The Bluestem Network Action Alert as of June 13, 1999, is as follows:

Please call Illinois Governor George Ryan's office and ask him to veto House Bill 1825, which would weaken the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Act.

This Spring, the Illinois General Assembly passed House Bill 1825, which would weaken the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Act by allowing the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to allow the killing of threatened and endangered animals in certain circumstances.

You can call Illinois Governor George Ryan ath his office toll-free at 1-800-642-3112. When you reach the governor's office, leave a message stating "Please veto House Bill 1825," and leave your name and address.

This ends the Bluestem Network Action Alert.

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What follows is the detailed explanation which explains the background behind the action alert.

After reading the detailed explanation of this action alert if you need additional clarification, please call the Illinois Chapter Office of the Sierra Club at 312-251-1680.

What follows is the detailed explanation for the June 13, 1999 Bluestem Network

Action Alert.

On March 7 and April 18 of 1999, there were two Bluestem Network Action Alerts on this very same issue. From these two previous Bluestem Network Action Alerts, the original Illinois State legislation, HB 2243, dealing with endangered species would have required that three animal species that were currently endangered in Illinois would have been taken off the Illinois Endangered Species List.

Thanks to the phone calls generated throughout the entire State of Illinois in opposition to HB 2243, its sponsors dropped that outrageous idea and instead amended House Bill 1825 to allow the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to issue "incidental take" permits, allowing the "taking," or killing, of endangered animals if it would not threaten the survival of the species in Illinois. Such a provision is contained in the federal Endangered Species Act and many similar state statutes. Sierra Club is very concerned that legislators have now weakened this very important conservation law for the purpose of greasing the skids for local pet projects. HB 1825 now moves on to Governor George Ryan's desk, where we hope to convince him to use his veto pen to make the following changes:

1. Take the Politics Out of Species Decisions.

The Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board consists of top biologists and wildlife specialists who are the most knowledgeable people in Illinois regarding threatened widlife. These scientific experts, rather than political appointees at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, should ultimately make decisions regarding actions impacting endangered species.

2. Allow the Public the Right to Challenge Incidental Take Permits.

Most state agency decisions are subject to review by a court of law. To ensure that sound scientific evidence supports a decision to grant an incidental take permit, citizens should have the same right to challenge decisions to grant these permits.

3. Require Guarantees That Habitat Improvements Will Take Place.

If an incidental take permit is approved based on the permittee taking steps to mitigate damage or improve habitat, they should be required to post a bond thatwould guarantee funding for the habitat projects in the event that they are unable or unwilling to implement them.

You can help by calling Governor Ryan TODAY and urging him to use his amendatory veto to improve HB 1825. You can call his office toll-free at 1-800-642-3112. Leave a message stating "Please veto House Bill 1825", and leave your name and address. Our phone calls helped kill the orginal version of this legislation, and now we need to convince Governor Ryan to correct the problems with House Bill 1825.

This concludes the detailed explanation for the April 18, 1999 Bluestem Network Action Alert.