Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) rules could change!
WHAT? The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is proposing new MBTA rule that will result in greater losses of migratory birds!
- Eliminates penalties for industry/entities that “unintentially” kill birds/nests
- Removes incentives to prevent harming or killing migratory birds
(e.g. Deepwater Horizon killed 1 million birds and BP had to pay $100 million to restore bird habitat; that would go away with the new rule) - Removes critical funding derived from those penalties for needed habitat/ bird restoration following damages to birds;
- Ignores economic benefits of birds;
- Increases risks of harm/death of birds which is against the MBTA purpose.
HOW TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
COMMENT by March 19, 2020
Go directly toFederal Rulemaking MBTA comment Portal: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=FWS-HQ-MB-2018-0090-0001
OR
MAIL/HAND DELIVER COMMENTS TO:
Public Comments Processing, Attn: FWS-HQ-MB-2018-0090
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
MS: JAO/1N; 5275 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, VA 22041–3803.
Mention that you do not support rule changes because:
- Birds provide significant ecological and economic services because they:
- Reseed the planet and pollinate a great many plants;
- Forage on costly insect pests in both forests and agricultural areas;
- Help recycle millions of animals that die annually;
- Contribute an estimated $88 billion/year to national economy in bird watching alone;
- Provide 10 billion in taxes to federal/state agencies;
- Provide profound cultural benefits through viewing, singing, nature.
- USFWS focused on benefits of new rules to industry/entities (cost them less) but did not compare those benefits to the lost social/economic benefits more birds dying.
- Need strong incentives for companies, individuals, and industry to avoid or mitigate impacts to migratory birds and penalties to restore the habitat or bird populations that were directly impacted;
- The rule is inconsistent with the intent of the MBTA;
- Remind them that peer-reviewed research indicates that we have lost 3 billion birds over the last 50 years even with our relatively strong protections in place.
More information:
- Migratory Bird Treaty Act Summary by Flathead Audubon
- National Audubon Society MBTA information https://audubon.org/news/migratory-bird-treaty-act
COMMENT BY MARCH 19, 2020. THANK YOU!
You must be logged in to post a comment.