Dear Audubon Advocate,

Earlier this year, a federal rule dramatically weakened the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), our nation’s most important bird protection law. Under the weakened law, companies are no longer liable for preventable bird deaths from industrial hazards. For example, if this policy had been in place in 2010, BP would have faced no consequences under the MBTA for the one million birds killed in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. But there is hope. 

Legislation has just been reintroduced in Congress to restore and strengthen the MBTA. 

Take action and tell your U.S. Representative to support the Migratory Bird Protection Act to reinstate long-standing protections for North America’s birds.

There’s never been a more important time to safeguard birds from preventable hazards. Three billion birds have disappeared since 1970. Two out of three bird species are threatened by climate change. 

Audubon fought every step of the way to pass the MBTA more than a century ago. For decades, the law helped spur the adoption of practices that protect birds, from covering up oil pits to fixing power lines to reduce electrocutions and collisions. And it held companies accountable for their role in disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has made efforts to reverse the rollback of the MBTA, but we must do more to bring birds back. The new Migratory Bird Protection Act will strengthen protections for birds from industrial hazards and restore incentives to save birds from harm. 

Please take a moment to write to your U.S. Representative and ask them to support the Migratory Bird Protection Act, and help give birds a fighting chance when they need it most.