For the second year in a row, Earth Day was this close to being a devastating day for the environmental movement.

You may remember last year, when the Trump administration was considering targeting the tax-exempt status of environmental nonprofits. It was easily one of the worst scenarios imaginable—a move that would’ve jeopardized the survival of the groups working day in and day out to better our planet and community health and wellbeing. So it was a massive relief when the 22nd quietly came and went.

This year followed a similar pattern.

On April 20th, news broke that House Republicans would be voting on the ESA Amendments Act—a devastating bill that aims to gut key provisions of our nation’s landmark conservation law. This bill would overhaul the consultation process, make it harder to list species, shift implementation responsibilities from the federal government to the states, and allow the cabinet-led Endangered Species Committee—or “God Squad”—to more freely exempt projects with national security benefits from compliance with the ESA.

All in all, it’s a disastrous piece of legislation that prioritizes economic gain and politics over the survival of thousands of beloved species. And it’s dressed up as a way to “improve” one of the most effective laws in history.

Needless to say, we all breathed a sigh of relief when the bill was shelved and the vote didn’t happen—but the fight is far from over.

This year, we’ve already seen the God Squad exempt oil and gas drilling projects in the Gulf of Mexico from compliance with ESA requirements. We’ve seen the Department of the Interior repeal a rule that was established to bolster the conservation of public lands. And we’ve seen congressional Republicans reverse plans intended to protect large swaths of Alaska, Montana, and North Dakota from development.

It’s incredibly alarming—but hardly surprising.

So long as they can help their industry allies make that extra little bit of profit, the people in power are willing to tear down every regulation and protection in the books. Their prime directive is to make it as easy as possible for these companies to exploit our lands and destroy critical habitat, jeopardizing the existence of species already at their most threatened due to climate change.

But the situation is far from hopeless.

When it comes to amending the ESA, Republicans are not a united front. It was House Republicans, nervous about expanding the God Squad’s authority, who ultimately convinced the House Speaker to shelve the ESA Amendments Act.

And we would be remiss not to mention the most powerful point in the ESA’s favor—an overwhelming amount of public support.

Join us as we rally together and remind our elected officials that we won’t stand for these attacks on the species and landscapes we hold so dear!