At more than 100 years old, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act was among the first environmental laws in the United States. Until recently, power companies and other industries could be prosecuted by the federal government for causing egregious bird deaths, even accidentally. Not anymore.

The Trump administration is proposing that only the intentional killing of birds would be prohibited under the act.

This despite recent research that finds a nearly 30% decline in birds from North America - that's a loss of nearly 3 billion birds - over the past 50 years.

Our guest is Brad Bortner, one of 17 former directors and high-level appointees from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who co-signed a letter denouncing the move.