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Capitol Hill Virtual Fly-in for the 117th Congress
Mark your calendars for the week of February 16th. American Bird Conservancy (ABC) will be hosting a virtual lobby fly-in in place of our usual legislative briefing, reception, and Bird Conservation Alliance meeting. We have an exciting migratory bird conservation package to present to members of Congress, and need your help to share just how important it is to provide strong legislation for conserving birds and their habitats. For groups and individuals who wish to meet virtually with their congressional delegates to lobby on behalf of priority migratory bird conservation bills, please contact Jennifer Cipolletti to coordinate meetings with your legislators. Scheduling availability will be February 16-19, 2021. We will conclude our lobby week with a virtual happy hour for all who can join. Let's get to work and bring birds back!

 

ABC Launches New Online Tools to Reduce Window Collisions
In December, ABC expanded and overhauled its online Collisions presence. The update provides architects, homeowners, and activists with a host of new tools designed to help combat bird-and-glass collisions. Among other things, it includes a new gallery filled with bird-friendly design strategies, guidance on writing bird-safe building legislation, and an enlarged product and solutions database. Please take a look and feel free to pass on any feedback to collisions@abcbirds.org.

 

Virginia Takes Groundbreaking Steps to Protect Migratory Birds
The Commonwealth of Virginia has issued a precedent-setting draft regulation that aims to reduce the loss of migratory birds from “incidental take” — the unintentional but foreseeable (and in many cases, preventable) killing of birds. This regulation would require certain industries to obtain a permit for killing migratory birds and require the use of best management practices to reduce impacts. This would provide regulatory clarity for industry as well as protections for birds — a win-win scenario. Act Now: ABC is urging Virginia residents to voice their support for this measure.

 

Groups Challenge Assault on the Endangered Species Act 
Earthjustice filed a lawsuit in the District of Hawai’i in response to a new regulation that strips vital protections from federal lands and other areas that the best available science indicates are necessary for the conservation of federally Threatened and Endangered species. The critical habitat case seeks to reaffirm protection of federal lands and other areas that the best available science indicates are necessary for the conservation of Threatened and Endangered species.

 

Owl Extinction Risk Grows as Feds Exempt 3.4 Million Acres from Protection
The previous Administration finalized a new Northern Spotted Owl critical habitat rule on January 13 that has the potential to hasten the extinction of this declining subspecies. The rule originally proposed to exempt only about 200,000 acres from critical habitat protections. However, the final rule instead exempts 3.4 million acres — a huge expanse of territory totaling about one-third of the owl’s protected habitat. This decision comes on the heels of a determination that the owl is already moving toward extinction, even before this loss of habitat protection. Read More.

 

Lawsuit Filed to Restore Bird Protections
ABC, together with a coalition of national environmental groups, filed litigation (Case Number: 1:21-cv-00448) challenging the outgoing Administration's move to eliminate longstanding protections for waterfowl, raptors, songbirds, and other birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). The move challenges a new rule by the outgoing Administration that would end enforcement against “incidental take” of birds ― the predictable and preventable killing of birds by industrial practices. The past Administration sought to codify this in spite of the fact that last August, a federal judge struck down this opinion. Read more, and Act Now: Ask the incoming 117th U.S. Congress to ensure that devastating rollbacks to the MBTA are overturned.

 

New York's Renewable Energy Regulations Neglect Bird Impacts
New York's renewable energy development process overhaul continues to move forward with draft regulations, which do little to address renewable energy projects' substantial negative impacts on birds. ABC led a group of 25 bird conservation organizations in developing comments to express concerns about these regulations. The groups propose commonsense solutions that would correct some of the regulations' major flaws and provide better protection for birds. By incorporating the recommended changes from these bird conservation experts, the State could set a positive precedent for environmentally friendly renewable energy development. But to make this happen, substantial revisions to the current draft regulations would be needed.

 

Existing Wind Facility Prepares for Expanding Range of Condors
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is now accepting public comments on the expected unintentional killing (or “incidental take”), under the Endangered Species Act, of California Condors at an existing wind energy facility. As the species has recovered from near-extinction, its range has expanded, bringing the birds more and more frequently into areas where wind facilities have been built. This presents a challenging situation ― how to address possible harm to one of our rarest and most iconic birds when the risk factor (wind turbines) already exists? One facility owner has worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to try to answer that question. 

 

Inside Bird Conservation is produced by American Bird Conservancy for those who want a closer look at bird conservation policy and related issues. Past editions and other issue updates are available on the Bird Conservation Alliance website. Please forward to interested conservationists. To subscribe, please send a message to sholmer@abcbirds.org.

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American Bird Conservancy
P.O. Box 249  | The Plains, Virginia  20198
(540) 253-5780 | info@abcbirds.org

Photo captions (top to bottom): Banner: Cedar Waxwings, Tathoms, Shutterstock; Yellow Warblers, Tani Thomson, Shutterstock; Black-throated Blue Warbler, Jeff Rzepka, Shutterstock; Iiwi, Dayu Yu, Shutterstock; Northern Spotted Owl, Bureau of Land Management; Indigo Bunting, Robert Royse; Golden Eagle, Alistair Hobbs Shutterstock; California Condor, Steve Cukrov, Shutterstock.

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