Interior Department Ensures Migratory Bird Treaty Act Works for Birds and People

On September 29, 2021 the Department of the Interior announced a series of actions to ensure that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) conserves birds today and into the future. These actions would reverse actions to weaken the MBTA taken by the previous administration.

A summary of the proposed actions follows:

“To better protect migratory bird populations and provide more certainty for the regulated public, the Service seeks to address human-caused migratory bird mortality by codifying our interpretation that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) prohibits incidental take of migratory birds and developing regulations that authorize incidental take under prescribed conditions. This document advises the public that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service, we) intends to gather information necessary to develop a proposed rule to authorize the incidental taking or killing of migratory birds, including determining when, to what extent, and by what means it is consistent with the MBTA and compatible with the terms of the four migratory bird conventions. This information will be used to develop proposed regulations to authorize the incidental take of migratory birds under prescribed conditions and prepare a draft environmental review pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended. We are furnishing this advance notice of proposed rulemaking and notice of intent to advise other agencies and the public of our intentions, obtain suggestions and information to include in the proposed rulemaking and environmental review, and announce public scoping webinars.”

Comment submission: You may submit comments to help guide the development of the proposed rule and draft environmental review until December 3, 2021.

To read the entire actions click here.

-Audubon Society of Northern Virginia