PRESS RELEASE

DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE ACTION FUND APPLAUDS MCCLOSKEY CHALLENGE TO POMBO IN 11TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT RACE

SACRAMENTO, CA -- Rodger Schlickeisen, the president of Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund, today applauded Pete McCloskey's announcement that he will challenge Richard Pombo in the Republican primary race to represent California's 11th Congressional District.

"Pete McCloskey is a real Republican. He is a man of great integrity who will put the well-being and interests of the people of the Central Valley and East Bay first," said Schlickeisen.

"McCloskey represents the Republican Party in the great tradition of Teddy Roosevelt, who fought special interests, busted corrupt corporate trusts and began our nation's commitment to conservation.

"Richard Pombo is quite a different kind of politician -- representing the extremist and corrupt Tom DeLay wing of the Republican Party. Since being picked by DeLay to head the House Resources Committee, Pombo has blatantly demonstrated that he is in the pocket of large developers and corporate special interests. He has absurdly proposed selling off our national parks, drilling for oil off the coast of California and selling federal lands to developers and mining corporations.

"Nowhere is the contrast more stark than on the issue of the Endangered Species Act -- a landmark conservation law that Pete McCloskey helped to enact and now Richard Pombo is working tirelessly to dismantle on behalf of his special interest cronies.

"Under Pete McCloskey our nation made a commitment to protect and preserve creatures like the American bald eagle, grizzly bear, gray wolf, manatee and the California condor for our children and future generations. In Richard Pombo we have seen a legislator intent on doing the bidding of corporate developers and abusing the legislative process to railroad through the House a bill that imperils thousands of endangered animals and their vital habitat.

"No statement about Pete McCloskey's challenge to Richard Pombo can go without a contrast between their ethical behavior in office. Pete McCloskey served his country both in the Marines and in Congress with the utmost integrity and honor. Sadly, Mr. Pombo's ethical conduct has been so questionable that the watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, named him one of the 13 most corrupt members of Congress. That was before the revelations that Pombo took contributions from indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his clients; before news reports that Pombo interfered with a federal investigation on behalf of a Texas contributor; and before reports that Pombo's top committee staff member likely violated House ethics rules by failing to report outside income.

Schlickeisen concluded by saying, "We applaud Pete McCloskey for joining the race and giving Republican voters of the 11th Congressional District a clear choice in California's June 6 primary."

For more information on Rep. Richard Pombo's record, go to the Pombo website maintained by the Defenders Action Fund, www.PomboInTheirPocket.org.

Affiliated with Defenders of Wildlife, the Defenders Action Fund is 501(c)(4) organization created to provide the wildlife conservation community with a stronger voice in the political process. For more information, see www.defendersactionfund.org.