Migratory Bird Treaty Act

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California’s Attorney General and Department of Fish and Wildlife have jointly issued an advisory affirming that California law continues to provide robust protections for migratory birds, including prohibiting incidental takes, notwithstanding the recent reinterpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The advisory notes that three lawsuits (including one…

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of the Solicitor has issued Memorandum M-37050, dated December 22, 2017, which concludes that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act’s prohibition on the “taking” or “killing” of migratory birds applies only to deliberate acts, such as hunting, intended to take a migratory bird. The legal opinion reverses the…

In the first criminal case ever prosecuted under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Department of Justice filed misdemeanor charges against Duke Energy for more than 163 migratory bird deaths, including golden eagles, at its wind power projects near Casper, Wyoming.  On November 22, 2013, the case was resolved…