Municipal officials gathered at the Bucks County Audubon Society on Wednesday [December 19, 2018] to discuss ways to promote bird species, while hearing about the curtailing of federal policies designed to protect birds.

 

“This just brings it home,” said McGill, who is board president of the Churchville Nature Center. “That nothing takes care of itself. We’ve got to take action. We’ve got to step up.”

 

The 10,000-foot view of what McGill was talking about was the 100-year anniversary of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the nation’s primary law offering protections for birds.

 

According to the Audubon Society, more than 1,000 species are covered by the law, which makes it illegal to kill or harm them, and requires property owners and companies to take action to prevent “predictable and avoidable deaths.”

 

But last year the Department of the Interior issued a guidance that reversed a century of federal policy, ruling it would no longer pursue actions under the act when an entity harmed or killed a bird unintentionally. Oil companies stand to benefit the most from the reversal.

 

While the national Audubon Society is one of the groups challenging the new policy in court, its subchapters are taking a more harmonious approach. The Bucks County chapter, which is headquartered on a 110-acre property in a bucolic section of Solebury, was one of the chapters that followed the national organization’s lead in declaring 2018 the “Year of the Bird,” and sought to reach out to municipalities to raise awareness of bird protection.

 

While the national Audubon Society is one of the groups challenging the new policy in court, its subchapters are taking a more harmonious approach. The Bucks County chapter, which is headquartered on a 110-acre property in a bucolic section of Solebury, was one of the chapters that followed the national organization’s lead in declaring 2018 the “Year of the Bird,” and sought to reach out to municipalities to raise awareness of bird protection.