In the fall of 2020, we featured a story about the federal government halting the Trump administration’s proposed rule changes to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), the primary federal law that protects non-game bird species in the United States.

A nationwide backlash followed during the public comment period, as people wrote to the USFWS and urged them to stand up for and resolutely reinforce this important law. At a time when birds and other wildlife are facing tremendous stressors related to climate change, habitat loss, and human disturbance, advocating for birds has become a part of many birdwatcher’s worlds. Judge Caproni said it best in her ruling on August 11, 2020, quoting the Pulitzer Prize-winning Harper Lee and referencing To Kill a Mockingbird, “It is not only a sin to kill a mockingbird, it is also a crime.”

“That has been the letter of the law for the past century,” added Judge Caproni. “But if the Department of the Interior has its way, many mockingbirds and other migratory birds that delight people and support ecosystems throughout the country will be killed without legal consequence.” However, the department’s proposed rule didn’t succeed in large part thanks to Judge Caproni’s ruling and the wave of public support of protecting this law that followed.

On March 8, 2021, the Biden administration rescinded a Trump-era rule that would have prevented businesses from being held responsible for the inadvertent death of migratory birds. In their announcement, the department stated, “Significant concerns about the interpretation of the MBTA have been raised by the public, legal challenges in court, and from the international treaty partners.”

Secretary Deb Haaland added emphatic support validating the scientific need for bird conservation in the United States, stating, “Today’s actions will serve to better align [the] Interior with its mission and ensure that our decisions are guided by the best available science.”

In response to the ruling, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Principal Deputy Director Martha Williams spoke to the public backlash that signaled just how much our citizens want our government to demonstrate better environmental policy and protection for habitat, birds, and wildlife. Director Williams said, “We have heard from our partners, the public, tribes, states, and numerous other stakeholders from across the country that it is imperative the previous administration’s rollback of the MBTA be reviewed to ensure continued progress toward commonsense standards that protect migratory birds.”

References:

Governing the take of migratory birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. 2021. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (July 14). Available: https://www.fws.gov/regulations/mbta/.

Interior department takes steps to revoke final rule on Migratory Bird Treaty Act incidental take. 2021. U.S. Department of the Interior (July 14). Available: https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-takes-steps-revoke-final-rule-migratory-bird-treaty-act-incidental.

~ by Heather Good, Michigan Audubon executive director

This article appeared in the 2021 Summer Jack Pine Warbler.