Dear Summer,
There were plenty of talking heads in Washington, DC, who said it couldn’t be done. But together we did it:
We beat America’s #1 Wildlife Villain and made history!
Early this morning, CNN projected a decisive victory for Jerry McNerney -- an independent businessman and avowed conservationist -- over Representative Richard Pombo, Chairman of the powerful House Resources Committee.
This is the most important political victory for conservationists in memory… and it wouldn’t have happened without the support of dedicated people like you.
Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund targeted Pombo in the fall of 2005, when every pundit and political party thought he was unbeatable. We were the first to place staff on the ground and worked with other groups over the last year to keep Pombo on the ropes.
Together, we’ve fought Pombo’s dangerous, self-serving agenda in Congress. We’ve run television and radio ads that turned the national spotlight on his corruption, his ties to special interests and his absolute disregard for our imperiled wildlife and great wild places.
And now we’ve sent Pombo packing, back home where he won’t be able to push legislation to gut the Endangered Species Act, sacrifice crucial polar bear habitat to Big Oil or sell off our National Parks to the highest bidder.
There were many victories for wildlife champions last night, but Pombo’s defeat is especially important to our imperiled animals and the wild places they need to survive.
This victory demonstrates that environmentalists have the political strength to take on and defeat the most extreme anti-environmental politicians, even the heads of powerful Congressional committees. (In fact, Pombo is the first committee chairman in at least the last five election cycles to lose a re-election bid.)
Thanks to your support, Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund was able to deploy an ambitious and effective field operation -- by far the largest on-the-ground mobilization of conservationists in Pombo’s Congressional District and one of the most significant efforts on behalf of wildlife protection anywhere this election year.
With your help, our dedicated staff and volunteers spoke with more than 75,000 households in Pombo’s district about his awful record. We sent tens of thousands of messages urging Pombo to clean up his act. And we mobilized thousands of volunteers to speak out for our wildlife and to get out the conservation vote.
This victory puts politicians across the country on notice: America’s wildlife supporters can and will hold them accountable when their votes threaten our natural heritage.
Our fight to save America’s wildlife continues, and there will be plenty to do in the days and weeks ahead. But for now, please accept my sincere gratitude for everything you’ve done to help us fight for conservation, accountability and integrity.
Sincerely,
Rodger Schlickeisen
President
Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund
