Interior Proposes No Company Fines for Accidental Bird Deaths (1)

Companies that unintentionally kill migratory birds wouldn’t face federal fines under a draft environmental impact statement that the Trump administration released Friday.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s “preferred alternative” under the statement would issue rules that exclude “incidental take” from the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), upholding a 2017 Interior Department solicitor opinion. The move drew criticism from environmentalists and congressional Democrats.

Take is defined as harassing, harming, or killing an animal. Incidental take is the accidental injury or death of birds when they collide with structures including buildings, power lines, and wind turbines, or fly into oil ...