US moves forward with plan to end wild bird protections

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Matthew Brown, Associated Press
Updated 1:45 pm CDT, Friday, June 5, 2020

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Trump administration moved forward Friday with plans to scale back a century-old law protecting most American wild bird species despite warnings that billions of birds could die as a result.

Officials said in a draft study of the proposal that it could result in more deaths of birds that land in oil pits or collide with power lines or other structures.

More than 1,000 species are covered under the law, and the changes have drawn a sharp backlash from organizations that advocate on behalf of an estimated 46 million U.S. birdwatchers.

The study did not put a number on how many more birds could die but said some vulnerable species could decline to the point where they would require protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/article/US-moves-forward-with-plan-to-end-wild-bird-15319758.php

[underpants]

1. I'm sorry but this actually made me laugh

Well of course they did. Jesus.

[Marthe48]

2. They do things like this for the hatefulness

n/t

[Evolve Dammit]

8. Yes they do.

[William Seger]

19. Behind every regulation dropped, there's a GOP donor who will profit (n/t)

[Maxheader]

29. And possibly..

gained a Democrat. What was it? 45 million bird watchers..including me.

[ffr]

3. I just saw that U.S. deaths from Covid-19 topped 111,000, so this makes sense.

Right out the KGOP playbook. Distract from their incompetence!

[shenmue]

4. Fuck this! BIRB ARE IMPORTAP!

[turbinetree]

5. So I guess he is pissed off at Theodore Roosevelt.............

and he wants more deflection, wonder what Ducks Unlimited thinks of this.........................

[doc03]

6. I thought Trump was concened about wind genrrators

killing birds, nevermind.

[Nictuku]

7. I HATE him so much.

[empedocles]

9. Relentless crap

[bucolic_frolic]

10. Hunting

[scarletwoman]

11. They are determined to kill off the natural world - there's no two ways about it.

It's just unadulterated evil.

[Initech]

12. He really is such a piece of crap.

[lordsummerisle]

13. The War on Nature continues n/t

[Solly Mack]

14. Fuckers. Cruel fucks. POS. Piss poor excuse for a human.

Human blight. Trump is the HPV of the world.

[dhill926]

15. hell...they don't give a shit about humans...

they're certainly not gonna give a shit about birds...goddamn assholes...

[soothsayer]

17. Is someone keeping a list of what Joe must undo?

It’s growing longer by the day.

[Politicub]

18. A stroke of Biden's pen will undo all of this regulatory atrocity.

And hopefully strengthen protection at the same time.

[sinkingfeeling]

20. But we can't have wind turbines because birds fly into them.

Or so says Trump and Putin.

https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2019-12-24/donald-trump-windmills-and-the-truth-about-bird-death

[Bigredhunk]

21. Ugh

[Withywindle]

22. He has literally never failed to do the wrong thing at every opportunity.

It's mind-boggling.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

23. Sierra Club is on this....

Trump Administration Advances Unprecedented Stripping of Protections for Wildlife
Migratory Bird Act Rollback Lets Destructive Industry Off-The-Hook
Friday, June 5, 2020
Contact: Courtney Bourgoin, [e-mail]

Link: https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2020/06/trump-administration-advances-unprecedented-stripping-protections-for

Text:

Washington, DC— Today as the country faces an uprising for racial justice and ongoing pandemic, the Trump administration’s Department of the Interior released its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) in efforts to strip critical protections in the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The move— one of the several environmental protection rollbacks in the last couple of months— comes on World Environment Day and after lawmakers, conservation organizations and community groups repeatedly called for the administration to halt major decisions and comment periods during the pandemic.

In response to the announcement, Kirin Kennedy, Deputy Legislative Director at the Sierra Club released the following statement:

“Today's announcement which drastically undermines the Migratory Bird Treaty Act is reprehensible. It is a disheartening reminder of how little attention the Trump administration is paying to the very real crises before us—from the masses in the streets demanding Black lives be valued to the rapidly-accelerating extinction and climate crises that threaten us all.

“This move paves the way for destructive industries to be let off-the-hook when their actions result in the deaths of endangered birds. The Trump administration must immediately stop plans to undo this vital safeguard”

Let's hope Sierra Club and others can take this issue to court and have it reversed........

[Martin Eden]

24. Outrage Overload

It never stops.

[douglas9]

25. Draft Environmental Impact Statement

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) published a draft Environmental Impact Statement as part of the National Environmental Policy Act process as it relates to the to the scope of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. This action is related to the 2017 Department of Interior Solicitor’s Opinion M–37050 which restricted the legal scope of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to intentional take of migratory birds. This draft Environmental Impact Statement will commence a 45-day public comment period, closing July 20, 2020.

A federal agency is required under National Environmental Policy Act to consider a reasonable range of alternative actions, including a “no action alternative,” so as to fully review the environmental impacts of a rule. Reasonable alternatives must be economically and technically feasible, display common sense, and must address the purpose and need for the action. In this draft Environmental Impact Statement, the Service is proposing a no action alternative and two action alternatives:

https://fws.gov/birds/news/200605MBTA.php

[Duppers]

26. K & R

[DeminPennswoods]

28. 46 million bird-watchers

That's a lot of potential anti-Trump voters.