Law360, New York (October 7, 2015, 1:43 PM EDT) -- On a controversial issue in the energy industry, the Fifth Circuit has weighed in against an expansive scope of the take prohibition in the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. In United States v. Citgo Petroleum Co., the Fifth Circuit held on Sept. 4, 2015, that the MBTA's take prohibition does not include take of migratory birds that are not intended to directly injure or kill migratory birds. In doing so, the Fifth Circuit joins sides with the Eighth and Ninth Circuits in the growing divide among the federal circuit courts on the scope of the MBTA's take prohibition. The decision is welcomed by the energy industry and others that have advocated for a narrow view of the MBTA's take prohibition. Yet, the decision is a blow to conservation groups and the federal government, which that have adopted a broader interpretation of the MBTA to further the conservation of migratory birds....