“With five federal circuit courts of appeals divided on this question, it is important to bring regulatory certainty to the public by clarifying that the criminal scope of the MBTA only reaches to conduct intentionally injuring birds,” said Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, Rob Wallace.
According to the solicitor, Daniel Jorjani, “Unless permitted by regulation, the MBTA prohibits the ’taking‘ and ’killing‘ of migratory birds. ’Incidental take' is take that results from an activity, but is not the purpose of that activity.”
Context
According to the DOI, bird hunting devastated migratory bird populations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A series of treaties and acts culminated with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which stated that “... it shall be unlawful to hunt, take, capture, kill ... any migratory bird ... or any part, nest, or egg of any such bird.” According to the memorandum, “Violation of MBTA was a misdemeanor criminal offense, punishable by a fine of no more than $500 and/or up–to six months in jail.”In the course of several complex subsequent court cases, acts and opinions, the term “take” came to include “incidental take”—or the killing of even a single bird in the course of an action, whether the bird’s death was intentional or not. One of the final acts of the Obama Administration was to issue a legal opinion to the effect that the law did include the incidental killing of birds. Thus, it became clear that the MBTA potentially criminalized a plethora of activities such as “driving, construction, airplane flights, farming, electricity and wind turbines ... and many other everyday lawful activities.”
The solicitor’s advice states that “The original purpose of the MBTA was to regulate overhunting” rather than to criminalize human activity, and that this purpose has not changed.
According to Tammy Pearson, the Commissioner of Beaver County, Utah, “The proposed changes to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act are long overdue. The need to clarify what is NOT criminal ‘take’ is essential for energy, mining, ranching, and other industries that are critical to the economic stability of rural families, communities, and counties. It has been a giant thorn in the side of economic development for far too long, with projects being delayed for the potential harm that might happen to a bird despite the developer’s best intentions and protective efforts. These clarifications to the ‘intent of the person’ are needed to be made to protect our local farmers and ranchers in their everyday operations.”
While the intent of the MBTA early last century is laudable, the provisions have been increasingly interpreted and enforced on ideological grounds. ... The broad interpretation of ‘take’ that disregards ‘intent’ moves the MBTA far beyond the intent of Congress. Unchecked, it will continue to burden our economy, and the American people with increased costs decreased efficiency and the prospect of criminal charges for a lawful activity that results in unintended consequences.”
Pushback
“Over the past 40 years, bird populations have declined by nearly 30 percent. Despite this, the Trump administration is moving to weaken protections for migratory birds in ways that are fundamentally inconsistent with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act,” said Collin O'Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “The rule sends an irresponsible—and legally incorrect—signal to industry that commonsense measures to protect birds like the snowy egret, wood duck, and greater sandhill crane are no longer needed. We urge the Trump administration to reverse course and restore protections for America’s birds.”Referring to David Bernhardt, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Rokala said that “Secretary Bernhardt’s former oil industry clients have explicitly asked for this policy change, and now he is delivering. It seems there are no limits to what Bernhardt will do to shred wildlife protections at the behest of drilling and mining companies. Finalizing this proposal would only sign the death warrants of millions of birds across the country.”