Dear, Senate, House of Representatives and USFWS

Hello, we are Antioch Bird Club in Keene, New Hampshire, situated in the Environmental Studies Department of Antioch University New England. What comes with these bird-loving humans are the very birds we work hard loving, feeding, fighting for, and conserving lands, waters, and their food sources. 

Seeing this opportunity to comment on the Migratory Bird Treaty Acts protection rollbacks is a massive opportunity to share why we think migratory birds need human protections on their side. 

In 2019 a heartbreaking study was published in Science magazine that found 2.9 billion breeding adult birds (in any ecosystem) are gone from our landscape compared to 1970. The MBTA was first enacted in 1916, stating “the statute makes it unlawful without a waiver to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, or sell nearly 1,100 species of birds listed therein as migratory”. This statute comes 16 years after the Lacey Act was passed, which was the first federal law protecting wildlife. 

Our grandparents saw more birds than we do, which should be the other way around, we should see more birds, and our grandchildren should see even more than us today. Bird populations are declining, and we humans can help support them. Birds aid in disease control, pollination and are most importantly deserving of justice. 

We are asking you to reinforce prosecution for the accidental death of migratory birds. Also, include other nations, cover all ecosystems, set up programming at national, state, and city parks to clean up, monitor, educate, and foster safe spaces for these birds to land on the migrations, winter, and breeding grounds. 

We stand firmly in solidarity with the birds who have been lost. Won’t you? 

With care, 

Ally Gelinas on behalf of Antioch Bird Club