The Ornithological Council is pleased to provide this bimonthly report covering activities in May and June 2023.
Our work focuses on permits for ornithological research, animal welfare issues, research funding, and other policies that affect ornithologists and ornithological societies. We greatly appreciate your support. Please contact our Executive Director with questions or concerns about this report or about any other matter of concern to your society or your society’s members.
In this time period, Ornithological Council staff:
- Welcomed a new Supporting Member – the International Ornithologists’ Union. Learn more about supporting members and see the list of current supporting members here.
- Coordinated and moderated a listening session for the National Science Foundation and the ILAR Standing Committee for the Care and Use of Animals in Research to hear from ornithologists regarding the animal welfare challenges of ornithological research.
- Renewed the Memorandum of Understanding with the USDA APHIS Wildlife Service’s National Wildlife Research Center. The MOU lays the groundwork for partnership and cooperation between the OC and the NWRC.
- Submitted comments to the USDA Animal and Plants Health Inspection Service on their import/export permits, to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the Form 3-177 and the online eDecs system, and to the USFWS on the Form 3–200–7 (application for a Migratory Bird and Eagle Scientific Collecting permit). Learn more – and read the comment letters – here.
- Continued work on our update of the Guidelines to the Use of Wild Birds in Research. We are currently in the process of reviewing the literature for new papers published since the 2010 publication of the current edition. New reference lists for each chapter are being made available on BIRDNET.org once completed, and once all chapter updates are ready, a new PDF of the complete Guidelines with the new references will be compiled and posted online.
- Provided direct individual assistance to ornithologists who belong to OC societies regarding how to obtain the permits necessary to complete their research. During May and June, we assisted three individuals with permit issues and one IACUC with animal welfare issues.
- Posted articles and updates on the Ornithology Exchange:
- USFWS proposes changes to possession of migratory birds by public institutions
- USFWS proposes to authorize drone use under MBTA and Eagle permits
- USFWS proposes to authorize citizen salvage without a permit
- COMMENT OPPORTUNITY: Changes coming to MBTA and Eagle permits
- COMMENT OPPORTUNITY: USFWS revising rules for exhibiting migratory birds
- Sira Curassow and Southern Helmeted Curassow proposed for ESA listing
- U.S. Supreme Court limits regulation of wetlands
- Office of Science and Technology Policy to hold open science listening sessions
- USDA approves emergency HPAI vaccine for Condors
- Environmental groups call for avian influenza vaccine
- COMMENT OPPORTUNITY: Black-capped Petrel listing open for comment again
- ABC and partners sue FAA over rockets’ effects on birds
- Ornithological Council’s website on permitting updated
All these updates, and more, are always available on the ‘News From the OC’ forum on Ornithological Exchange.