Date: March, 2010
Contact: Marydele Donnelly
Phone: (352) 373-6441
Action deadline: March 17, 2010
How You Can Help
Dear STC Activist,
We need your help to ensure Congress appropriates funds to protect marine turtles and some of the world’s most imperiled wildlife. In the next few weeks the U.S. Congress will be making decisions about funding for the Multinational Species Conservation Funds (MSCF), programs which protect more than 100 threatened species around the world. In recent years STC activists have played a key role in ensuring the Marine Turtle Conservation Act and other programs under the MSCF umbrella are adequately funded each year by the Congress. We ask you to help once again.
The Multinational Species Conservation Funds for marine turtles, tigers, rhinos, elephants, and great apes are small but highly effective programs. They have been exceedingly successful in conserving species at risk of extinction by providing critical grants for anti-poaching, population surveys, and efforts to resolve human-animal conflicts. In the countries where these animals live, poverty, conflict and natural disasters frequently hinder or undermine conservation. As a result, grant requests have far outstripped available resources. Over the last five years only about 25% of the marine turtle applications have been funded.
Please contact your Congressional Representative by March 17th to urge that he/she contact the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee to increase funding for MSCF programs.
TAKE ACTION: Urge your Representative to support strong funding for the conservation of marine turtles and other endangered species.
* Contact the Washington, DC or local office of your Congressional Representative and make the main points from the letter below. You can reach your Representative via the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 or via the internet by going to Write your Representative. All Congressional offices have websites with posted contact information.
* Forward this alert to your friends and colleagues!
Your help makes a difference! Thank you.
SAMPLE MESSAGE TEXT
Dear (insert the name of your Representative here):
I urge you to sign a Dear Colleague letter to the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee in support of the Multinational Species Conservation Funds (MSCF). These funds safeguard marine turtles, elephants, tigers, rhinos, great apes, and neo-tropical migratory birds from extinction. A letter of support for these programs is being circulated by Representatives George Miller, Don Young, Madeleine Bordallo and Henry Brown.
The deadline for signatures is March 17th, 2010. Signatures are being collected by Kathryn Corbin (202-225-2095) on Congressman George Miller’s staff.
These programs provide great conservation value and help support economic security for communities living near some of the world’s most threatened species. Through grants for anti-poaching, population surveys, and efforts to resolve human-animal conflicts, they prevent the extinction of some of the world’s most spectacular wildlife. These programs also protect many other species dependent on the same habitat. Despite continuing threats from disease, insurgency, and natural disasters, these funds have an excellent record of success.
I urge you to request $2.5 Million each for the Marine Turtle Fund, Asian Elephant Fund, African Elephant Fund, and the Great Apes Fund and $5 Million for the combined Rhino-Tiger Fund, the only fund that addresses two different sets of species.
The Multinational Species Conservation Funds help to generate support from other governments, corporations and conservation organizations and consistently leverage more than three times the U.S. contribution through matching funds. In addition, many grants protect the forest habitats which are essential to controlling climate change. Please do all you can to support these magnificent species that are an integral part of our world’s natural heritage.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Your name and address
Sea Turtle Conservancy
