Dear Mark,

The Bush Administration has just launched a disastrous new "Fast Track to Extinction" scheme that would put polar bears, wolves, whales and countless other imperiled wildlife at grave risk.

Mark, your emergency gift can help us mount a rapid-response campaign and turn back this grave threat to America's wildlife.

In a stealth attack, the Department of Interior recently announced plans to drastically re-write the 35-year-old Endangered Species Act and allow federal agencies to fast-track projects that could harm wildlife -- without the traditional oversight required by this bedrock environmental law.

Worse yet, the Interior Department is trying to ram through this dangerous new proposal while Congress and many Americans are on vacation -- and before the November elections -- by slashing the public comment period to only 30 days.

Time is short -- but the White House is underestimating what you and the NRDC Action Fund can do when we work together to protect wildlife.

Our new rapid-response campaign is ready to hit the Internet, airwaves and newsstands.

All we need is your emergency donation to run the first ad and sound the alarm that our country's wildlife conservation law is under attack.

If they get their way, the Bush Administration will put the fate of our country's endangered wildlife in the hands of federal agencies charged with promoting mining, logging, and oil drilling.

Here are just a few of the disastrous scenarios that could ensue:

• Polar bears could be exposed to lethal oil spills if the federal Minerals Management Service is given free reign to open up the Arctic to oil development.
• Endangered whales could be subject to more frequent assaults with deadly sonar if the U.S. Navy is allowed to conduct exercises without independent scientific review.
• Gray wolves could lose their forest habitat if the U.S. Forest Service is permitted to green-light timber sales without any external environmental oversight.

Hundreds more imperiled animals and plants could be fast-tracked to extinction by a "death of 1,000 cuts" if we don't act immediately.

With the public comment period closing in mid-September, every donation counts. We must run our campaign-launching ad to rally the American public...alert the media...galvanize thousands of NRDC Members and online activists via the Internet...and work in both the House and Senate to generate a groundswell of congressional opposition.

So please, make an emergency contribution that will put the brakes on this "Fast Track to Extinction" threat.

On behalf of the polar bears, wolves, whales and countless other animals that depend on the Endangered Species Act for their very survival, I thank you in advance for whatever financial support you can give at this critical time.

Sincerely,

Frances Beinecke
President
NRDC Action Fund

P.S. Remember, without the Endangered Species Act, the bald eagle, grizzly bear, Florida panther, manatee and countless other species would be extinct today. So please give America's wildlife a chance at tomorrow by helping us thwart the Bush Administration's dangerous plan.