SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San José) and Audubon California celebrate the signing of AB 454, which will reinstate and make permanent the California Migratory Bird Protection Act. This bill will ensure that the state of California can continue to enforce all of the protections offered by the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), even as they are rolled back by the Trump administration.
“Migratory birds play a critical role in every Californian community, providing immeasurable support for local ecosystems and a basis for many recreational and ecotourism industries,” said Assemblymember Kalra. “I am thankful Governor Newsom has signed AB 454 to ensure that migratory birds remain protected and respected by our laws and regulatory authorities, regardless of the federal government’s actions.”
“With bird populations declining at a rapid pace and alarming environmental rollbacks announced daily, the lasting establishment of the California Migratory Bird Protection Act is critical,” said Mike Lynes, Director of Public Policy at Audubon California, the co-sponsor organization. “AB 454 protects the millions of birds that rely on California during their incredible migrations across the hemisphere. Thanks to Assemblymember Kalra’s leadership, California will continue to be a champion for wildlife, now and for the future.”
For over a century, the MBTA has protected more than 1,000 native bird species, including the iconic bald eagle. It is even credited with pulling species like the Wood Duck and Sandhill Crane back from the brink of extinction. If not for the MBTA, the United States would have almost certainly lost many of the precious migratory birds that define its waters and skies.
Originally, the MBTA protected migratory birds from two kinds of unauthorized take: intentional take and incidental take. If a person or entity needed to engage in either kind of take, they had to receive prior authorization from the Department of the Interior U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Both the first and second Trump administrations have taken aim at the MBTA, making shameless attempts to limit its efficacy. On December 22, 2017, Trump’s Department of the Interior issued a legal opinion that stated that the MBTA did not apply to incidental take. Since reassuming office, Trump has reinstated the legal opinion, once again leaving sensitive bird species at the mercy of developers and other commercial entities.
“Every day now, the worsening effects of climate change and rollbacks in federal protections increase threats to our environment and native species,” said Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica). “I was proud to coauthor AB 454 and lead its successful passage on the Senate floor to permanently enshrine protections for native migratory birds in state law. California must stand strong to support the biodiversity protections that we have benefited from, and pass that legacy on to our children.”
The California State Legislature originally combatted these rollbacks by passing the California Migratory Bird Protection Act (AB 454, Kalra, 2019), which allowed the state to continue enforcing all of the protections offered by the MBTA. The Act expired in January of this year, necessitating not only its renewal, but its permanent enshrinement in state law.
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Assemblymember Ash Kalra represents California’s 25th Assembly District, which encompasses the majority of San José, including downtown and open space areas in southeast Santa Clara County. He was first elected in 2016, becoming the first Indian American to serve in the California Legislature in state history, and was re-elected to his fifth term in 2024. Assemblymember Kalra is the Chair of the Committee on Judiciary and also serves as a member on the Housing & Community Development, Labor & Employment, Natural Resources, and Utilities & Energy committees.