100 years ago today

[h2ofwlr]

Exactly 100 years ago, on August 16, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Migratory Bird Treaty (MBT) with Great Britain (on behalf of Canada) for the protection of the "many species of birds which in their annual migration traverse certain parts of the United States and Canada." The treaty formally recognized what we almost take for granted today, that migratory bird conservation depends upon meaningful cooperation across international borders. This set the stage for the United States' Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which was ratified by Congress and which implemented the Migratory Bird Treaty to further the protection of our native birds.

Today, the United States holds migratory bird treaties with Canada, Mexico, Russia, and Japan. Despite the differing environmental politics, legislation, and conservation initiatives of each of these countries, these agreements promote international cooperation between governments and partner organizations so that bird conservation can occur along expansive migratory routes.

The MBT provided the basis for all significant bird-related conservation legislation which followed, These acts include the crucial Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act (1934), Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (1940), Endangered Species Act (1973), North American Wetlands Conservation Act (1989), Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (2002), and so much more.

Learn more on the MBT Centennial at http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/wildlifehabitat ... nnial.html