Ten AGs Filed Comments on NEPA Review of Proposed Narrowing of Migratory Bird Treaty Act Protections

New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 10 attorneys general in submitting comments on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for its proposal to eliminate prohibitions under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) against the incidental take of migratory birds. In their comments, the attorneys general urged the Service to abandon its proposal in favor of the prior MBTA interpretation and practice, which the DEIS confirmed “would increase the number of entities implementing best practices for avoiding bird deaths and decrease mortality of migratory birds.” The attorneys general warned that the other alternatives presented in the DEIS “would result in significant and unnecessary bird deaths.”