The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act is a United States federal statute that protects two species of eagle.
The bald eagle was chosen as a national emblem of the United States by the Continental Congress of 1782 and was given legal protection by the Bald Eagle Protection Act of 1940. This act was expanded to include the golden eagle in 1962. Since the original Act, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act has been amended several times. It currently prohibits anyone, without a permit issued by the Secretary of the Interior, from "taking" bald eagles. Taking is described to include their parts, nests, or eggs, molesting or disturbing the birds. The Act provides criminal penalties for persons who "take, possess, sell, purchase, barter, offer to sell, purchase or barter, transport, export or import, at any time or any manner, any bald eagle ... [or any golden eagle], alive or dead, or any part, nest, or egg thereof."
The purpose of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection act is to not agitate the bald and golden eagle to the extent of not 1.) Abusing an eagle, 2.) Interfering with its substantial lifestyle, including shelter, breeding, feeding, or 3.) Nest abandonment. The eagle feathers have been collected and incorporated into clothing, art, jewelry, etc. In addition, having the possession, exchange, or sale of bald eagle feathers violates the act if no permit is obtained. The basic structure of the act resembles the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
The importance of the bald and golden eagle
Bald eagle
The bald eagle has inspired millions of Americans across the nation since June 20, 1782. The American Eagle Day was celebrated ideally for the recovery and restoration of this exclusive bird. On June 28, 2007, the Department of the Interior took the bald eagle off the endangered and threatened species list. In addition, these birds have become a national symbol. The second Constitutional congress decided upon using American bald eagles as the great seal of the United States. There were many disagreements with the choice of national symbol. For example, one of the Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin quoted, "I wish that the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country, he is a bird of bad moral character...Besides he is a rank coward..." He thought that the national bird should have been a wild turkey, because it is "A bird of courage". In contrast, John F. Kennedy stated, "The Founding Fathers made an appropriate choice when they selected the bald eagle as the emblem of the nation. The fierce beauty and proud independence of this great bird aptly symbolizes the strength and freedom of America."
Golden eagle
The golden eagle is used as a national symbol in Mexico and in many countries; it symbolizes many cultures and traditions in various societies. It also symbolizes other countries such as Albania, Germany, Austria, and Kazakhstan. The Hopi tribe removes nestlings, raise them, and sacrifice them once they are mature. In 1986 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a permit allowing the tribe to continue their activities legally. The golden eagle symbolizes many values such as grace, power, and magisterial wilderness. In North America, it is the largest bird of prey with physical features of dark brown with lighter golden-brown plumage. It is known as a mountain bird, which travels in open landscapes taken over by short vegetation. An example of this would be western part of the United States, Northwestern Europe, Japan, eastern Siberia, etc. In the Western United States, the golden eagles were mainly found in forest areas, including tundra, shrub lands, grasslands, coniferous forests, and farmland. The eagles reside in areas where the human population is very few. The mortality of these birds is due to extensive land use and attacks from ranchers.
Timeline 1782: The Founding Fathers at the Second Continental Congress adopted the bald eagle as the symbol of the United States. The United States had approximately 100,000 nesting eagles. 1921: The magazine Ecology articulated the possible extinction of the bald eagle. 1930: Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) was first discovered 1940: Congress enacted legislation known as the Bald Eagle Protection Act. This act prohibited selling, killing, or possessing the species 1950: The bald eagle was beginning to recover from human persecution 1952: Bald eagle protection extended to include Alaska 1962: Congress amended the act, extending the ban to the golden eagle and the law became the Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BEPA). This law protects the bird's feathers, eggshells, and body parts. In addition, it protects their nesting trees. Bald eagles are significant to Native American tribes and therefore BEPA gave an exception for Indian religious purposes. 1963: Due to shooting, DDT poisoning, and loss of habitat, the bald eagle was in danger of extinction. Within 48 states, there were only 487 nesting pairs of bald eagles. 1972: The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act was amended again with several different aspects such as increasing the civil penalties for violating provisions increased to a maximum fine of $5,000 and less than one year of imprisonment for first conviction. If second conviction occurs, a maximum fine of $10,000 and less than two years of imprisonment will take place. DDT is banned in the United States, which resulted in the initial step of recovery for the bald eagle. 1994: An executive issue was ordered by President Clinton which recognized the administrative delays and difficulties in obtaining eagle parts from the federal repository. Clinton also urged the relevant agencies to restructure the application process and continue the effort to obtain eagle parts to distribute to Native Americans. 1995: The bald eagle's status altered from endangered to threatened 1999: Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) request to remove the bald eagle from the endangered species and threatened list. 2007: FWS and the U.S remove the bald eagle from threatened and endangered species.
Conflict with culture and industry The bald and golden eagles and their feathers are highly valued by most Native Americans. Usually, the logo of an eagle feather is seen as a symbol of the Native Americans. They honor and respect the eagles for they are believed to symbolize certain characteristics such as honesty, truth, majesty, strength, courage, wisdom, power and freedom. Native Americans consider eagles to be the Master of the sky since they fly higher than any other birds and therefore are closer to God. It is also believed that because eagles fly higher in the sky for long periods of time, they carry prayers from ground to the Creator of the world. Due to all of these reasons, wearing or receiving an eagle feather is considered a mark of honor in many Native American cultures. To capture and kill an eagle was a skill-requiring job, therefore certain men were assigned to do so. Many tribes wore the eagle feathers in their hair during ceremonies and dancing. Men would receive certain numbers of feathers depending on the task that was performed. For example, a Pillager Chippewa is costumed to give two feathers to a warrior who scalped an enemy and five feathers to one who performed an act of capturing a wounded prisoner found on the battlefield.
Under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, permits can be obtained to possess the eagles parts and feathers for religious purposes and lawful activities. In June 2007, bald eagles were removed from the Endangered Species List; however, the protection Act still applies. As of 2009, the Act has made it possible for one to obtain a permit to move from operating utilities and airports. Previously these deeds would have been considered disturbance, but now as long as it is limited, non-purposeful take of bald eagles and golden eagles; authorizing individuals, companies, government agencies (including tribal governments), and other organizations are allowed disturb or otherwise take eagles in the course of conducting lawful activities. "Non-purposeful take" is defined as taking of eagles for reasons that are associated with take that is not purposeful of an activity; but for a purpose that practically cannot be avoided.
The Act has at times hindered renewable energy projects. Wind turbines can kill and injure birds, including eagles, potentially exposing their operators to criminal liability under the Act, even those which have taken steps to reduce eagle mortality. A draft of guidelines for the wind energy industry, which incorporates means for applying for "incidental take" permits under the Act and thus avoiding its penalties, was released in 2011 by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Decline of the bald and golden eagle population
With the introduction of DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) as a widespread insecticide in the United States from 1940 to 1950 to control malaria, the bald eagle population decreased precipitously, falling to a low point of 487 nesting pairs in 1963. By this point, the detrimental effects of DDT had already been a causative factor in the decline of other bird populations, and public awareness was raised when Rachel Carson published her book Silent Spring in 1962. DDT alters the calcium metabolism of female birds, preventing them from creating a hard shell around the eggs they produce. This egg thinning led to a higher rate of egg loss due to cracks during incubation. Dead birds retained large amounts of DDT in their fatty tissues and gonads which may have caused the birds to become infertile. Moreover, small animals ate plants that were sprayed with other pesticides which were then eaten by the birds of prey.
More than 100,000 bald eagles were killed in Alaska from 1917 to 1953. Public awareness arose during this time, and many groups and individuals dedicated to make the conservation of eagles a national issue. The Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland started to breed eagles in captivity to increase the population numbers. The goal was to breed enough birds to increase the population of bald eagles in areas where the population was declining and to re-introduce them in those areas where they had been wiped out completely. The center started breeding with one pair and began studying their behavior, functioning, and other areas to make this a successful rehabilitation program. In 1988, the program was stopped due to their success in increasing the number of eagles in the environment. At this time the bald eagles had started breeding naturally.