Chinese astrologists say 2018 is the Year of the Dog, but Jonathan Franzen, the National Book Award winner and notorious bird lover, is celebrating the Year of the Bird: the hundredth anniversary of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the federal law that, per the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “makes it illegal for anyone to take, possess, import, export, transport, sell, purchase, barter, or offer for sale, purchase, or barter, any migratory bird” without a permit. (Incidentally, Friday is also National Bird Day.)

In a conversation with the New Republic, Franzen discussed how President Donald Trump’s anti-environmental extremism might actually bolster conservation efforts. He doubled down on his feud with the Audubon Society, the world’s largest bird conservation group. He lamented America’s cultural obsession with cats, but insisted his war on feline pets is not quite as militant as it seems. And he revealed what really happened to Walter’s cat at the end of his 2010 novel, Freedom.

You recently published an article in National Geographic, the sub-hed of which says that birds help save our souls. But can birds save us from Donald Trump?

[Laughs.] I think the proper question is whether we can save birds from Donald Trump. And I think the answer is broadly yes—we can save them. But it requires focus, and particularly a focus on priorities.

Why should anyone prioritize the plight of birds, though, especially given the daily outrages and injustices from this White House?

