HR-6021 — Archie Cavanaugh Migratory Bird Treaty Amendment Act

YourVoice.Now Summary

EnvironmentTransparency & Accountability

Alaska Native craft sales stay off limits for now — the bill only starts talks with Japan.

Environment

Protection for bird species in decline — Interior can exclude them

If a bird species drops sharply in number, or is named a Bird of Conservation Concern, Interior could take it out of this law's reach. That choice would be up to the Secretary, not automatic.

Limits on selling Alaska Native crafts — bird-part rules may ease

Federal law now bars selling items made with migratory bird parts. This bill would not lift that ban, but it could lead Interior to write rules that allow some Alaska Native craft sales.

Transparency & Accountability

Public information on craft sale rules — Interior must create it

Interior would have to work with the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council on outreach materials. Those would tell artists and buyers what the sale rules actually are.

More about this bill

If you are an Alaska Native artist, this bill would not change what you can sell today. Federal bird law still bars selling items made with migratory bird parts. Instead, the State Department would have 180 days to open talks with Japan. The two countries share a 1974 treaty that protects migratory birds. The goal is to settle how that treaty treats handmade Alaska Native art. After those talks, the Interior Department could rewrite its bird rules. It is not required to. Any new rules could cover resale terms and proof that an item is genuine. To count, an item must be made by an Alaska Native from found, foraged, or gifted materials. Alaska Native status would be shown by a Tribal enrollment card, a blood-degree certificate, or a Silver Hand permit. Machine-made copies and parts from birds killed illegally or wastefully would not qualify. Interior must also publish plain information about the sale rules.

Congressional Summary

Archie Cavanaugh Migratory Bird Treaty Amendment Act This bill states that nothing in the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (MBTA) prohibits possessing, selling, bartering, purchasing, shipping, or transporting any authentic Alaska Native handicraft, clothing, or art on the basis that it contains a nonedible migratory bird part, so long as the bird was not taken in a wasteful or illegal manner. (The MBTA implements four international treaties that the United States entered into with Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Russia. The MBTA prohibits the taking of protected migratory bird species without prior authorization.) The bill directs the Department of State to work with the Department of the Interior to enter into appropriate bilateral procedures with countries that are parties to the treaties under the MBTA to clarify the treatment of Alaska Native handicraft containing nonedible migratory bird parts from the species of migratory birds listed in those treaties. Further, Interior must modify any regulations implementing the MBTA to implement this bill.

Legislative Subjects

Alaska Natives and HawaiiansBirdsHistorical and cultural resources

Details

Congress: 119th
Chamber: HOUSE
Status: in committee
Action: Subcommittee Hearings Held
Action Date: 2026-02-04
Date Added: 2026-04-09
Source: Congress.gov →

Record 0c3694ad-b31e-4455-bb01-01ee37922c51 · JSON

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