Former Interior Officials Urge Interior Sec. Bernhardt Not To Change Migratory Bird Act

By NPT Staff on February 12th, 2020

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt is being urged by a bipartisan collection of former Interior Department officials not to alter the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

The changes being pursued by the Trump administration would shield companies whose operating practices kill migratory birds.

“This is a new, contrived legal standard that creates a huge loophole in the law by allowing companies to engage in activities that routinely kill migratory birds so long as they were not intending to do so,” wrote the former officials in a letter to Bernhardt. “It is now more urgent than ever that we implement policies to conserve our vanishing bird species rather than unraveling decades of progress and crippling the law that protects them.”

The signers include former deputy secretaries, assistant secretaries, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service directors, and Migratory Bird Conservation chiefs who had direct responsibilities for implementing migratory bird policies and served in their positions under every presidential administration from President Nixon to President Obama.

"This legal opinion is contrary to the long-standing interpretation of the law held by every administration (Republican and Democrat) since at least the 1970s," reads the letter (attached). "The proposed rule turns the MBTA’s straightforward language into a conclusion that only the purposeful killing of migratory birds violates the Act."

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act turned 100 in 2018. It has been applied for decades by federal agencies and the courts to protect birds not just from unauthorized hunting but also from being harmed or killed by industrial operations. Migratory birds are increasingly threatened by land development, habitat loss, and the effects of climate change.

A recent study in Science claimed that nearly 3 billion birds have vanished from North America over the past 50 years.

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Ornithologists set their nets in Washington, D.C.—to catch birds and attention

By David MalakoffAug. 5, 2016 , 3:45 PM

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Mall here attracts millions of tourists each year, drawn by the sweeping views of the U.S. Capitol and the Washington Monument, as well as the world-class Smithsonian museums flanking the grassy expanse. But earlier this week, an unusual sight greeted some visitors: a small team of scientists setting up nets to capture some of the mall’s flying residents.

Their quarry—including gray catbirds, song sparrows, and mourning doves—were soon released. And the unusual pop-up field station also aimed to draw attention to a landmark anniversary in bird conservation, as well as an upcoming conclave on bird science.

The conclave is the North American Ornithological Conference, a major meeting set to open here on 16 August. On the same day, bird lovers will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a 1916 agreement between the United States and Canada that is considered a historic turning point in international efforts to protect birds.

The treaty, spurred in part by warnings from ornithologists that unregulated hunting was decimating many North American bird populations, played an important role in catalyzing conservation efforts in the early 20th century, says Pete Marra, head of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center in Washington, D.C. Mexico ultimately joined the pact, and the United States struck similar deals with Russia and Japan to collaborate on protecting birds that roam across borders.

Continued  

Kauai County still noncompliant with federal deal to protect birds

Two years after admitting to violating the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act by killing Newell's shearwaters through its lighting policies at county facilities, Kauai County is still working to meet requirements of a plea agreement with the Justice Department.

The retrofitting of light fixtures at Kauai County's park facilities and buildings is ongoing, county officials said.

Young Newell's shearwaters follow the lights from the moon and stars while they fly out to sea during the fledgling season from Sept. 15 to Dec. 15. Bright lights from stadiums and other facilities were disorienting the birds and causing them to circle around artificial lights,said Scott Fretz, former state wildlife program manager who currently serves as wildlife and forestry district manager of the Maui/Molokai Branch.

The shearwaters would fly around until they were exhausted and fell to the ground, where they were preyed upon by cats and dogs or struck by vehicles.

In 1975, Newell's shearwaters were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. About 90 percent of the seabirds breed on Kauai.

In the mid-1990s, the population was estimated at 80,000. But in recent years, the number of shearwaters has plummeted by 75 percent.

Kauai County paid a $15,000 fine and agreed to a series of corrective measures that were to be taken during a 30-month probation period after the agreement with the Justice Department. An audit of all county facilities was to be conducted along with creating plans to minimize harm to seabirds during the fledgling season.

The county is required to maintain a record of dead, injured or sick birds.

No downed birds have been reported at county facilities since the start of the probation period, according to county spokeswoman Beth Tokioka.
Continued: http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20121028__Kauai_County_still_noncompliant_with_federal_deal_to_protect_birds.html

Protected Species May be Killed by Proposed Prairie Dog Control, Environmental Groups Charge

(Washington, D.C., October 16 , 2012)  Defenders of Wildlife, American Bird Conservancy, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Audubon of Kansas have urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reject an application by Scimetrics to use the rodenticide Kaput-D for the control of black-tailed prairie dogs in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming.

The groups say that because Kaput-D, which contains the anticoagulant diphacinone that causes poisoned animals to bleed to death, is not selective in the animals it impacts, it has a high probability of killing non-target wildlife, including species protected under the Endangered Species Act, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Black-tailed prairie dogs are regularly exterminated from ranchland as pests, primarily because they are thought to compete with cattle for forage. Their populations have been reduced by as much as 95 percent of their historical numbers and continue to decline.

In a letter to the EPA, the groups point out that the proposed registration decision is based on information provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for another pesticide, Rozol Prairie Dog Bait, which contains a different active ingredient, chlorophacinone.

The groups stress that the EPA cannot simply insert Kaput-D in place of Rozol in its scientific assessment.  They advise EPA to complete formal “Section 7” Endangered Species Act (ESA) consultations with FWS on endangered species impacts from the use of this specific pesticide. They suggest that EPA complete such a consultation prior to registration, both to avoid litigation risk, and so that endangered species concerns may properly be analyzed and necessary use restrictions incorporated.

Continued:  http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/121016.html

Feds tell Native Alaskan artist his art violates Migratory Bird Treaty Act

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA -- For hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years, Natives of Southeast Alaska have paid artisans to create tools, clothing and ceremonial regalia adorned with feathers.

So contemporary Tlingit carver Archie Cavanaugh was startled last month when U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service personnel told him that items he had advertised for sale violated federal laws. Specifically: a carved hat featuring the wings and tail of a raven, and a headdress, or “shakee.át,” topped with the feathers of a flicker, a robin-size relative of the woodpecker.

“They told me that under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act they can charge me up to $10,000 and throw me in jail for a couple of years,” Cavanaugh said. “And they told me that under the Lacey Act they can charge me up to $100,000 and put me in jail for 10 years. It was very scary. I went into complete depression.”

In shock, he removed the ads from the Internet sites where they’d been posted and took the feathers off the items. But that only seemed to make the problem worse.

“They told me that I was tampering with evidence and that would be another charge,” he recounted. “I told them, 'I was just trying to comply with you guys’ request.’ ”

Cavanaugh hired an attorney and sought advice from Rosita Worl, president of Sealaska Heritage Institute.

Continued:  http://www.kansascity.com/2012/10/16/3869092/feds-tell-native-alaska-artist.html

Battelle to pay $96K for bird problems

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Battelle Memorial Institute has reached a deal with federal prosecutors to pay for violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

The Hanford contractor has agreed to pay $96,800 to resolve criminal allegations for causing the destruction of over four hundred bank swallow nests and over three thousand bank swallow eggs during the 2010 nesting season.

Battelle accepted responsibility and will pay the money to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for the preservation, restoration, and acquisition of shrub-steppe habitat in the Mid-Columbia Region of Washington.

In addition, Battelle agreed to take other actions to ensure that no future violations will occur.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/01/4871763/battelle-to-pay-96k-for-bird-problems.html