Currently, we are faced with the greatest rate of species extinction worldwide since the disappearance of the dinosaurs. One-quarter of the world's species could be lost within the next 50 years. An alarming 100 species will be lost per day by the year 2000.

For 20 years, the Endangered Species Act has been one of the most effective pieces of environmental legislation in this country. The act is scheduled to be reauthorized by Congress in the upcoming months. It is critical that the act is not only renewed but strengthened to halt this dramatic loss of life.While species extinction is a global issue, we can determine its potential destruction here in the West where several species, including the grizzly bear and desert tortoise, are endangered.

The notion that to be pro-environment is to be anti-development must be dispelled. Support of the Endangered Species Act will help to ensure a future with life-saving medicines, productive agriculture and the genetic secrets of diverse life forms for ourselves and our children.

Carla Llewellyn

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Murray

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