- Save Our Species Alliance
Save Our Species Alliance, Inc. (SOSA) was an American
political group , established in December2004 , which is critical of theEndangered Species Act and other environmental legislation. It has been criticized byenvironmentalist s as afront group for wealthy cattle and timber interests which consider Federal environmental legislation an impediment to profit. [http://www.cleanupwashington.org/documents/astroturf.pdf Organizing Astroturf: Evidence Shows Bogus Grassroots Groups Hijack the Political Debate; Need for Grassroots Lobbying Disclosure Requirements] Public Citizen, Cleanupwashington.org, January 2007.] The consumer advocacy groupPublic Citizen says that by attempting to give the appearance of a grassroots organization, the Save Our Species Alliance web site is an example ofAstroturfing .SOSA describes itself as "a nationwide grassroots organization comprised of property owners,
farmers , ranchers,miners , foresters, builders/developers, sportsmen, recreationists, business owners and ordinary citizens [sharing] the common goal of making the Endangered Species Act friendlier to local conservation efforts, property owners, and local governments while at the same time, doing a better job of actually "saving" species at risk." [http://www.saveourspeciesalliance.org/cms/images/4_13_05sosahotline.pdf] SOSA was established as a501(c)(4) civic organization in December 2004. It spent $2.8 million in 2005, stating that its social welfare campaign sought to "modernize and update the Endangered Species Act." According to its 2005 financial disclosure, " [t] his corporation was incorporated in the state of Delaware. Names of the contributors under Delaware state law cannot be revealed to any other party." [http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2005/202/048/2005-202048142-02b302e0-9O.pdf]The campaign director for SOSA is
Tim Wigley , who was formerly the president of the Oregon Forest Industries Council and worked as director of communications forpulp and paper companyGeorgia-Pacific . [http://www.pacwestcom.com/staff/wigley.htm] Wigley led the group Project Protect, which supported theHealthy Forests Initiative and was run out of the offices of theAmerican Forest Resource Council . Other SOSA figures includeSteve Quarles , a timber industrylobbyist ; supporters include theCompetitive Enterprise Institute .Political connections
In September 2005, Congressman
Richard Pombo helped rewrite the 1973 Endangered Species Act, which "was widely denounced by environmentalists as a disturbing retreat from habitat protection and a paperwork nightmare for agencies seeking to revive the 1,268 threatened and endangered plants and animals in the country, 186 of which are in California." [http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/15052922.htm]By March 2006, it was revealed in "
Environmental Science & Technology " that Pombo had been coordinating efforts with Pac/West Communications to weaken the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Pac/West created the Save Our Species Alliance, an anti-environmental front group that campaigned for Pombo's bill to change the ESA. [http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2006/mar/policy/pt_bigindustry.html] Ultimately, SOSA and Pombo failed, as the bill did not become law. Pombo was defeated in the 2006 Congressional election and replaced byJerry McNerney , a wind engineer and renewable energy expert.External links
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20060830053833/http://www.saveourspeciesalliance.org/ Official website (archived at archive.org)]
* [http://www.pacwestcom.com/staff/wigley.htm Pac/West: Tim Wigley] , accessed March 2006.
*Paul D. Thacker , " [http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2006/mar/policy/pt_bigindustry.html Hidden ties: Big environmental changes backed by big industry] Lobbyists and industry officials who once pushed for the president's Healthy Forests legislation now collaborate with Rep. [Richard] Pombo to alter the Endangered Species Act", "Environmental Science & Technology", March 8, 2006.References
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