Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published its finalized environmental impact statement (EIS) that recommends new rollbacks on protections for migratory birds. This final step of publishing its proposal in the federal registrar could mean that the new regulations will be in effect before the end of December, just before President Trump leaves the White House.

The proposal published by the USFWS deals with how an illegal "taking" should be defined. The current policy outlined in the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) has been in effect since the early 1970s. Under the MBTA an illegal taking is defined as any action, whether it be accidental or intentional, that results in the death of a protected species. This treaty was created with a focus on keeping industries and developers from harming migratory birds during their operations.

The EIS statement explains in defense of the rollbacks, “It is in the public interest to apply a national standard that sets a clear, consistent and articulable rule for when a person or operator commits a criminal misdemeanor violation of the MBTA."

Before the rollbacks, when a company or industry violated a "taking," they were met with federal prosecution as well as hefty fines for the death of protected birds. These new rollbacks aim to change this practice.

Certain Industries May Benefit from the Rollbacks

The new proposal would allow significant rollbacks on how different industries, including factories, energy companies, developers, and any other entities who inadvertently kill protected birds, are prosecuted. Essentially, these new rollbacks will limit the federal government's authority on how they can prosecute entities that inadvertently kill birds.

Some of the industries that stand to benefit the most from these rollbacks include electric utilities and oil companies. Oil companies have been notorious for accidentally killing protected birds through oil spills and oil pits. The Deepwater Horizon spill that happened in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 resulted in an estimated 102,000 birds killed, according to the USFWS. BP, which was responsible for the spill, eventually paid $100 million in a settlement along with a variety of other fines after having been found in violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

The electric industry could also stand to benefit from the rollbacks as the Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that anywhere between eight million and 57 million birds are killed every year due to accidents including electrocutions and birds colliding with electric utility lines.

What Do the Rollbacks Mean for Protected Migratory Birds?

The USFWS acknowledges in the EIS that there may be a potential “negative” impact on species that are protected by the 1918 MBTA once the current protections are rolled back. Species that may negatively be impacted include eagles, storks, songbirds, sparrows, seabirds, and many others.

The EIS statement also expresses that other means of illegal “takings,” including illegal shootings, poisoning, and both intentional and non-intentional killings of protected birds by other means, would remain illegal with civil and criminal penalties in place.

The USFWS also identified that “incidental takings” account for at least 40 million bird deaths each year. There have been on average 57 investigations pertaining to incidental takings each year. Also, just about $178.8 million in civil penalties and criminal fines have been paid out by violators of the MBTA in the past year.

Environmental Groups Oppose the New Rollbacks

Environmental groups have unsurprisingly voiced their opinions on the detrimental impact of rollbacks on migratory bird protections. Several groups highlight that all birds, especially protected migratory species, have never been in a more critical need of protection, especially considering climate change's environmental impact.

The Director of Endangered Species at the Center for Biological Diversity expressed his opinion on the administration’s ruling with the following statement: “The Trump administration’s decision to give polluters carte blanche to kill birds is not just illegal, it’s cruel. With scientists warning birds are disappearing from our skies, now is not the time to relax rules on killing them.”

The CEO of the National Audubon Society, David Yarnold, also voiced his frustration with the rollbacks by expressing his opinion in the following statement: “This administration is churning out policies that make it easier to kill birds, pollute our air and water, and endanger our health. The 'comment periods' where the public is supposed to have a say on new regulations have become a cruel joke. The administration continues to ignore scientists, experts, and 46 million bird-lovers in favor of a few bad corporate actors who can’t be bothered with common sense environmental protections.”