Pub. L. 108-447, div. E, tit. I, sec. 143

Sec. 143. (a) Short Title.—This section may be cited as the “Migratory Bird Treaty Reform Act of 2004”.(b) Exclusion of Non-Native Species From Application of Certain Prohibitions Under Migratory Bird Treaty Act.—Section 2 of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703) is amended—(1) in the first sentence by striking “That unless and except as permitted” and inserting the following: “(a) In General.—Unless and except as permitted”; and(2) by adding at the end the following: “(b) Limitation on Application to Introduced Species.—“(1) In general.—This Act applies only to migratory bird species that are native to the United States or its territories.“(2) Native to the united states defined.—“(A) In general.—Subject to subparagraph (B), in this subsection the term ‘native to the United States or its territories’ means occurring in the United States or its territories as the result of natural biological or ecological processes.“(B) Treatment of introduced species.—For purposes of paragraph (1), a migratory bird species that occurs in the United States or its territories solely as a result of intentional or unintentional human-assisted introduction shall not be considered native to the United States or its territories unless—“(i) it was native to the United States or its territories and extant in 1918;118 STAT. 3072“(ii) it was extirpated after 1918 throughout its range in the United States and its territories; and“(iii) after such extirpation, it was reintroduced in the United States or its territories as a part of a program carried out by a Federal agency.”.(c) Publication of List.—(1) In general.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of the Interior shall publish in the Federal Register a list of all nonnative, human-introduced bird species to which the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.) does not apply. As necessary, the Secretary may update and publish the list of species exempted from protection of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.(2) Public comment.—Before publishing the list under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall provide adequate time for public comment.(3) Effect of section.—Nothing in this subsection shall delay implementation of other provisions of this section or amendments made by this section that exclude nonnative, human-introduced bird species from the application of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.).(d) Relationship to Treaties.—It is the sense of Congress that the language of this section is consistent with the intent and language of the 4 bilateral treaties implemented by this section.