Earlier this month, the Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) published a final rule revoking the Trump Administration’s rule on incidental take under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”), as well as an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (“ANPR”) aimed at codifying the Biden Administration’s interpretation of the MBTA’s incidental take provision and creating new incidental … Continue Reading
This post was co-authored by Stoel Rives summer associate Lydia Heye. In May, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) announced a proposed rule revoking the Trump administration’s final rule on incidental take under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”). In the January 7, 2021 final regulation, the Trump administration interpreted the MBTA’s take prohibition … Continue Reading
Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) published notice in the Federal Register announcing that it intends to prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement to evaluate the effects of a program that would authorize incidental take under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”). Although the Service has MBTA regulations that authorize the issuance of … Continue Reading
From our colleagues Greg Corbin and Barbara Craig: On March 24, 2010, four conservation groups filed a complaint against Kauai’s electric utility, Kauai Island Utility Co-op (“KIUC”), alleging that KIUC’s power lines, utility facilities, and street lights “take” threatened Newell’s Townsend’s shearwaters (Puffinus Auricularis Newelli) (“Newell’s shearwaters”) and/or endangered Hawaiian petrels in violation of the … Continue Reading
My colleagues Greg Corbin and Eric Martin report on an important development under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act that may affect the siting and permitting of wind projects Yesterday the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced the addition of 186 migratory birds to its list of species protected by the MBTA. Effective at the … Continue Reading
