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There’s a new bird in Washington, D.C. --  a of an Eastern Black Rail in LeDroit Park, painted by local artist . The secretive Mid-Atlantic marsh bird was celebrated as part of this year’s 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The mural was commissioned as part of the , in partnership with the and . Community members turned out September 13 to see the unveiling, including brief remarks by Avgustinovich, ±¬ÁϹ«Éç Mural Project coordinator Jennifer Bogo, and Jesse Walls, ±¬ÁϹ«Éç’s senior director for government affairs.

The ESA is one of our nation’s most important environmental accomplishments. It has prevented the extinction of 99 percent of the species under its care, including the Bald Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Brown Pelican, and Kirtland’s Warbler.  

Populations of the Eastern Black Rail have declined more than 90 percent since the early 1990s, as sea-level rise associated with climate change continues to pose an existential threat.

±¬ÁϹ«Éç’s science and restoration efforts have helped protect the Black Rail and other bird species around the country. But the Endangered Species Act -- and ±¬ÁϹ«Éç’s broader efforts to fight the -- are also critical to ensuring the survival of millions of birds around the world.

±¬ÁϹ«Éç is pressing the federal government to move forward with rules to restore ESA protections rolled back by President Trump, working to to the law and its protections, monitoring attacks on the Act, and fighting to fund the ESA so it can work the way it was intended.

Proactive conservation can keep birds off the endangered list. But we also need legislation like the and the . We need to protect and improve the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. And we need to fund these bills properly.  

Birds like the Eastern Black Rail need a strong ESA to continue to protect wildlife for future generations. You can help -- please urge Congress to protect this bedrock law.