[audubon-news] House Vote to Exempt Military from Migratory Bird Treaty Act
- From: "BIANCHI, John" <JBIANCHI@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "'chapter-communicator@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'" <chapter-communicator@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>,"'audubon-news@xxxxxxxxxxxxx'" <audubon-news@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 10 May 2002 11:15:55 -0400
Contact: Cristine Romano
<mailto:cromano@xxxxxxxxxxx>
202/861-2242
PERRY PLUMART, DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS, STATEMENT
ON HOUSE VOTE TO EXEMPT DEFENSE DEPT. FROM ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS
Washington, D.C. May 10th, 2002 - "The House of Representatives
dealt a significant blow to migratory bird protection when it hastily
approved the Defense Authorization bill late last night. Buried deep in the
legislation were unprecedented exemptions for the Defense Department from
the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Endangered Species Act.
"These exemptions are a potential disaster for migratory birds.
This legislation allows the indiscriminate shelling or bombing of birds in
their nesting areas with no oversight or accountability. The overall effect
is to exempt an enormous array of activities that can harm birds under the
justification that they are related to training and military readiness.
"Should the Defense Department be handed this free pass, hawks,
doves, and indeed all birds should head for cover. No federal agency
should be above the law. Without the Endangered Species Act and the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act, our nation's symbol, the bald eagle, would be
extinct.
"To protect America's freedoms, we need a strong, properly trained
military. But we can achieve military readiness without these exemptions
from the laws that protect our bird and wildlife heritage. Hundreds of
species of birds and wildlife make their homes within the 25 million acres
managed by the Defense Department. The military already has the ability to
train on this land; we should press for a streamlining of this process
rather then throwing out the law.
"We urge the Senate to protect our nation's birds and wildlife by
rejecting the House proposal to weaken the Endangered Species Act and the
Migratory Bird Treaty Act."
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