Dear Audubon Advocate,

Good news! This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service delayed the implementation of a harmful rule that would have gutted the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), and is asking for additional public comments to help inform next steps. This is our opportunity to reverse the rollback of the MBTA.

Please send your comments now to ask the Fish and Wildlife Service to undo the rule and restore critical protections for birds.

The MBTA has protected birds for more than a century. Passed in 1918 as a result of advocacy from Audubon chapters and supporters, the law serves as the foundation for bird conservation in our country. 

But since 2017, this bedrock law has been under attack. That’s when the Department of the Interior released an unprecedented legal memo that gave industries a free pass for bird deaths caused by preventable hazards, including major oil spills. Despite overwhelming public opposition and a federal court ruling that the new policy was illegal, the outgoing administration finalized a rule in early January to try to make this policy permanent.

Thankfully, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is now taking steps to respond to public concerns. 

Send your public comments today in support of reversing the rollback of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

At a time when science tells us that we’ve lost 3 billion birds in less than a human lifetime and that two-thirds of North American birds are at risk of extinction due to climate change, birds cannot afford to lose the protections that they have counted on for decades.