The Interior Department’s Fish & Wildlife Service today announced the withdrawal of an October 2021 advance notice of proposed rulemaking that informed the public of the agency’s intent to develop proposed regulations to authorize the incidental take of migratory birds. The announcement noted that the ANPR was being withdrawn consistent with the Feb. 2025 Secretarial Order on Unleashing American Energy.
The withdrawal follows an Apr. 11, 2025 Memorandum from the Acting Interior Dept. Solicitor which directs all DOI bureaus and offices to consider as authoritative and binding a Dec. 2017 DOI legal opinion which found that Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibitions do not apply to the accidental or incidental taking or killing of migratory birds. The Apr. 2025 Memorandum excepts from applicability actions taken within the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.