I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3188 
To amend the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to affirm that the prohibition 
on the unauthorized take or killing of migratory birds of that Act 
includes incidental take, and to direct the United States Fish and Wild-
life Service to authorize such incidental take, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 5, 2025 
Mr. HUFFMAN (for himself and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To amend the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to affirm that 
the prohibition on the unauthorized take or killing of 
migratory birds of that Act includes incidental take, and 
to direct the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 
to authorize such incidental take, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Migratory Bird Protec-
tion Act of 2025’’. 
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SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE MIGRATORY BIRD TREATY 
ACT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Migratory Bird Treaty Act 
(16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘of Agriculture’’ each place it 
appears; 
(2) by striking ‘‘of the Interior’’ each place it 
appears; 
(3) in section 5 (16 U.S.C. 706), as amended 
by paragraph (1) of this section, by inserting ‘‘of the 
Interior’’ after ‘‘employee of the Department’’; 
(4) in section 6 (16 U.S.C. 707), as amended 
by paragraph (1) of this section, by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZING CIVIL PENALTIES
FOR INCI-
DENTAL TAKE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A person who incidentally 
takes a migratory bird without an authorization 
issued pursuant to section 14 or in violation of the 
terms and conditions of an applicable permit or reg-
ulation issued by the Secretary to administer section 
14 may be assessed a civil penalty by the Secretary 
of not more than $10,000 per violation, except that 
unpermitted incidental take which is caused by con-
duct that is reckless or grossly negligent shall be 
subject to the penalties of subsection (a). 
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‘‘(2) CIVIL ACTION.—The Secretary may com-
mence a civil action for appropriate relief, including 
a permanent or temporary injunction, for any inci-
dental take of a migratory bird without a permit or 
any violation of the terms and conditions of a permit 
issued or regulation promulgated pursuant to section 
14.’’; and 
(5) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 14. INCIDENTAL TAKE OF MIGRATORY BIRDS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be a violation of this Act 
to incidentally take any migratory bird, and any part, 
nest, or egg of any such bird, except as authorized by the 
Secretary. The Secretary shall promulgate regulations to 
authorize the incidental take of migratory birds pursuant 
to this section, including issuing general permits. Before 
the Secretary promulgates regulations for an industry, the 
Secretary shall continue to enforce the document titled 
‘Director’s Order No.: 225’ (published October 5, 2021). 
No penalty shall be assessed unless such entity is given 
notice and opportunity for a hearing on the record in ac-
cordance with sections 554 and 556 of title 5, United 
States Code. In determining the amount of the penalty, 
the Secretary shall consider the gravity of the violation 
and the demonstrated good faith of the entity. For good 
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cause shown, the Secretary, in an extraordinary case, may 
remit or mitigate any such penalty. 
‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF FEES.—The Secretary may 
collect fees pursuant to authorizing and administering the 
incidental take of migratory birds. The fees may be used 
to cover the administrative costs for the permit program 
and conserving populations of bird species— 
‘‘(1) affected by the authorized activities; or 
‘‘(2) identified as birds of conservation concern 
under authority of section 13 of the Fish and Wild-
life Conservation Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 2912). 
‘‘(c) DEPOSIT OF FEES.—There is established in the 
Treasury a separate account, which shall be known as the 
‘Migratory Bird Recovery Fund’. The fund shall be man-
aged by the Secretary and may consist of— 
‘‘(1) amounts received from fees pursuant to 
regulations under subsection (b); 
‘‘(2) amounts received pursuant to section 6(e); 
‘‘(3) amounts made available from appropria-
tions; and 
‘‘(4) amounts received by the Secretary in the 
form of donations. 
‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each fis-
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cal year beginning after the date of the enactment of this 
section to carry out this section. 
‘‘(e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 5 years 
after the date of enactment of this section, and at the end 
of each 5 year period thereafter, the Secretary shall sub-
mit a report to the Chair and Ranking Member of the 
House Natural Resources Committee and to the Chair and 
Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public 
Works Committee on— 
‘‘(1) the conservation status of migratory birds; 
‘‘(2) the impacts upon migratory birds of activi-
ties for which authorizing regulations have been 
issued under this section; and 
‘‘(3) the Secretary’s progress in carrying out 
the functions and responsibilities given to the Sec-
retary under this section. 
‘‘(f) RESEARCH PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall es-
tablish and maintain, through direct programming, con-
tracts, or other form of agreement, and in consultation 
with research institutions, institutions of higher education, 
wildlife conservation groups, and representatives of au-
thorized activities regulated under this section, a research 
program to— 
‘‘(1) better monitor the status of bird popu-
lations; 
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‘‘(2) understand the stressors to bird popu-
lations; 
‘‘(3) identify opportunities to reduce the impact 
of such stressors; and 
‘‘(4) deploy and validate mitigation measures to 
conserve bird populations. 
‘‘SEC. 15. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘For the purposes of this Act: 
‘‘(1) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 
The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 
‘‘(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di-
rector of the United States Fish and Wildlife Serv-
ice.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 7(b) of the 
North American Wetlands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 
4406(b)) is amended by inserting ‘‘subsections (a) through 
(d) of’’ before ‘‘section 6 of the Migratory Bird Treaty 
Act’’. 
Æ 
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