Pombo's at it again with gutting enviro laws

The House of Representatives is expected to be vote on
amendments to the Marine Mammal Protection Act the week of May
15, 2006 and we urgently need your help to uphold this important
conservation law. The bill most likely to move (H.R. 4075) is
sponsored by Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., and would severely
weaken many of its key provisions.

Please call or write your member of Congress and urge him or her
not to "kill the Dolphin Deadline" and to oppose H.R. 4075 or
any other effort to weaken the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121

Representative Dan Lungren
(202) 225-5716
U. S. House of Representatives
2448 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-0001

We encourage you to take action by May 21, 2006

Help Protect Marine Mammals! Oppose H.R. 4075

Your letter will be addressed and sent to:
Your Congressperson

----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN YOUR NAME----
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

I am concerned about the report that H.R. 4075, which would
amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act, will be voted on in the
next couple weeks. This bill aims to weaken critical provisions
of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and I urge you to strongly
oppose it and any other attempt to undermine this important
conservation law.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act was passed over 30 years ago to
reverse the decline in the populations of whales, dolphins,
seals and other marine mammals. In 1994, Congress amended the
law to reduce the amount of marine mammals that commercial
fisheries seriously injure or kill. This provision is called the
Zero Mortality Rate Goal, and it requires that commercial
fisheries reduce their harm to marine mammals to insignificant
levels. Congress gave commercial fishing operations a full seven
years to achieve the goal.

This "Dolphin Deadline" has long passed, but still it is
unrealized. Every year that commercial fisheries fail to achieve
the Zero Mortality Rate Goal, approximately 1900 additional
whales, dolphins and other marine mammals are killed.

Instead of redoubling efforts to reduce the bycatch of marine
mammals, Congressman Pombo's bill, H.R. 4075 would remove the
deadline altogether. This is a reckless course that must be
averted.

Please oppose any efforts to remove the "Dolphin Deadline" or
otherwise weaken the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

----END OF LETTER TO BE SENT----