[Nhcoll-l] NSC Alliance Washington Report - READ THIS ONE!

[Brown, Matthew A]

I'm just going to try this bird permit explanation one last time, and then for the sake of everybody's sanity and probable feelings of disgust, I'll give up. 

I know that § 21.23 is the scientific collecting permit. And it is only that. It does not authorize the holding of museum collections, in fact § 21.23(c)(1) disallows the keeping of specimens unless the scientific collector is issued a special purpose permit under § 21.27. The only way for a museum collection to legally hold non-eagle migratory bird specimens is with a special purpose permit issued under § 21.27. Those permit conditions mandate annual reporting. CFR 50, Chapter 1, Subchapter B, Part 13, Subpart D § 13.48 requires compliance by the museum with all conditions, including the annual reporting conditions. I have one of these special purpose permits in my hand, right now, looking at the section where it says it is issued under the authority of § 13 and § 21.27, and that annual reporting is required each year. Not just for five years, but each year that the permit is valid. That means that as long as an institution holds migratory birds, annual Federal reporting is required. One can't just cherry-pick parts of the laws that seem to support your argument, you have to read the relevant laws and regulations in their totality. 

And we haven't even gotten to migratory birds collected from Federal land yet. This is just DOI USFWS regs for migratory birds that aren't bald or golden eagles. Not for paleo or cultural items, not even for all natural history collections. Just non-eagle migratory birds. Onerous? Maybe. But it is also required by law, and what we signed up for when we took positions of responsibility in museums. 



> On Feb 19, 2015, at 2:43 PM, Ellen Paul <ellen.paul at verizon.net> wrote:
> 
> By the way, 21.27 is NOT "
> "The special use permit required by § 21.27 for a museum collection"
> 
> 21.27 is just what it says it is: Permits may be issued for special purpose activities related to migratory birds, their parts, nests, or eggs, which are otherwise outside the scope of the standard form permits of this part. A special purpose permit for migratory bird related activities not otherwise provided for in this part may be issued to an applicant who submits a written application containing the general information and certification required by part 13 and makes a sufficient showing of benefit to the migratory bird resource, important research reasons, reasons of human concern for individual birds, or other compelling justification.
> 
> 
> Scientific collecting is covered by 21.23. Therefore, 21.27 is inapplicable. 
> 
> Ellen Paul
> Executive Director
> The Ornithological Council
> Email: 
> ellen.paul at verizon.net
> 
> "Providing Scientific Information about Birds
> "
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nmnh.si.edu_BIRDNET&d=AwIF-g&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=mPwcdPJvBXjWEXqjb6PW7yMBMoOsdQrXAC2_7oZUNPw&s=UsNXAFaBAHIerQGjpFN5dtwwwlq7Lc2IXJc4OcwJ9KA&e= "
> 
> On 2/19/15 3:28 PM, Brown, Matthew A wrote:
>> REPOSITORY RECEIPT FOR COLLECTIONS
> 
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