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Friday, January 31st, 2020

Trump Administration Moves to Relax Rules Against Killing Birds

Author:     Lisa Friedman
Source:     The New York Times
Publication Date:     Jan. 30, 2020 | 5:21 p.m. ET
 Link: Trump Administration Moves to Relax Rules Against Killing Birds
Stephan:   The number of birds in the United States and Canada has fallen by 29 percent since 1970. According to a research paper published in Science,  there are 2.9 billion fewer birds taking wing now than there were 50 years ago. Does that matter to you? It does to me. It does to the scientists who study birds. It does to the ecosystems of North America, particularly to mosquitoes and other insects. But, no, it doesn't matter to criminal Trump and the oil and gas companies. When it comes to birds or profits, greed wins every time.

Since 1918, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which covers more than 1,000 species, has helped restore populations of birds like the great egret.
Credit: Brandon Thibodeaux/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday moved to drop the threat of punishment to oil and gas companies, construction crews and other organizations that kill birds “incidentally,” arguing that businesses that accidentally kill birds ought to be able to operate without fear of prosecution.

Conservation groups said the proposed new regulation from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, which operates under the Department of Interior, would substantially weaken the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 and put millions of birds in danger. The threat of fines and prosecution has, for decades, helped prod industries to take steps to protect birds, like affixing red lights on communication towers, they say.

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