Audubon Opposes Nominee for EPA Administrator

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Audubon Society formally opposes Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency. In an op-ed for the Huffington Post, Audubon President and CEO David Yarnold (@david_yarnold) outlines the rationale behind the decision:

“How can Scott Pruitt be the protector of America’s water, air and health when he has so relentlessly attacked the agency in charge of providing those protections and demonstrated such disregard for these precious resources while serving as attorney general of his state?

“Pruitt has repeatedly put the interests of the agricultural, oil, gas and coal industries, which have funneled more than $300,000 into his election campaigns, ahead of protecting the health of the citizens who elected him to state office.

“This is a dangerous record for a man who has been nominated to lead the agency that that should operate on the assumption that clean air and water are not Republican or Democratic issues, but basic American rights.

“The EPA does life-saving work for the birds we cherish, the wild places we treasure and the families we love. The Senate should not hand the keys of the EPA to a man who has shown by his words and his actions that he has every intention to undo nearly half a century of progress.”

To read the full op-ed on the Huffington Post, please click here.

To learn more about how the EPA protects birds and people, please click here.

The National Audubon Society protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow, throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education and on-the-ground conservation. Audubon’s state programs, nature centers, chapters and partners have an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire and unite diverse communities in conservation action. Since 1905, Audubon’s vision has been a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Audubon is a nonprofit conservation organization. Learn more at www.audubon.org and @audubonsociety.

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Contact: Nicolas Gonzalez, ngonzalez@audubon.org, (212) 979-3000.