We are thrilled to announce that AB 454, which will reinstate and make permanent the California Migratory Bird Protection Act, has officially been signed into law. This bill will ensure that the state of California can continue to enforce all of the protections offered by the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA).
“Migratory birds play a critical role in every Californian community, providing immeasurable support for local ecosystems and a basis for many recreational and ecotourism industries,” said Assemblymember Kalra, lead author of the bill.
“With bird populations declining at a rapid pace and alarming environmental rollbacks announced daily, the lasting establishment of the California Migratory Bird Protection Act is critical,” said Mike Lynes, Director of Public Policy at Audubon California, which co-sponsored the bill. “AB 454 protects the millions of birds that rely on California during their incredible migrations across the hemisphere. Thanks to Assemblymember Kalra’s leadership, California will continue to be a champion for wildlife, now and for the future.”
For over a century, the MBTA has protected more than 1,000 native bird species, including the iconic bald eagle. It is even credited with pulling species like the Wood Duck and Sandhill Crane back from the brink of extinction. Without the MBTA, the United States would almost certainly have lost many of the precious migratory birds that grace its waters and skies.
Originally, the MBTA protected migratory birds from two kinds of unauthorized killing: intentional killing and incidental killing. Anyone seeking to engage in either type had to obtain prior authorization from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service.
On December 22, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Interior issued a legal opinion stating that the MBTA did not apply to incidental take. The opinion has since been reinstated, once again leaving many vulnerable bird species at the mercy of developers and other commercial entities.
“I was proud to coauthor AB 454 and lead its successful passage on the Senate floor to permanently enshrine protections for native migratory birds in state law,” said Senator Ben Allen (D–Santa Monica). “California must stand strong to support the biodiversity protections that we have benefited from and pass that legacy on to our children.”
In 2019, the California State Legislature countered these rollbacks by passing the California Migratory Bird Protection Act (AB 454, Kalra), which allowed the state to continue enforcing all the protections provided under the MBTA. The Act expired in January of this year, necessitating not only its renewal but also its permanent enshrinement in California state law.
