require the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from certain land or livestock corporations, and (2) ensure the well-being of animals raised for human consumption or the production of dairy products.
The bill also provides tax incentives for electric suppliers, vehicle manufacturers, and such corporations to meet the requirements established by this bill by allowing them to double certain tax deductions for qualified capital climate transitions costs.
In addition, it also requires NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to issue regulations that list marine mammal species in waters under U.S. jurisdiction for which climate change is more likely than not to result in a decline in population abundance, an impeded population recovery, or a reduced carrying capacity (i.e., the maximum population of a marine mammal species that an area will support without undergoing deterioration). The NMFS and the USFWS must update the list at least once every five years and issue regulations that include climate impact management plans for species on such list.
The bill also directs the NMFS and the USFWS to review agreements with foreign governments concerning the management of marine mammals that are or may be affected by climate change. The Department of State must initiate amendments to such agreements or negotiate the development of such agreements in a manner consistent with the goals of the bill.