Contrary to popular
perception, the Bald Eagle is still on the nation’s list of threatened and endangered species (it was down-listed to threatened since 1995). While President Clinton proposed delisting the Bald Eagle in 1999, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) solicited comments and then did not act.
Almost seven years later, on Thursday, February 16, 2006, the USFWS published the following in the
Federal Register:
- A reopening of the comment period on its original 1999 proposal to delist the Bald Eagle;
- A separate rule under 50 C.F.R. Section 22 adding definition 22.3 (“disturb”) to existing eagle permit regulations; and
- A notice of availability of draft National Bald Eagle Management Guidelines.
One innovation that the USFWS hopes will provide greater flexibility is the consideration of tolerance of individual eagle species and populations to human activities. Once delisted, Bald Eagles will continue to be protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). Both acts protect Bald Eagles by prohibiting killing, selling, or otherwise harming or disturbing eagles, their nests, or eggs. The guidelines are crafted to reflect the current way that federal and state managers interpret BGEPA and MBTA. For example, the guidelines recommend buffers around nests when conducting activities that are likely to disturb Bald Eagles. These areas serve to screen nesting eagles from noise and visual distractions caused by human activities.
The USFWS is proposing a regulation to clarify and codify the term “disturb” under BGEPA that is consistent with existing federal and state interpretation. Under the clarification, “disturb” would be defined as follows: “to agitate or bother a Bald or Golden Eagle to the degree that interferes with or interrupts normal breeding, feeding, or sheltering habits, causing injury, death, or nest abandonment.” This is the standard the USFWS has used informally over the years and it is how states have interpreted the statute.
The comment period for the delisting decision, the management guidelines, and the definition of “disturb” ends May 17, 2006.
For more information, contact Craig Tumer, Laura Giese, Mark Headly, or Dan Lucey.
