Trump Administration Continues Effort to Strip Away Bird Protections

It鈥檚 time for Congress to respond to this attack on America鈥檚 birds.

WASHINGTON - 鈥淲hile America is in turmoil, the Trump Administration is continuing its relentless war on nature,鈥 said David Yarnold, president and CEO of the 探花精选. 鈥淭his administration is churning out policies that make it easier to kill birds, pollute our air and water, and endanger our health. The 鈥檆omment periods鈥 where the public is supposed to have a say on new regulations have become a cruel joke. The Administration continues to ignore scientists, experts and 46 million bird-lovers in favor of a few bad corporate actors who can鈥檛 be bothered with common sense environmental protections.鈥

Today the Department of the Interior as it continues its effort to strip away critical protections in the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). Despite requests from governors, state legislatures, mayors, Members of Congress, and a number of conservation organizations, including the 探花精选, to pause major changes to critical public protections during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Administration has continued to push its bird-killing policy along with other major rollbacks.

鈥淚t is clear that the Administration is only accelerating its effort to shred valued American conservation protections,鈥 said Yarnold. 鈥淎merica is being robbed of its birds and wildlife.鈥

The MBTA is a 100-year-old law that protects more than 1,000 bird species. The proposed change would make permanent a 2017 Solicitor鈥檚 Opinion that ended the prohibition on the killing or "taking" of migratory birds from industrial activities, such as birds flying into uncovered oil pits or other predictable and avoidable killing 鈥 also known as 鈥渋ncidental take鈥.

探花精选 filed suit in May 2018 challenging that opinion. Eight states filed a similar suit in September 2018. In July 2019, the district court gave a greenlight for the lawsuit to advance. The lawsuit is ongoing, but could get a ruling as soon as this summer.

鈥淲e鈥檙e fighting this in court and literally hundreds of thousands of Americans have voiced their opposition through this rushed process,鈥 added Yarnold. 鈥淚t鈥檚 time for Congress to answer their call and move to reinforce these critical protections by passing the Migratory Bird Protection Act.鈥

This January, the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee voted to advance the Migratory Bird Protection Act, a bill that would counter this rollback and add new innovations to the century-old law.

Under the Trump administration's new interpretation, overturning decades of bipartisan precedent, the MBTA鈥檚 protections apply only to activities that purposefully kill birds, exempting all industrial hazards from enforcement. Any 鈥渋ncidental鈥 death鈥攏o matter how inevitable, avoidable or devastating to birds鈥攂ecomes immune from enforcement under the law. 

The Migratory Bird Protection Act would end industry鈥檚 free pass to kill birds by directing the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to develop a permitting process for 鈥渋ncidental take鈥 through which relevant businesses would implement best management practices and document compliance, further driving innovation in how to best prevent bird deaths.

Under the National Environmental Policy Act, the government must issue an environmental impact statement for federal actions that significantly affect the environment, and must fully analyze these impacts and consider a range of alternatives. The DEIS, however, ignores these obligations, and even backtracks on its stated plan to study reasonable alternatives such as an incidental take permit system.

A recent documented that North America has lost 3 billion birds since 1970, and an 探花精选 report found that two-thirds of North America鈥檚 birds are threatened by climate change.

Facts and figures on industrial causes of bird mortality in the United States:

  • Power lines: Up to 64 million birds per year (Source: )
  • Communication towers: Up to 7 million birds per year (Source: )
  • Oil waste pits: 500,000 to 1 million birds per year (Source: )
  • Oil spills: The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill is estimated to have killed more than 1 million birds ()

You can read David Yarnold鈥檚 message to 探花精选 staff on the turmoil and heartbreak in the wake of George Floyd鈥檚 murder at the hands of the police here.

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Media Contact: Matt Smelser, matt.smelser@audubon.org, 512.739.9635

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The 探花精选 protects birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. 探花精选 works throughout the Americas using science, advocacy, education, and on-the-ground conservation. State programs, nature centers, chapters, and partners give 探花精选 an unparalleled wingspan that reaches millions of people each year to inform, inspire, and unite diverse communities in conservation action. A nonprofit conservation organization since 1905, 探花精选 believes in a world in which people and wildlife thrive. Learn more at and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @audubonsociety.