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As part of a sweeping suspension of Biden-era legal opinions, the Trump administration weakened protections for migratory birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, an environmental law that has been in place since 1918. The administration suspended a legal opinion that held companies responsible for birds accidentally killed due to their actions, for example in oil spills or waste pits. While industrial activities are not a leading factor in the decline of North American bird populations, which is largely due to habitat loss and climate change, conservationists say the law’s protections help keep it that way.
Accidental bird killings—referred to as “incidental take”—have long been considered unlawful, but enforcement has been inconsistent and the Interior Department's interpretation has fluctuated wildly over the last decade. During the Obama administration, an Interior Department solicitor general found that accidental killings were prohibited, but the first Trump administration found that accidental killings were not prohibited. President Joe Biden’s administration withdrew the Trump-era opinion. Now, President Trump is suspending the Biden withdrawal.
“I don’t know of any new administration that has ever done this— that is, simply advised decision-makers not to follow existing solicitor’s opinions done in the previous administration without checking with us first,” said John Leshy, general counsel for the Interior Department during the Clinton administration. “I believe they are emboldened by the Supreme Court’s view of sweeping presidential power.”
The Interior Department also suspended Biden-era legal opinions related to mining waste, wildlife refuges, and Alaska Native villages.
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This is not about government efficiency so let’s unpack what it’s about. As they gut our land management agencies, they’re going to say, ‘Oh my gosh, we can’t manage these public lands. We have to sell them off.’ My friends, this is what this is about: This is about them trying to sell your public lands.”
