Friend,
We've already lost 3 billion birds in the last 50 years in North America alone.[1] And now, the Trump administration is rushing to roll back a bedrock bird protection. The proposed rollback? Letting companies "incidentally" kill scores of birds with no consequences at all.[2]
Right now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is finalizing its rule to remove some protections granted to birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. So we're speaking up to defend this important bird conservation law.
We only have until Dec. 28 to tell the FWS: Don't let companies freely kill birds.
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For more than 100 years, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act has protected our feathered friends who migrate across our nation as the seasons come and go.
Each year, human activities are already the cause of millions of accidental bird deaths. Yet, the administration's proposed rule change would give energy, construction and development companies carte blanche to kill birds during their operations.[3]
Here's an example: Migratory birds such as hawks, owls and songbirds are at risk of mistaking uncovered oil pits for ponds, getting trapped and dying in the dirty oil. This rule would remove any consequences companies face for killing birds in their uncovered oil pits -- incentivizing them to carry on with potentially bird-killing business as usual.
Bottom line: The rule change endangers all of our nation's migratory birds.
Right now, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act protects more than 1,000 bird species from the "accidental" killing during companies' operations by fining companies.[4] And it's made a difference: From the wood duck to the sandhill crane, the act has saved some of our nation's most precious birds from extinction.
So we're speaking against needless bird deaths. Add your name today.
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With bird populations plummeting across our continent, we can't throw our best bird protections out the window.
The new rule would make the matter of killing birds for companies one of convenience. We're working to make it one of conservation.
We know that energy, construction and development companies should be held liable for any damage they inflict on our dwindling bird populations. As the Trump administration races to finalize this fatal rollback, we're speaking up during the FWS's final review period on the rule.
Join us in standing up for our nation's migratory birds.
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Thank you,
Hannah Collazo
State Director
1. Karin Brulliard, "North America has lost 3 billion birds in 50 years," The Washington Post, September 19, 2019.
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2. Juliet Eilperin and Sarah Kaplan, "Trump officials move to relax rules on killing birds," The Washington Post, November 27, 2020.
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3. Juliet Eilperin and Sarah Kaplan, "Trump officials move to relax rules on killing birds," The Washington Post, November 27, 2020.
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4. "Migratory Bird Treaty Act Protected Species (10.13 List)," U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, December 2, 2013.
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