Ranger Rick Goes to Washington

Breaking News: A Washington Post article reports that raccoons have invaded White House grounds, and are causing the National Park Service no small amount of trouble.

We at NWF would like to posit that perhaps the raccoon population is a little irked themselves. Just this week, U.S. Senators Collins and Nelson (with support from President Obama) proposed close to $80 billion worth of programs to be cut from the economic recovery package. If those cuts go through, raccoons and other wildlife will lose:

  • $400 million to help the USDA modernize and jumpstart biofuel production that is efficient and wildlife friendly
  • $100 million in funding to research alternative energy vehicles
  • $1 billion to fund renewable energy and energy efficiency projects
  • $5 billion to fund state mass-transit programs in areas with traffic density

Ranger Rick and his friends are doing their part to be heard. But being nocturnal creatures, they don’t have a lot of experience in getting Congress to do the right thing.

You can help. Send a message to your Senators and make sure they know how important it is to keep the economic stimulus package green and wildlife friendly.

Once you’ve done that– give them a call too.

If raccoons can stir up trouble at the White House, we can definitely stir up some trouble on Capitol Hill!