Dear President Obama,

On March 25th, 2010, Federal Judge Emmet Sullivan restored "Ginny" the West Virginia northern flying squirrel to the Endangered Species List. We hope that your administration will follow the Judge’s ruling and not appeal this important decision on the Endangered Species Act.

"Ginny" is the beloved "signature species" of West Virginia's highest-elevation boreal forests. But her species' population numbers are very low -- well less than a thousand in the entire world! 

Judge Sullivan's lengthy and scholarly decision held that the Bush Administration failed to follow or properly amend the established Recovery Plan for this endangered creature.

The Judge also ruled that the 2008 "de-listing" decision by the Bush Administration was not based on any measureable, scientific criteria. The Administration's "rush to judgment" utterly ignored the opinions of leading experts on Appalachian flying squirrels.

Mr. President, we urge you to support additional research on what habitat is necessary for "Ginny" the squirrel to survive and thrive -- and to have the Fish and Wildlife Service and public land managers begin to collect baseline data on squirrel populations, so that any possible future changes in Ginny’s status will be based on sound science and and legally correct principles