Please excuse cross postings. The Union of Concerned Scientists
prefers signers to have advanced degrees in scientific disciplines or
other disciplines relevant to this topic. If you are one of the 900
scientists and scholars who have already signed, thank you!
Also, please forward this request to your colleagues for additional signatures.
Dear Colleagues:
We recently partnered with the Union of Concerned Scientists to
solicit signatures from scientists and scholars around the country in
support of our proposal to reform how best available science is
defined and used in listing and delisting decisions under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). Nearly 900 scientists signed on
by the end of 2015.
Since then, a variety of ESA-related court rulings and policy shifts
have placed an even heavier emphasis on the importance of our
petition. In particular, recent rulings related to large mammalian
carnivores have cast a stark light on how science is currently being
used and how the process can be improved. In our communications with
state and federal agency personnel, and scientists from the public
and private sectors, we have heard a common-ground willingness to
improve the current situation and work collaboratively together.
Thus, we have a critical window of opportunity to improve the
scientific review underlying protections for threatened and
endangered species. Our petition is intended to persuade the
Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce that the independent
scientific community can and should play a central role in this
process a review that should be transparent, rigorous, and grounded
in the best available science. Such a process would improve
science-based decision-making and restore scientific integrity to ESA
determinations. This, in turn, would allow the agencies to avoid
litigation and the ESA to fulfill its mandates to reverse declines in
threatened and endangered species and restore the habitats upon which they rely
Please join us in signing and circulating the petition at
<https://secure3.convio.net/ucs/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=5042>https://secure3.convio.net/ucs/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=5042
Sincerely,
Adrian Treves, PhD
Associate Professor, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies
University of Wisconsin-Madison
30A Science Hall, 550 North Park St., Madison, WI 53706, USA
<mailto:[email protected]>[email protected] &
http://nelson.wisc.edu/people/treves/ Tel: &+1-608-890-1450
