SAN FRANCISCO— Activists in endangered species masks and accompanied by a marching band paraded from Union Square to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office on Thursday to deliver 500,000 petition signatures supporting the Endangered Species Act.

The event was part of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Save Endangered Species national day of action, which featured petition deliveries to more than 70 in-district congressional offices in 25 different states.

Dozens of activists from Center for Biological Diversity, Extinction Rebellion and other groups paraded and rallied before delivering petition signatures to Speaker Pelosi’s office. They urged Speaker Pelosi to pass H.R. 4348 — the PAW and FIN Conservation Act — to repeal new Trump administration rules that cripple the implementation of the Endangered Species Act.

“The world faces an extinction crisis, so Congress has to stop Trump’s cruel assault on our nation’s imperiled wildlife,” said Ash Lauth, the Center’s engagement manager. “We’re calling on Speaker Pelosi to be a wildlife champion and pass the PAW and FIN Conservation Act. Unless we repeal Trump’s dangerous changes to the Endangered Species Act, animals like the wolverine and the monarch butterfly could vanish forever.”

The Trump administration’s rollbacks to Endangered Species Act implementation rules severely weaken protections for threatened and endangered species across the country. The changes, which could lead to extinction for hundreds of animals and plants, were developed under the supervision of Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, a former fossil fuel industry lobbyist.

H.R. 4348 has more than 35 co-sponsors in the House and Senate. It was introduced by House Natural Resources Chairman Raúl Grijalva of Arizona and Senate Interior Appropriations Ranking Member Tom Udall of New Mexico.

More photos can be found here.