Migratory Bird Treaty Act National Park Service Compliance for Federally Funded Fuels Projects Migratory Bird Treaty Act 16 USC 703-712

Migratory Bird Treaty Act National Park ServiceCompliance for Federally Funded Fuels Projects

Migratory Bird Treaty Act16 USC 703-712


#15 American Bittern: a two-foot tall brown and tan striped wading bird found in freshwater wetlands with tall, emergent vegetation in most Canadian provinces, the northern half of the US and coastal CA.

Down 59%

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) was enacted in 1918. Its main purpose is to protect migratory birds, their parts, nests, and eggs.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency charged with protecting and enhancing the populations and habitat of more than 800 species of birds that spend all or part of their lives in the United States.


Meadow Birds in Precipitous Decline, Audubon Says(NY Times, June 15, 2007) . Twenty common birds have lost more than half their populations in 40 years.

Global Bird Populations Face Dramatic Decline In Coming Decades, Study Predicts, (Stanford University, 12/2004). Ten percent of all bird species are likely to disappear by the year 2100, and another 15 percent could be on the brink of extinction, according to a new study by Stanford University biologists. .

Number of birds in State declining (LA Times, 6/15/2007). Study shows that several California species have declines of 75% to 96%, part of a nationwide trend partly caused by shrinking habitat. The evening grosbeak fared the worst in Audubon's California survey, with a 96% decline statewide. Nationally, grosbeak numbers fell from 17 million 40 years ago to 3.8 million today, according to both surveys. The black, yellow and white birds, about the size of a robin, live in California mountains where their habitat has been reduced by logging and development.


#16 Rufous Hummingbird: a very small, almost all cinnamon-colored bird with a red throat, found wherever flowers are near, from dense forests to sunny gardens in southern Alaska to northern California and Mexico.

Down 58%16 USC 703 (MBTA) states:

Unless and except as permitted by regulation, it shall be unlawful to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, attempt to take, capture, or kill, possess, offer for sale, sell, offer to barter, barter, offer to purchase, purchase, deliver for shipment, ship, export, import, cause to be shipped, exported, or imported, deliver for transportation, transport or cause to be transported, carry or cause to be carried, or receive for shipment, transportation, carriage, or export, any migratory bird, or any part, nest, or egg of any such bird…


#12 Black-throated Sparrow: a very distinctive small, brown bird with a black throat and mask found in open areas with scattered shrubs and trees, including deserts and semi-desert grasslands in the intermountain region of western USA, northern Mexico and Baja.

Down 63%

Take defined in 50 CFR 10.12 to include:

Pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt any of these acts.

Penalty = Felony with sale or barter or take with intent to sell or barter.

$250,000 fine per individual$500,000 fine per organization2 years incarceration


#8 Loggerhead Shrike: a robin-sized gray bird with black wings, white wing-patches, a black mask, and black tail, found in short grass with isolated trees or shrubs, especially pastureland, a year-round resident in most of the southern half of the US.

Down 71%Take Permits:•Research •Banding or marking•Scientific collecting•Education •Falconry•Depredation

No Incidental Take Permits

Per the 2003 National Defense Authorization Act (Authorization Act) Section 315: If any of the Armed Forces determine that a proposed or an ongoing military readiness activity may result in a significant adverse effect on a population of a migratory bird species, then they must confer and cooperate with the [USFWS] Service to develop appropriate and reasonable conservation measures to minimize or mitigate identified significant adverse effects. The Secretary of the Interior, or his/her designee, will retain the power to withdraw or suspend the authorization for particular activities in appropriate circumstances.


#3 Northern Pintail: a Mallard-sized "puddle duck" with a slim body found in grassy uplands and untilled crop fields near shallow seasonal and semi-permanent wetlands year-round in most of CA, OR and NV.

Down 77%• Avoid disturbance during nesting season.

• Consult with local agencies to determine the nesting period dates.

• If the project must start before the end of nesting, have a qualified biologist conduct a nesting bird survey.

• If nesting is found to be present, could the nests be flagged and project work conducted in a manner that would avoid disturbance? Does the biologist concur?

•Change in tools used or techniques

•Change in phasing


Which birds are covered? All birds listed in 50 CFR 10.13. Includes 836 species.

Which birds are not?In California : Mandarin Duck , Rock Pigeon , Spotted Dove , Eurasian Collared-Dove , Ringed Turtle-Dove , Chukar, Ring-necked Pheasant , White-tailed Ptarmigan, Wild Turkey, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Blue-crowned Parakeet , Mitred Parakeet, Red-masked Parakeet , Black-hooded Parakeet , Yellow-chevroned Parakeet , Canary-winged Parakeet , Red-lored Parrot , Blue-fronted Parrot, Red-crowned Parrot, Lilac-crowned Parrot , Yellow-headed Parrot . European Starling , House Sparrow , Nutmeg Mannikin, Orange Bishop .


To avoid potential incidental take of birds listed under the MBTA, project implementation can occur only between August 15 and March 1 unless a nesting bird survey of the project area is conducted by a qualified biologist and no evidence of nesting is found, or in the opinion of the biologist, nesting areas and potential for take can be avoided.


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Migratory Bird Treaty Act National Park Service Compliance for Federally Funded Fuels Projects Migratory Bird Treaty Act 16 USC 703-712