What is the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act?
This Act was originally enacted in 1940 as the Bald Eagle Protection Act to protect Bald Eagles and later amended to include Golden Eagles. It prohibits the taking or possession of and commerce in Bald and Golden Eagles, part, feathers, nests, or eggs with limited exceptions. The definition of take includes pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, molest or disturb. Bald Eagles may not be taken for any purpose unless a permit is issued prior to the taking. Activities which can be authorized by permit are: Scientific collecting/research, exhibition, tribal religious, depredation, falconry, and the taking of inactive Golden Eagle nests, which interfere with resource development or recovery operations. Currently, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has a permitting process in the proposal stage for other activities, which may disturb Bald Eagles or take an eagle nest where their location poses a risk to human or eagle safety.
