Dear Audubon Advocate,

Eight years ago today, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 people and unleashed the worst environmental tragedy in U.S. history. Now the Trump Administration and some members of Congress are trying to gut the law that held BP accountable for the deaths of an estimated one million birds.

Urge your members of Congress to oppose changes that would weaken the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Without America’s most important bird conservation law—the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA)—BP would have had a free pass to kill birds with impunity. While the law can’t bring those birds back to life, the $100 million in penalties BP paid under the law is helping restore and protect fragile marshlands, vulnerable beaches, shrinking forests, and other habitat across the Gulf Coast and beyond.

Legislation introduced by Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) would absolve companies of all responsibility for bird deaths in the course of otherwise legal business. And, in a surprise attack just before Christmas—when it thought no one was paying attention—the Department of the Interior issued a legal opinion directing law enforcement to stop prosecuting industries for practices that kill migratory birds.

It’s especially important for our Gulf Coast members of Congress to hear about how the Migratory Bird Treaty Act helps our region. Please email your representative and senators today and ask them to protect our birds by upholding the MBTA.