�պ�����

�պ����� wildlife biologist Joe Roman, flanked by a Peregrine Falcon, testified at a special briefing to the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee yesterday, calling on Congress to protect the Endangered Species Act. 

“The Endangered Species Act is our nation’s safety net for plants, fish and wildlife on the brink of extinction,” said Roman, a researcher at �պ�����’s and . “We owe it to our children, and future generations, to protect endangered species and the special places they call home.

The briefing follows recent bills in the House and the Senate containing “riders” that would remove, prohibit or delay Endangered Species Act protections from several imperiled species of wildlife, including the sage grouse and the gray wolf.

According to 2011 public opinion poll, 84 percent of Americans support the , including strong majorities in all regions of the U.S. and across both major political parties. More than 1,300 imperiled species of plants, fish and wildlife in the United States have been protected by the Endangered Species Act.

Briefing panelists included Cristina Eisenberg, lead scientist at Earthwatch, Mary Minette of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and Maggie the Peregrine Falcon, who serves as an education animal at the Wildlife Center of Virginia after suffering major injuries. The Peregrine Falcon was near extinction in 1975, but has since been declared recovered with the Act’s protections.

Twelve conservation and scientific advocacy groups sponsored the briefing, including Endangered Species Coalition, Sierra Club, American Bird Conservancy, Audubon, the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Centre for Biological Diversity. It was hosted in cooperation with Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, Ranking Member of the Committee on Natural Resources.

Learn more about Joe Roman, Maggie the Peregrine Falcon, and the Congress briefing .