On December 27, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit partially reversed and remanded a decision by the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii, delaying if not derailing an expansion in shallow-set longline swordfish fisheries. Environmental groups brought claims against the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) and the U.S. … Continue Reading
On December 22, 2017 the Department of the Interior (“DOI”) Solicitor’s Office issued its revised interpretation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act’s (“MBTA”) prohibition on the take of migratory bird species. Official opinions from the DOI Solicitor’s Office are known as “M Opinions” and carry substantial weight in how DOI applies and enforces the various … Continue Reading
On November 8, 2017, the House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources approved an amendment to oil and gas-related legislation, the SECURE Act (H.R. 4239), that is intended to obviate liability for the incidental or accidental take of migratory birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, 16 U.S.C. § 703 et seq. (“Act”). The amendment, submitted … Continue Reading
Nossaman LLP’s own Steven P. Quarles and Brooke M. Wahlberg are co-chairing CLE International’s upcoming 2nd Annual MBTA and BGEPA: Hot Topics in Avian Protection conference. This timely, in-person CLE will explore the complexities of federal wildlife laws and rules to protect migratory birds and eagles under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) and the Bald … Continue Reading
On June 7, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected plaintiffs’ claim, among others, that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) violated the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) by granting a right-of-way to a private company to develop and operate a wind energy facility. Protect Our Communities Foundation v. Jewell, … Continue Reading
On February 10, 2016, lawmakers on the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Power, and Oceans are scheduled to discuss several wildlife laws, including the Endangered Species Act (ESA), Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), and Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). The Oversight Hearing is entitled “The Costly Impacts of Predation and Conflicting Federal Statutes on … Continue Reading
Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), it is unlawful to “pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, attempt to take, capture, or kill . . . any migratory bird” protected by the Act. 16 U.S.C. 703(a) & 704(a). In a recent decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit found that although the MBTA … Continue Reading
