Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund Endorses Representative Chris Smith in his 2006 Re-election Campaign

Washington D.C. -- The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund today publicly announced its endorsement of Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th NJ) in his bid to retain his seat in the House.

"Rep. Smith has voted to protect our last few wild places and America's beaches from the oil and gas companies when others in his party were trying to give our refuges and parks away. He has also been a consistent supporter of a strong Endangered Species Act and did not cave to Republican pressure to gut the ESA and put imperiled wildlife on the fast track to extinction," said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund.

Rep. Smith currently has a 78 percent pro-conservation voting record for the 109th Congress based on votes listed on the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund web site. Most or all of these votes will be the basis for the organization's final report card, issued at the end of each congress. The report card measures the commitment of U.S. Senators and Representatives to wildlife and habitat conservation during each Congressional session. It reviews votes on key conservation issues, providing a clear assessment of how well members of Congress are doing to protect wildlife and wild lands for future generations. Voting record details are available at www.defendersactionfund.org.

Some of the key votes that Rep. Smith made were voting against drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, against drilling off of America's shores and against Rep. Richard Pombo's endangered species legislation.

"Thanks to Rep. Smith's courage and willingness to stick to his personal convictions, the Arctic refuge is still protected and our conservation battles on other fronts, such as continued protection of endangered species and off-shore drilling, have powerful supporters on both sides of the aisle," continued Schlickeisen. "Voters in New Jersey's 4th district should keep Rep. Chris Smith on Capitol Hill because of his commitment to conservation, to his own values and to his constituents back home in New Jersey."

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The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund provides a powerful voice in Washington to Americans who value our conservation heritage. Through grassroots lobbying, issue advocacy and political campaigns, the Action Fund champions those laws and lawmakers that protect wildlife and wild places while working against those that do them harm.