[APWG] OTHER: USFWS Publishes Final List of Non-native Birds

[Plant Conservation]

----- Original Message -----
From: Allen Salzberg
To: aliens-l listserv ; Conservation Biology Listserv
Cc: Orinthology Listserv ; Ecolog-l processor
Sent: Wednesday, March 16, 2005 11:40 AM
Subject: [Aliens-L] USF&WS publishesfinal list of non-native birds


March 15, 2005
Contact: Nicholas Throckmorton, (202) 208-5636

          SERVICE PUBLISHES FINAL LIST OF NON-NATIVE BIRD SPECIES

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today published in the Federal Register
a final list of the bird species to which the Migratory Bird Treaty Act
(MBTA) does not apply because they are not native to the United States and
have been introduced by humans everywhere they occur in the nation. The
list is required by the Migratory Bird Treaty Reform Act of 2004.


Most migratory bird species in the United States are protected by the
MBTA, which prohibits take of protected species, their nests and eggs
except as permitted by regulation. The MBTA implements treaties for the
protection of shared migratory bird resources signed by the United States
with Canada, Japan, Mexico, and Russia.

"By declaring that the MBTA does not apply to nonnative human-introduced
species, the Reform Act has restored the historic status of the MBTA and
enabled State and Federal Agencies to resume effective management of
native wildlife populations," said Service Director Steve Williams.

Williams noted that the publication of today's final list is for public
information purposes only as required by the Reform Act and has no legal
effect.

The actual list of migratory birds protected by the MBTA is published in
the Code of Federal Regulations (Title 50, Part 10.13). When it became law
late last year, the Reform Act excluded any species from protection not
specifically included on the Title 50, Part 10 list.


Of the 125 species on the final list of species exempt from MBTA
regulation, only 17 are known to have established self-sustaining breeding
populations in the United States.  Only one of the 125 species has ever
been treated as federally protected under the MBTA.  The mute swan was
afforded protection beginning in December 2001 by order of a Federal
court. Other prominent and well-known species on the list are the Eurasian
collared-dove and rock pigeon.

The exclusion of these species from the MBTA does not change the
protections that they might receive under other laws or treaties such as
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora (CITES), the Endangered Species Act, or the Wild Bird
Conservation Act.  In addition, States and communities may protect
nonnative, human-introduced species at their discretion.

Numerous other introduced species--including such widely distributed
species as ring-necked pheasant, European starling, and house
sparrow--don't belong to families covered by the MBTA and thus are not
affected by this notice.

The notice is available on the Internet at <http://migratorybirds.fws.gov>.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency
responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and
plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American
people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge
System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of
small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69
national fish hatcheries, 63 Fish and Wildlife Management offices and 81
ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife
laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird
populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and
restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments
with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance
program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes
on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
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