The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 919 – Bird-Safe Buildings Act yesterday as part of the Invest in America Act. This bipartisan bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), requires that public buildings being constructed, acquired or altered significantly by the General Services Administration incorporate bird-safe building materials and design features. Quigley first introduced this bill in 2010.
“In a time when wildlife faces unprecedented, human-driven challenges, we have an obligation to be responsible members of our environment and do what we can to mitigate our impacts on those we share this planet with,” says Quigley. “That can start with protecting wildlife from deadly collisions with our buildings.”
The Bird-Safe Buildings Act requires:
The bill requires that GSA ensure that actual bird mortality is monitored at each public building and that GSA reduce exterior building and site lighting for each public building, where practicable and consistent with the requirements for outside lighting.
The bill exempts from these requirements buildings and sites listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, the White House and its grounds, the Supreme Court building and its grounds, and the U.S. Capitol and its related buildings and grounds.
“In 2008, the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) founded what is still the only national-level program dedicated to reducing the billion bird deaths that occur annually from collisions with glass in the U.S.,” says Christine Sheppard, director of ABC’s Glass Collisions Program. “Since then, more than 20 states, counties, and municipalities have passed bird-friendly legislation. However, the H.R. 919 is a game-changer. The recognition of this issue at the federal level is a momentous achievement because if passed by the Senate and put into law, it will set an example for the entire U.S.”
The bill will soon be introduced in the U.S. Senate.
Source: US Glass News Network