Trump administration moves forward to gut bird protections

Trump administration moves forward to void long-standing federal protection for around 1,000 species of birds in the United States

The Trump administration moved forward on Friday to dump long-standing federal protection for the country’s birds, despite objections from former federal officials and many scientists that billions more of birds will likely perish as a result.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service published its views on the proposed dismantling in the Federal Register. It’s a final step that means the change – significantly limiting federal power to sue industries for practices that kill migratory birds – could be formalized within 30 days.

The Wildlife Service acknowledged in its findings that the rollback would have a “negative” effect on the many bird species covered by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which range from hawks and eagles to birds of prey. sea, storks, songbirds and sparrows.

The move slashes federal prosecution authorities for deadly threats migratory birds face from industry – from electrocution on power lines to wind turbines blowing them out of the air and from field garbage pits where the landing birds perish in toxic water.

Industry operations kill about 450 million to 1.1 billion birds each year, out of about 7 billion birds in North America, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service and recent studies.

The Trump administration argues that the law should only apply to birds that are intentionally killed or injured, and puts this “clarifying” change in the regulations. The change “would improve the consistency and efficiency of the application,” said the Fish and Wildlife Service.

The administration continued to push for regulations on migratory birds even after a federal judge in New York in August rejected the administration’s legal rationale.

Two days after news agencies announced President Donald Trump’s defeat to Democrat Joe Biden, federal officials brought changes to the Bird Treaty forward in the White House, one of the last steps before passage.

Trump was “in a frenzy to finalize his bird killer policy,” David Yarnold, president of the National Audubon Society, said in a statement Friday. “Restoring this century-old basic law must be a top conservation priority for the Biden-Harris administration” and Congress.

Steve Holmer of the American Bird Conservancy said the change would hasten the decline in bird populations that has swept North America since the 1970s.

The way the 1918 treaty is applied has far-reaching ramifications for the construction of commercial buildings, power transmission systems and other infrastructure, said Rachel Jones, vice president of the National Manufacturers Association.

Jones said changes under Trump would be necessary to ensure that the Bird Act is not “abused”. This is a long-standing complaint from lawyers in the industry despite claims by federal officials that they rarely lay criminal charges.

This is part of a wave of last minute changes under the outgoing administration to benefit the industry. Others would expand Arctic drilling, promote development rather than habitat protection for species at risk, and may hamper future regulation of environmental and public health threats, among other setbacks.