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At the last minute, Alaska Senator Ted Stevens has attached legislative language (known as a rider) to the appropriations bill funding the Department of Commerce that undermines vital legal protections for the ocean ecosystems of the U.S. North Pacific. In stalling protection for the North Pacific, this legislative end run puts at risk habitat protections that have been under development with public participation for seven years. This rider sets a dangerous precedent that threatens fish habitat and ecosystem protection for all of our country’s marine ecosystems.

Important ongoing work to protect essential fish habitat and marine ecosystems will be stymied unless the Stevens rider is removed from the bill when the Commerce Appropriations bill is considered on the Senate Floor within the next few weeks. Thus, your Senator will be in a key position to stop this anti-ocean conservation rider. Please respond to this alert immediately and urge your Senators to notify Senator Stevens about their opposition to this rider.

The language blocking work to protect essential fish habitat is one of several anti-environmental riders included in Title IX of the Commerce, Justice, and State Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2004. For the sake of simplicity we refer to these riders collectively as the Stevens rider, both in this alert and in the sample letter. The essential fish habitat and the other “Title IX” riders are summarized below (at right, or in under “What’s at Stake.”