Year of the Bird

2018 is the one hundredth anniversary of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Painted bunting

from Audubon

Year of the Bird

What does that mean? It means Audubon, National Geographic, Cornell, BirdLife International, and most importantly, bird lovers everywhere are teaming up for a year of action for birds! 2018 is the centennial of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and what better way to honor our most important bird-protection law than with our own small ways of protecting birds.

Sign the pledge to build a better world for birds and each month, we will send you one simple action you can take to make a difference for birds and for the planet.

from Wiki

Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (MBTA), codified at 16 U.S.C. §§ 703–712 (although §709 is omitted), is a United States federal law, first enacted in 1916 to implement the convention for the protection of migratory birds between the United States and Great Britain (acting on behalf of Canada).^[1] The statute makes it unlawful without a waiver to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, or sell birds listed therein as migratory birds. The statute does not discriminate between live or dead birds and also grants full protection to any bird parts including feathers, eggs, and nests. Over 800 species are currently on the list.^[2]

Some exceptions to the act, including the eagle feather law, are enacted in federal regulations (50 C.F.R. 22), which regulate the taking, possession, and transportation of bald eagles, golden eagles, and their "parts, nests, and eggs" for "scientific, educational, and depredation control purposes; for the religious purposes of American Indian tribes; and to protect other interests in a particular locality." Enrolled members of federally recognized tribes may apply for an eagle permit for use in "bona fide tribal religious ceremonies."^[3]

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issues permits for otherwise prohibited activities under the act. These include permits for taxidermy, falconry, propagation, scientific and educational use, and depredation, an example of the latter being the killing of geese near an airport, where they pose a danger to aircraft.

The Act was enacted in an era when many bird species were threatened by the commercial trade in birds and bird feathers. The Act was one of the first federal environmental laws (the Lacey Act had been enacted in 1900). The Act replaced the earlier Weeks-McLean Act (1913). Since 1918, similar conventions between the United States and four other nations have been made and incorporated into the MBTA: Mexico (1936), Japan (1972) and the Soviet Union (1976, now its successor state Russia). Some of the conventions stipulate protections not only for the birds themselves, but also for habitats and environs necessary for the birds’ survival.

Constitutionally this law is of interest as it is a use of the federal treaty-making power to override the provisions of state law. The principle that the federal government may do this was upheld in the case Missouri v. Holland.