Trump Admin Moves to Weaken Restrictions on Killing Migratory Birds

Deanna Kelly / Moment / Getty Images
The Trump administration announced plans Thursday to formally weaken protections for millions of migratory birds.
The new Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) proposal would mean that fossil fuel companies, developers, power companies and other industries would not be penalized under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 for "incidentally" killing birds, The New York Times reported. Only actions that intentionally targeted birds would be prosecuted. The proposal would formalize a 2017 legal opinion that has already led the FWS, which is part of the Department of Interior, to stop investigating the majority of bird deaths.
"The Trump Administration's Bird Killer Department, formerly known as the Department of the Interior, just gets crueler and more craven every day," Audubon Society President and CEO David Yarnold said in response. "And today they are doubling down despite the fact that America did not elect this administration to kill birds."
The Trump administration’s Bird Killer Department—formerly known as the @Interior—just gets crueler and more craven… https://t.co/cyJ7cmPPHw— David Yarnold 🐦🇺🇸 (@David Yarnold 🐦🇺🇸)1580410228.0
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act protects more than 1,000 species of birds from being hunted, captured or killed without permits, HuffPost explained. Since the 1970s, the federal government has used it to penalize companies when birds die on their power lines or in their oil pits, according to The New York Times. Conservation groups say the treaty has encouraged companies to take steps to prevent bird deaths, such as installing red lights on communication towers.
But the treaty was limited to focus only on intentional bird deaths in a 2017 legal opinion authored by top Interior Department lawyer Daniel Jorjani, who used to advise the Koch brothers, HuffPost reported.
Documents obtained by The New York Times found that since the opinion was issued, the federal government has largely stopped investigating bird deaths and the administration has dissuaded local governments and businesses from taking steps to protect birds.
But a legal opinion can easily be overturned by another administration, which is why the current one is working to get a new regulation on the books before the November election, senior vice president of conservation programs at Defenders of Wildlife Bob Dreber told The New York Times.
"They're trying to entrench this as much as they can, and get stuff locked into place," he said. "We're going to fight it."
🚨 Happening now: The Trump administration seeks to cripple the #MigratoryBirdTreatAct! 🚨 Learn more:… https://t.co/PixA7yGCcO— Defenders of Wildlife (@Defenders of Wildlife)1580418606.0
Six conservation groups including Defenders of Wildlife and the Audubon Society have sued to stop the legal guidance, as have eight states. Lawsuits will likely be filed to challenge Thursday's proposal as well, according to HuffPost.
"With a recent study finding there are 3 billion fewer birds in North America than 50 years ago, you'd think we'd want more protection for birds, not less," Noah Greenwald, endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement reported by HuffPost. "This rule violates the trust and will of millions of Americans who love birds and want them around for future generations to enjoy."
However, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Aurelia Skipwith maintained in a press call reported by HuffPost that "migratory bird conservation is an integral part" of the agency's mission and that the proposed regulation was intended to free the agency from "a legal quagmire that doesn't benefit our conservation objectives."
She also said it would ensure that "private industry, which are critical to our nation's economy and overall well-being, can operate without the fear and uncertainty that the unintentional consequences of their actions will be prosecuted."
But that could mean letting industries off the hook for major environmental disasters, as Alan Zibel, the research director of Public Citizen's Corporate Presidency Project, said in a statement emailed to EcoWatch.
"If this rule had been in place at the time of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill, which killed more than one million birds, BP would not have had to pay $100 million in fines for violating federal laws that protect birds," Zibel said.
The new regulation will be posted to the Federal Register Monday, The New York Times explained, after which the public will have 45 days to comment.
- Five Migrating Birds That May Stop in Your Yard - EcoWatch ›
- Red Kites Are Thriving in UK Thanks to Conservation Effort - EcoWatch ›
- Red Kites Are Thriving in UK Thanks to Conservation Effort ›
- Federal Judge Strikes Down Trump Admin Rollback of Law Protecting Migratory Birds - EcoWatch ›
- Study: Birds Are Linked to Happiness Levels - EcoWatch ›
- 'Presumed Extinct' Bird Is Found in Indonesia ›
- Scientists Are Tracking Migratory Birds in Northwest Mexico ›
At first glance, you wouldn't think avocados and almonds could harm bees; but a closer look at how these popular crops are produced reveals their potentially detrimental effect on pollinators.
Migratory beekeeping involves trucking millions of bees across the U.S. to pollinate different crops, including avocados and almonds. Timothy Paule II / Pexels / CC0
<p>According to <a href="https://www.fromthegrapevine.com/israeli-kitchen/beekeeping-how-to-keep-bees" target="_blank">From the Grapevine</a>, American avocados also fully depend on bees' pollination to produce fruit, so farmers have turned to migratory beekeeping as well to fill the void left by wild populations.</p><p>U.S. farmers have become reliant upon the practice, but migratory beekeeping has been called exploitative and harmful to bees. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/10/health/avocado-almond-vegan-partner/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported that commercial beekeeping may injure or kill bees and that transporting them to pollinate crops appears to negatively affect their health and lifespan. Because the honeybees are forced to gather pollen and nectar from a single, monoculture crop — the one they've been brought in to pollinate — they are deprived of their normal diet, which is more diverse and nourishing as it's comprised of a variety of pollens and nectars, Scientific American reported.</p><p>Scientific American added how getting shuttled from crop to crop and field to field across the country boomerangs the bees between feast and famine, especially once the blooms they were brought in to fertilize end.</p><p>Plus, the artificial mass influx of bees guarantees spreading viruses, mites and fungi between the insects as they collide in midair and crawl over each other in their hives, Scientific American reported. According to CNN, some researchers argue that this explains why so many bees die each winter, and even why entire hives suddenly die off in a phenomenon called colony collapse disorder.</p>Avocado and almond crops depend on bees for proper pollination. FRANK MERIÑO / Pexels / CC0
<p>Salazar and other Columbian beekeepers described "scooping up piles of dead bees" year after year since the avocado and citrus booms began, according to Phys.org. Many have opted to salvage what partial colonies survive and move away from agricultural areas.</p><p>The future of pollinators and the crops they help create is uncertain. According to the United Nations, nearly half of insect pollinators, particularly bees and butterflies, risk global extinction, Phys.org reported. Their decline already has cascading consequences for the economy and beyond. Roughly 1.4 billion jobs and three-quarters of all crops around the world depend on bees and other pollinators for free fertilization services worth billions of dollars, Phys.org noted. Losing wild and native bees could <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/wild-bees-crop-shortage-2646849232.html" target="_self">trigger food security issues</a>.</p><p>Salazar, the beekeeper, warned Phys.org, "The bee is a bioindicator. If bees are dying, what other insects beneficial to the environment... are dying?"</p>EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
Australia is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. It is home to more than 7% of all the world's plant and animal species, many of which are endemic. One such species, the Pharohylaeus lactiferus bee, was recently rediscovered after spending nearly 100 years out of sight from humans.
Trending
Scientists have newly photographed three species of shark that can glow in the dark, according to a study published in Frontiers in Marine Science last month.
- 10 Little-Known Shark Facts - EcoWatch ›
- 4 New Walking Shark Species Discovered - EcoWatch ›
- 5 Incredible Species That Glow in the Dark - EcoWatch ›
FedEx's entire parcel pickup and delivery fleet will become 100 percent electric by 2040, according to a statement released Wednesday. The ambitious plan includes checkpoints, such as aiming for 50 percent electric vehicles by 2025.
Lockdown measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic had the added benefit of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by around seven percent, or 2.6 billion metric tons, in 2020.
- Which Is Worse for the Planet: Beef or Cars? - EcoWatch ›
- Greenhouse Gas Levels Hit Record High Despite Lockdowns, UN ... ›
- 1.8 Billion Tons More Greenhouse Gases Will Be Released, Thanks ... ›