science

Migratory bird rule

Migratory bird rule 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 rule rather than just read about it. In short: The migratory bird rule, adopted by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asserted that the Clean Water Act (CWA) covers regulation of isolated waters "which are or would be used as habitat by... migratory birds that cross state lines." The rule was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2001. Background The Clean Water Act defines the waters of the United States as All…

Key takeaways

Migratory bird rule 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 rule to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Migratory bird rule from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The migratory bird rule, adopted by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asserted that the Clean Water Act (CWA) covers regulation of isolated waters "which are or would be used as habitat by... migratory birds that cross state lines." The rule was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2001.

Background The Clean Water Act defines the waters of the United States as

All waters which are currently used, or were used in the past, or may be susceptible to use in interstate or foreign commerce, including all waters which are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide (navigable waters); All interstate waters, including interstate wetlands; All other waters, such as intrastate lakes, rivers, and streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, or natural ponds, the use, degradation, or destruction of which could affect interstate or foreign commerce, including any such waters: Which are or could be used by interstate or foreign travelers for recreational or other purposes; or From which fish or shell fish are or could be taken and sold in interstate or foreign commerce; or Which are used or could be used for industrial purposes by industries in interstate commerce. All impoundments of waters otherwise defined as waters of the United States under the definition; Tributaries of waters identified in paragraphs a (1)-(4) of this section; The territorial seas; Wetlands adjacent to waters identified in paragraphs (1)-(6). Based on paragraph 3, above, the Migratory Bird Rule (51 FR 41217) asserted in 1986 that the power of the Federal Government, under the Clean Water Act, could be extended to isolated, intrastate, non-navigable waters based on the following factors being present:

Use of the water as habitat by birds protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act; Use of the water as habitat for Federally protected endangered or threatened species; or Use of the water to irrigate crops sold in interstate commerce.

Overturning the rule On January 9, 2001, the US Supreme Court in Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook Cty. v. Army Corps of Engineers threw out the "Migratory Bird Rule," A case that pitted a consortium of towns around Chicago, Illinois over isolated wetlands, inhabited or visited by over 100 migratory bird species, against the US Army Corps of Engineers. In this case, Skokie, Illinois wanted abandoned quarries filled with water, but not connected to another or navigable body of water to serve as a site for a solid waste facility. For the previous 15 years lower courts had sustained the rule in favor of migratory birds, siding with the Army Corps. The Supreme Court held that neither the Corps nor the EPA can exert CWA jurisdiction over isolated, intrastate, non-navigable waters, where the sole basis for asserting CWA jurisdiction rests on the three factors listed under the Migratory Bird Rule, above. At least one state reacted to the new Supreme Court ruling by restoring isolated wetlands protection: the 2001 Wisconsin Act 6 is the first of its kind nationwide to restore wetlands regulation to the state after federal authority had been revoked. It restores protection to over 1 million acres (4,000 km2) of isolated wetlands in Wisconsin. On May 7, 2001, Wisconsin Governor Scott McCallum signed a bill protecting wetlands by placing Wisconsin wetlands regulation under the jurisdiction of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Migratory bird rule

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Migratory bird rule 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 rule 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 rule 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 rule

In research: Migratory bird rule 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 rule 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 rule is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2001 in the environment, Bird conservation, Bird migration, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Migratory bird rule 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 rule in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Migratory bird rule 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 rule out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Migratory bird rule in simple terms?

Why does Migratory bird rule 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 rule?

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 rule.