science

Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918

Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 rather than just read about it. In short: The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (MBTA), codified at 16 U.S.C. §§ 703–712 (although §709 is omitted), is a United States federal law, first enacted in 1918 to implement the convention for the protection of migratory birds between the United States and Canada. 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 bir…

Key takeaways

Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (MBTA), codified at 16 U.S.C. §§ 703–712 (although §709 is omitted), is a United States federal law, first enacted in 1918 to implement the convention for the protection of migratory birds between the United States and Canada. 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 birds. The statute does not discriminate between live or dead birds and also grants full protection to any bird parts, including feathers, eggs, and nests. A March 2020 update of the list decreased the number of species to 1,093. Some exceptions to the act, including the eagle feather law, are enacted in federal regulations (50 CFR 22), which regulate the taking, possession, and transportation of bald eagles, golden eagles, and their "parts, nests, and eggs" for "scientific, educational, and depredation control purposes; for the religious purposes of American Indian tribes; and to protect other interests in a particular locality." Enrolled members of federally recognized tribes may apply for an eagle permit for use in "bona fide tribal religious ceremonies." The United States Fish and Wildlife Service issues permits for otherwise prohibited activities under the act. These include permits for taxidermy, falconry, propagation, scientific and educational use, and depredation, an example of the last being the killing of geese near an airport, where they pose a danger to aircraft. The Act was enacted in an era when many bird species were threatened by the commercial trade in birds and bird feathers. The Act was one of the first federal environmental laws (the Lacey Act had been enacted in 1900). The Act replaced the earlier Weeks-McLean Act (1913). Since 1918, similar conventions between the United States and four other nations have been made and incorporated into the MBTA: Mexico (1936), Japan (1972) and the Soviet Union (1976, now its successor state Russia). Some of the conventions stipulate protections not only for the birds themselves, but also for habitats and environments necessary for the birds' survival. Constitutionally this law is of interest as it is a use of the federal treaty-making power to override the provisions of state law. The principle that the federal government may do this was upheld in the case Missouri v. Holland. In a defense of the treaty, Federal Judge Valerie Caproni on August 11, 2020, wrote in a decision, "It is not only a sin to kill a mockingbird, it is also a crime." After an update to administrative law on January 5, 2021, the United States Department of the Interior ceased to enforce penalties under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for the accidental killings of birds by businesses or individuals. This change was revoked on October 4, 2021.

Sections § 703: Taking, killing, or possessing migratory birds unlawfully § 704: Determination as to when and how migratory birds may be taken, killed, or possessed § 705: Transportation or importation of migratory birds; when unlawful § 706: Arrests; search warrants § 707: Violations and penalties; forfeitures § 708: State or Territorial laws or regulations § 709: Omitted §709a: Authorization of appropriations § 710: Partial invalidity; short title § 711: Breeding and sale for food supply § 712: Treaty and convention implementing regulations; seasonal taking of migratory birds for essential needs of indigenous Alaskans to preserve and maintain stocks of the birds; protection and conservation of the birds

History

Louis Marshall had a key influence as an intervenor on a landmark case before the Supreme Court underscoring the right and responsibility of the federal government for environmental protection and conservation. In a friend of the court brief in Missouri v. Holland on behalf of the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks, Marshall successfully persuaded the court to uphold the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, between the United States and Canada. As characterized by Adler, Marshall argued, "the United States did have the power to create such legislation; that Congress was well within its rights; and that the Act was constitutional"; and, further, "If Congress possessed plenary powers to legislate for the protection of the public domain, then it had to take into account all possibility for such protection", including protection of migratory birds, "these natural guardians" against "hostile insects, which, if not held in check ... would result in the inevitable destruction" of "both prairie and forest lands". According to Handlin, Marshall's intervention "was a major factor in the decision."

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918

In research: Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1918 in American law, 1918 in international relations, 1918 in the environment, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 in simple terms?

Why does Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.