Brooke Marcus Wahlberg Comments on Possible MBTA Rule Change

Brooke Marcus Wahlberg was quoted in the Bloomberg article “Billion Birds at Risk as U.S. Pushes Final Rule Ahead of Biden.” The article examines the impact of Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) regulations the Interior Department is moving to finalize that would essentially de-criminalize the incidental killing of migratory birds. Given the upcoming administration change and the conflicting court rulings, finalizing the rule will not provide companies much certainty about its future implementation, Brooke noted.

The article further notes that the Interior Department is finalizing the rule despite an August court ruling in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York striking it down. That ruling stated, "Interior Solicitor Daniel Jorjani’s interpretation diminished the act to a ‘hunting-regulation statute, preventing it from addressing modern threats to migrating bird populations.’” Commenting for the article, Brooke said that companies “won’t know how the federal government plans to enforce the bird act [the MBTA] until the incoming Biden administration signals what steps it wants to take.”