65 Pennsylvania Sporting Groups Back EPA Carbon Pollution Limits

"As stewards for future generations, it is our obligation to conserve land and water resources."

Harrisburg, PA /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ - Groups representing millions of hunters, anglers and outdoor enthusiasts are speaking out in support of climate action, releasing a letter in support of the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan. The letter is signed by 325 groups nationally, including 65 Pennsylvania organizations and outdoor businesses such as Flyfisher's Paradise, Sky Blue Outfitters, several local chapters of Izaak Walton League of America, as well as statewide organizations like PennFuture.

"As hunters and anglers, we see firsthand how climate change is altering habitat and putting our outdoor heritage at risk," reads the letter. "We agree that more can and should be done to update our clean air standards to address carbon pollution from major sources including new and existing power plants. America's hunters, anglers, and the $90 billion a year industry that supports them, encourage long overdue action to address climate change and preserve America's conservation legacy."

NOAA recently announced that the summer 2014 went into the record books as the hottest on record globally and Pennsylvaniawildlife are already experiencing the impacts of climate change. The iconic Pennsylvania brook trout, which requires clear, cold, healthy waters to survive, is at risk of severe population decline due to a warming climate. Climate change is expected to decimate brook trout populations in the state as rising air temperatures and changes in precipitation patterns will lead to warmer waters, altered river flows, and increased runoff.

"Limiting carbon pollution is important to the future of Pennsylvania's fish and wildlife. As a lifetime Pennsylvania trout fisher, I am particularly concerned about the negative impact that global warming will have on the habitats of our cold water fish species," saidSteve Hegedus, president of Tri-County Trout Club. "Our state fish, the native brook trout, has already experienced much habitat loss and rising temperatures will shrink their home range even further. If we don't do something about it soon, it could lead to the loss of some fish populations altogether."

Sportsmen and women across the country are witnessing firsthand how climate change is altering wildlife habitat and putting the outdoor heritage at risk. Action is needed to not only promote healthy fish and wildlife populations, but to also sustain the forests, grasslands, rivers and other systems on which wildlife depend.

"As a watcher of our natural heritage for nearly all of my 62 years – from the hills of Vermont to the rocky crags of the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho – I'm seeing up close that global warming is ruining that heritage. To ensure that we are preserving the outdoor culture of sportsmen across the country, strategic conservation investments are needed by our nation's leaders," said Alan Gregory, a conservation writer and retired Air Force officer. "The Environmental Protection Agency's limits on climate-disrupting industrial carbon pollution are a historic step in protecting our outdoor experience. We need to do all we can to ensure those limits stand."

The letter also points to the economic benefits of climate action. Here in Pennsylvania, sportsmen and the nearly $2 billion state industry that supports them continue to encourage long overdue action to address climate change and preserve America's conservation legacy.

"The EPA Clean Power Plan sets sensible carbon reduction limits for Pennsylvania," said Cindy Dunn, president and CEO of PennFuture. "It's an essential step toward protecting our environment and promoting public health as we move toward clean renewable energy for this and future generations."

Link to the letter from sportsmen and women: http://www.nwf.org/~/media/PDFs/Global-Warming/2014/NWFSportsmentLetterNATIONAL.pdf

PennFuture is a statewide public interest membership organization founded in 1998 with offices in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Philadelphiaand Wilkes-Barre. The organization's activities include litigating cases before regulatory bodies and in local, state, and federal courts; advocating and advancing legislative action on a state and federal level; public education; and assisting citizens in public advocacy.

For more information on the National Wildlife Federation's efforts to protect sporting traditions, visit www.nwf.org/Sportsmen. Get more National Wildlife Federation news at NWF.org/News.