Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, today made the following remarks regarding the Committee's approval of two bipartisan measures, HR 1464 and HR 1771, to protect threatened and endangered great cats, rare canids (wild members of the dog family) and cranes.

Senator Boxer said: "The bipartisan bills we passed today are important steps forward in conservation of some of the planet's rarest and most endangered species."

H.R. 1464, The Great Cats and Rare Canids Act of 2008, provides financial assistance and establishes a fund under the Multinational Species Conservation Fund to conserve certain species of threatened and endangered great felids (cats) and rare canids (wild members of the dog family). The bill also directs the Secretary to complete a study and report to the Congress on the conservation status of many of these species.

H.R. 1771, The Crane Conservation Act, establishes a fund under the Multinational Species Conservation Fund to conserve threatened and endangered species of cranes. The crane species that receive conservation assistance under this bill have lost valuable habitat and are impacted by other environmental stressors including global warming and pollution.

Both bills have been passed by the House of Representatives and now go to the full Senate for consideration.

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