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| One of the oldest environmental laws in our country, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), is coming under attack by Members of Congress. Last year, the House of Representatives passed a provision in a fiscal appropriations bill that would bar the Department of Justice from enforcing the MBTA – this amendment did not become law, but we could see a similar attack on the law again this year.
The MBTA is the primary piece of legislation in the United States established to protect over 1,000 species of migratory birds (like this Baltimore Oriole, pictured) and makes it illegal to harm these birds except under very specific circumstances. If weakened byCongress, it could result in the harm and or death of millions of migratory birds. We need you to ACT NOW:
Conservation Groups Oppose Giveaway of National Wildlife Refuge A letter sent to Congress by conservation groups, including American Bird Conservancy, urges the defeat of a plan to remove over 3,000 acres from the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge for development. This is just one of many attempts to dispose of public lands that would result in the loss of essential bird habitats. Measuring America’s Disappearing West A new project by the nonprofit Conservation Science Partners and the Center for American Progress finds that every two and a half minutes, a football field’s worth of open, natural area in the western United States disappears to human development. In Wyoming and Utah, for example, the footprint of oil, gas, wind, and other renewable energy projects grew by more than 38 percent in just 10 years. The land occupied by cities, suburban areas, and other commercial and residential development grew by 17 percent across the region. Sustainable Bird Tourism Scales Up to Support Tropical Conservation ABC and its partners are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Latin American Bird Reserve Network. A successful model for sustainable bird tourism designed to prevent the extinction of some of the Americas’ rarest bird species, the network now includes … Read More>> New Resource Will Help Fisheries Managers Avoid Seabird Bycatch Seabird bycatch is an enormous problem for sustainability of fisheries and conservation of seabirds, with at least 720,000 seabirds killed annually in longline and gillnet fisheries. To help fisheries managers avoid seabird bycatch, American Bird Conservancy has created a free, comprehensive guide that provides a … Read More>> Wind Farm Threatens Eastern Golden Eagle A letter was sent to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service expressing the American bird Conservancy’s and Virginians for Responsible Energy’s serious concerns about Apex Clean Energy’s proposed Rocky Forge Wind Energy Project in Botetourt County, VA. The Eastern Golden Eagle is believed to be a small and potentially vulnerable population that is geographically isolated and potentially a distinct population. This population breeds in northeastern Canada, migrates along ridgelines through the central Appalachians, and winters in Virginia.
Hastings Star Gazette: Bird City is a unique pilot program to encourage urban bird conservation. The city is being saluted for its long-term commitment to creating bird habitat, reducing threats to birds, and engaging citizens in birding, bird conservation, and outdoor recreation. Why Conserve Small Forest Fragments and Individual Trees in Urban Areas? For many developers and city planners, it takes time and money to plan around trees and small forest fragments. Often, the message from conservationists is that we want to avoid fragmentation and to conserve large forested areas. While this goal is important, the message tends to negate any thoughts by developers toward conserving individual mature trees and small forest fragments. To learn why these trees and forest fragments should be conserved see http://www.thenatureofcities.com/2016/03/06/why-conserve-small-forest-fragments-and-individual-trees-in-urban-areas/. Ground-Level Artificial Lights Disrupt Bird Migration It’s not just lights on skyscrapers that can impact migrating birds. New research in The Condor: Ornithological Applications demonstrates that even ground-level artificial lights can affect birds passing overhead at night. See Birding Wire for more: http://www.birdingwire.com/releases/372771/ Tricolored Blackbird: The Next Passenger Pigeon? Tricolored Blackbirds form the largest colonies of any North American land bird, with a single breeding colony often numbering tens of thousands of birds. And like the Passenger Pigeon, the colonial nature of the Tricolored Blackbird makes it particularly vulnerable. |
