NEW YORK Conservationists hope to overturn a last-minute rule change by the outgoing Trump administration they say drastically undermines protections for migratory birds. The final rule, announced Tuesday, would change enforcement of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It would shield the oil and gas industry and other corporations from liability for acts that kill large numbers of birds, such as oil spills or open toxic waste pits, if killing birds wasn t the purpose of the action. .
SALT LAKE CITY In the coming weeks, bird viewers will spread to various pointed in Utah to catch glimpses of bald eagles as they temporarily escape colder regions. The annual activity comes after the Trump administration stripped protections for migratory birds. Conservation groups vow to fight the new rule change, which means companies will no longer be penalized if birds are accidentally killed from business actions, including pollution and oil spills. .
Friday, January 8, 2021
In a long-unfolding saga, on January 7, 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published its final rule that will at long last establish a clear regulatory definition of the scope of liability under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (MBTA). The rule codifies the Trump administration’s oft-criticized interpretation that the MBTA criminal prohibitions apply only to actions “directed” at migratory birds, and not to actions that “incidentally take” them. Energy, construction, mineral extraction, and nearly any industry with outdoor operations will benefit from the new rule’s common sense standard for MBTA liability. It is uncertain how long the ovation will last, however, given both the impending change of administrations and long line of environmental groups already forming to challenge the rule.
Even the government acknowledges that under the new standards, some vulnerable species could decline to the point where they would require protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The Trump administration on Tuesday finalized changes that weaken the government's enforcement powers under a century-old law protecting most American wild bird species, brushing aside warnings that billions of birds could die as a result.