I think we’ve been talking a lot about defending our bedrock environmental laws lately, and unfortunately they continue to need our help. Right now we have two time-sensitive action alerts, around regulations that dictate how the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Clean Water Act are enforced, and I thought it would be a good chance to revisit the history of these landmark laws, and ask you to take action on both.
Fifty years ago, the Cuyahoga River caught fire—again. Rivers across America ran with industrial waste. Bald eagles teetered on extinction. We’ve come a long way, but none of those things resolved themselves. They ended because we, ordinary Americans, demanded action, and organized for years until Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972 and a weaker predecessor was strengthened into the Endangered Species Act in 1973.
These victories weren't gifts from politicians. They were hard-won through sit-ins at polluted sites, testimony from communities poisoned by contaminated water, and relentless pressure from citizens who refused to accept a degraded future. The Clean Water Act passed only after massive public demonstrations and years of grassroots organizing. The Endangered Species Act came after activists documented species disappearing in real-time, making extinction impossible to ignore, and made it clear that protecting species meant protecting their habitats.
Today, both pillars of environmental protection are under direct attack.
The EPA's proposed "Polluted Water Rule" would eliminate protections for 80% of wetlands and 5 million miles of streams—the very waters our predecessors fought to protect. These aren't abstract resources; they're the wetlands that filter our drinking water, the streams that nurture salmon runs, and the buffers that protect communities from flooding.
At the same time, the administration is also gutting the Endangered Species Act through a series of regulatory changes. By prioritizing industry profits over species survival, the same law that has helped to protect our remaining Snake River salmon, grizzly bears and gray wolves is being systematically weakened.
We worked together as a community to bring about these regulations the first time around, but it wasn’t easy. They exist because of everyone who was willing to show up, and who refused to accept poisoned rivers and ruined habitat. Now it's our time to show up for the forests of the Northwest, the watersheds our communities rely on, and the salmon and other species with whom we share this home.
The comment period for the ESA ends on December 22nd (very soon!) and the comment period for the Polluted Water Rule ends January 5th. I’d appreciate it if you could take the time to leave a personal comment on both.
These laws have changed and shaped our country for the better for the past 50 years, and we need your help to ensure that we continue to move in the right direction.
Thank you,
Lia Brewster
NW Conservation Campaign Strategist
Sierra Club