As the final ballots are tabulated across the U.S., the Endangered Species Coalition and Native Plant Conservation Campaign recognize the contributions of our member organizations and volunteers to the historic ‘Get Out The Vote’ effort that helped make this the largest voter turn-out ever! With nearly 160 million Americans voting, more Americans voted in 2020 than in any other election in U.S. history.

 

“I want to thank all our member groups and activists that used and partnered with our Get Out The Wild Vote Toolkit and with TurboVote and participated in VoteTripling,” said Corry Westbrook, Senior Grassroots and Policy Advisor for the Endangered Species Coalition. “We helped more than one thousand people register to vote, check their voter registration, find their polling location, or request a ballot,” said Westbrook.  

 

Dr. Emily Roberson, Director of the Native Plant Conservation Campaign, said “Native plant societies, botanic gardens, and wildlife organizations all worked hard together to help us ‘Get Out The Vote’ in this historic election. We are grateful and proud of their efforts to strengthen our democracy.”

 

“We now have a historic Vice-President, Kamala Harris, as the first woman and person of color to hold the second highest office in the country and bring a new perspective to the American government,” said Leda Huta, Executive Director of the Endangered Species Coalition. “We will ensure the Biden Administration understands how much damage President Trump has done to the Endangered Species Act and what it will take to restore and strengthen this vital safety net for imperiled plants and wildlife,” said Huta. 

 

Roberson added, “We look forward to working with the Biden Administration and the new Congress to promote biodiversity conservation and to reverse the harm that has been done to conservation law and science by the Trump Administration.”

 

The Coalition also lauded a voter-approved measure in Colorado that will direct the state to reintroduce native gray wolves to the wild. “We always knew Coloradans valued their natural heritage, including wolves, but now it’s official,” said Hailey Hawkins, Colorado Representative. “Thanks to the voters, gray wolves will once again roam the wild mountains of Colorado, restoring a key part of our state’s ecological history.”

 

“I can’t thank our member groups, activists, staff and board enough for their contributions to this historic day for America,” added Huta.