Bald & Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) Permits

1. Bald & Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) Permits

2. Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act Permits “Whenever, after investigation, the Secretary of the Interior shall determine that it is compatible with the preservation of the bald eagle or the golden eagle to permit the taking possession, and transportation of specimens thereof…, he may authorize… pursuant to regulations….”

3. Original 1940 Statute:•Scientific Collecting • Exhibition• Depredation

4. 1962 Amendments to BGEPA Indian Religious Use • Permits can be issued for: • Parts and feathers from the National Eagle Repository • Take from the wild • Live eagle aviaries

5. 1972 and 1978 Amendments 1972 – • Falconry (21.29) • Golden eagles, only 1978 – • Take of golden eagle nests for resource development and recovery operations (22.25) *

6. 1999 International Transport Regulations • The Service established regulations to allow international transport of non-living eagle specimens • Amended the Indian religious regulations and the exhibition regulations for American Indians and museums. • Items must return to the country of origin.

7. Eagle Permits for Native American Religious Purposes Allows members of Indian entities recognized and eligible to receive services from the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs to take, possess and transport within the United States or transport into or out of the United States bald or golden eagles, their parts, nests or eggs for religious purposes.

8. Eagle Parts for Native American Religious Purposes • Members of federally recognized tribes can apply for a permit to obtain eagle parts and feathers from National Eagle Repository • Permits for parts and feathers from the NER are good for life • May be gifted to other members of federally recognized tribes

9. FACT The immature/sub-adult golden eagle is the most highly requested bird from the National Eagle Repoisitory. Because of demand, it can take over 4 years to get a whole golden eagle carcass.

10. Eagle Take for Native American Religious Purposes Permits issued to tribes that can document a historic need to take eagles from the wildfor religious ceremonies Hopi permit authorizes take of up to 40 golden eagle nestlings per year A few other tribes have been issued permits for 1-2 eagles per year

11. Native American Eagle Aviaries • An Eagle Aviary Permit authorizes federally-recognized tribes to possess non-releasable bald and golden eagles to use molted feathers/live eagles for religious purposes • Distribution of parts/feathers at discretion of permittee, but only to members of BIA federally recognized tribal entities

12. Native American Eagle Aviaries - Benefits • Supplemental source of feathers • Faster acquisition for some tribal members • Educational value • Tribal self-sufficiency • Reduction in eagle • euthanasia

13. Iowa Tribe of OK Eagle Aviary

14. 2009 – Two New Eagle Act Permits • 50 CFR 22.26 – Take that is associated with, but not the purpose of, an otherwise lawful activity (i.e., Incidental Take). • 50 CFR 22.27 – Nest removal for safety and additional limited purposes.

15. Statutory Authority “Whenever, after investigation,…it is necessary to permit the taking of such eagles for the protection of wildlife or of agricultural or other interests in any particular locality, [the Secretary of the Interior] may authorize the taking of such eagles….

16. Incidental Take Permit (22.26) • Only for take that cannot practicably be avoided. Permittees must avoid and minimize to the maximum degree practicable. • Covers disturbance and other non-purposeful take.

17. Programmatic Take Permits • For take that is recurring and not in a specific, identifiable timeframe and/or location (e.g. power lines). • The applicant/permittee must implement Advanced Conservation Practices designed to reduce take to the point where it is essentially unavoidable.

18. Eagle Nest Take Permits (22.27) • Nest removal permits can be issued under very limited circumstances • Only inactive nests may be taken except in safety emergencies.

19. NEPA on 2009 PermitsThe EA established take thresholds for permitting • Bald Eagle Management Populations: • Are based on natal dispersal range. • Roughly correspond to the Service’s Regional organizational structure, with some shared populations.

20. NEPA on 2009 Permit Regulations Golden Eagle Management Populations: • Set at the Bird Conservation Region (BCR) level because available estimates for golden eagles were BCR-scale population estimates • Potentially declining populations • Take threshold set at zero absent new data

21. Prioritization / Allocation of Permits Safety emergencies; Native American religious use for rites and ceremonies that require eagles be taken from the wild; Renewal of programmatic take permits; Non-emergency activities necessary to ensure public health and safety; and Other interests.

22. Looking into the Future: Extending tenure for programmatic nonpurposeful take permits (22.26) Extensive revisions to nonpurposeful take permit regulations (22.26) Increasing requests from tribes to take eagles for religious purposes More research on the status and needs of golden eagles

23. Group Work BGEPA Permits Discuss with your group: What significant development related to eagles occurred after the year 2000 to spur development of BGEPA incidental take regulations?

24. Any Questions? Photo courtesy of Tamara Mills, USFWS