Migratory Bird Rule Target of Lawsuit by Environmental Groups

The National Audubon Society and six other environmental groups are asking a federal court to toss out the Interior Department’s new rule implementing the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, claims Interior’s rule violates the National Environmental Policy Act and the MBTA itself. The incoming Biden administration is expected to take steps to reverse or revise the new rule.

Finalized this month, the rule codifies outgoing Interior Solicitor Daniel Jorjani’s 2017 interpretation of the century-old MBTA as applying only to intentional migratory bird killings.

Every previous administration ...