Focus on Arts and Ecology

Dear Jon,

It’s official! The California Migratory Bird Protection Act is now law.

Thanks to the support of members like you, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 454 to protect California’s migratory birds. The bill was authored by Assembly Member Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) and sponsored by Audubon California.

The measure ensures that California can continue to protect migratory birds as it always has, regardless of rollbacks by the Trump administration in the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). In 2017, the Trump administration stated it would no longer enforce the MTBA or protect birds in cases of incidental deaths, effectively allowing industry to kill millions of migratory birds without taking any efforts to avoid or reduce those impacts.

We applaud the dedicated leadership of Assembly member Ash Kalra and Senator Nancy Skinner for leading this effort to protect California's migratory birds and thank Governor Newsom for signing the bill into law.

California is a key link along the Pacific Flyway, the avian migration route that spans from Alaska to South America. Birds traveling this pathway come to California to feed, rest and winter in the state’s wetlands and forests. They carry nutrients that enrich our soils—including agricultural lands—and play a vital role in the ecosystem as both predators and prey. Shorebirds, waterfowl, songbirds and raptors also generate billions of dollars in revenue from birdwatchers and hunters.

Our diverse array of migratory bird species include Ospreys, Western Tanagers, Yellow Warblers, Golden-crowned Sparrows, Least Terns, Snow Geese, Wigeons, Northern Pintails, Whimbrels, Sanderlings, Western Sandpipers, Ferruginous Hawks, and Tundra Swans to name a few. The magnificent Sandhill Crane migrates to California by the thousands each year, sometimes traveling 350 miles a day.

Our state is home to a greater diversity of birds and wildlife than almost any state in the country. The 600 bird species that have been spotted in California make up about two-thirds of all birds species in North America.

The enactment of AB454 comes a week after a scientific study revealed that we lost an unprecedented three billion birds in the last 50 years in North America. As we face this emergency, birds will need our state’s ongoing leadership to address threats from habitat loss, climate change, and pesticides.

The California Migratory Bird Protection Act provides the State of California with the authority to protect our diversity of birds while safeguarding our treasured ecosystems for future generations. We now call on Governor Newsom and other state officials to ensure that the law is enforced and that our state is home to healthy bird populations for decades to come.

Thank you for standing up for birds and making history with us.