Photo by Tom Blandford

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Your Photo Could Be Here

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Pair of Whooping Cranes

Photo by Flickr member tomblandford

See more of tomblandford’s photos on Flickr >>

Your Photo Could Be Here

We want one of your nature photos to be the next Photo of the Day! Share your images with our Flickr group and tag them with PhotoOfTheDay-NWF12.

Don’t have a Flickr account? It’s free and easy to create one.
 

It’s easy: simply “like” this image to spread the message far and wide that we’re counting on President Obama to stand strong and reject this disaster in the making.

President Obama has said he will reject the Keystone XL pipeline permit, but Big Oil has responded by threatening “huge political consequences,” and some members of Congress have been scheming to fast-track this dangerous project.

The President must make a decision by February 21st–but we’re hearing an announcement could come much sooner than that.

Thanks to wildlife advocates like you, there has been a huge surge of national opposition to the Keystone XL. Now, more than ever, the President needs to know that Americans like you support him in standing strong against Big Oil and rejecting this disaster in the making.

Spread the word on Facebook TODAY to urge President Obama to protect endangered wildlife against Big Oil.

Whooping cranes are one of the most critically endangered birds in the world, with only several hundred left in the wild.

Now, they could be placed in further peril by the Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry tar sands oil through the same narrow migratory corridor that the cranes use each spring–putting the rivers, marshes, wetlands and streams on which they rely at risk of a toxic oil spill.

In addition, the Keystone XL pipeline would drive a massive expansion of Canada’s tar sands operations which are destroying enormous swaths of important habitat, producing lake-sized reservoirs of toxic waste, and worsening the devastating effects of global warming.

Help stop the next oil disaster for wildlife by showing President Obama that Americans don’t want the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Did you know that whooping cranes find partners for life? (Photo credit: Steve Szabo)

Much More than a Body of Water

The crane’s name derives from its “whoop” or honking call, which has become a familiar sound to the people of the Great Lakes. A native to North America, the crane can grow up to five feet in length and has a wingspan of more than seven feet. The whooping crane is an important part of the Great Lakes ecosystem,  but due in part to habitat destruction and human development these beautiful birds were on the brink of extinction.

With the help of non-profits and government organizations, the number of whooping cranes has grown to about 570, and is still growing. But in order to continue protecting whooping cranes and other waterfowl, we need to continue to protect all of the Great Lakes.

Show your Support on Great Lakes Day

On February 28-29, 2012, citizens working to protect the Great Lakes region will assemble for the big event of the year called Great Lakes Day. Passionate citizens from the 8 Great Lakes states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) come together with lawmakers from Capitol Hill to discuss the Lakes’ ecological importance. In addition, clean water advocates, like the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition, collaborate with the Great Lakes Commission and Northeast-Midwest Institute and host training sessions for advocates on the need for continued funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

With the possibility of more budget cuts for participating organizations, we need to bring a message to the Hill: the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is a sound investment that produces results. The preservation of these iconic bodies of water means the conservation of numerous species, including the whooping crane, that depend on healthy waters to prosper.

Support NWF’s efforts to save whooping cranes by fighting to protect these important lakes.

Operation Migrations USA via PR.com reports:

“Viewers can now watch live online as Operation Migration’s pilots and crane handlers condition the juvenile Whooping cranes that form the ‘Class of 2009’ for the biggest adventure of their lives – their first migration. To tune in, visit http://www.operationmigration.org/crane-cam.html

Beginning early to mid-October, pending connectivity at remote stopover locations, “Craniacs” and online viewers may be able to watch each morning’s departure as the cranes and planes make their way south – a journey of over 1,200 miles. Because progress is entirely weather dependent, the journey from Wisconsin to Florida can take between 60 to 90 days to complete.”

Editor note: somtimes things are pretty slow at the site!

See press release.

Please make sure your representative will help pass this groundbreaking legislation today.

Here are the top 3 reasons this bill is good for our nation’s wildlife, wild places, and you.

1. The American Clean Energy and Security Act Will Prevent Deforestation in Developing Nations.The American Clean Energy and Security Act includes a large-scale program to secure agreements from developing nations to prevent tropical deforestation. This program will not only protect beautiful tropical rainforests from destruction, but also reduce global emissions by an amount equivalent to 10% of U.S. emissions (720 million tons CO2) annually as of the year 2020.
2. The American Clean Energy and Security Act Increases Our Energy Security and Reduces Our Dependency on Oil.When we invest in America’s clean energy economy, we’ll be able to safeguard the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from drilling. Arctic caribou and other wildlife will be thanking you.
3. The Act Protects Natural Resources and Wildlife from Global Warming.The American Clean Energy and Security Act establishes the national policy framework and initial funding stream necessary to begin tackling the impacts of climate change on our natural resources. That means help will soon be on the way for moose, the American pika, and the whooping crane–wildlife that are already feeling the heat from rising global temperatures.

Excited? Today our country has a critical opportunity to take decisive action to safeguard wildlife for our children’s future. It’s going to be a close vote! So, please take just a few seconds to speak up for wildlife right now.