US Fish and Wildlife Press Release

 

February 13, 2006                           

Contact: Chris Tollefson, 202/208-5634


Service Reopens Comment Period on Removing the Bald Eagle from the Endangered Species Act, Seeks Comment on Management Tools


The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today proposed voluntary guidelines and
a regulatory definition designed to help landowners and others understand
how they can help ensure that bald eagles continue to be protected
consistent with existing law. The Service also reopened the public comment
period on its original 1999 proposal to remove the bald eagle from the
Federal list of threatened and endangered species, in order to solicit
current information regarding bald eagle populations and trends and to give
the public time to comment on the proposed delisting in light of the draft
voluntary guidelines.

“The recovery of the bald eagle, our national symbol, is also a great
national success story,” said H. Dale Hall, Director of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.  “The actions we take today reemphasize the management
efforts that have proven so successful in recovering eagle populations.
Should the eagle be delisted, we expect that the public will notice little
change in how eagles are managed and protected.”

Hall noted that when they are delisted from the Endangered Species Act,
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
eagles, their nests or eggs.

The draft voluntary National Bald Eagle Management Guidelines are not
Federal regulations.  They are intended to provide information for people
who engage in recreation or land use activities on how to avoid impacts to
eagles prohibited by these two Federal laws.  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 Service is also proposing a regulation to clarify the term “disturb”
under BGEPA that is consistent with existing Federal and State
interpretation. Under the clarification, “disturb” would be defined as
actions that disrupt the breeding, feeding or sheltering practices of an
eagle, causing injury, death or nest abandonment. This is the standard the
Service has used informally over the years and how states have interpreted
the statute. The proposed regulation defining “disturb” would codify it.
This definition will provide clarity to the public while continuing
protection for bald eagles, which will help ensure an almost seamless
transition from ESA listing to delisting.

The bald eagle once ranged throughout every state in the Union except
Hawaii. By 1963, only 417 nesting pairs were found in the lower 48. Since
the delisting proposal in 1999, recovery of the bald eagle has continued to
progress at an impressive rate.  In 2000, the last year a national bald
eagle census was conducted, there were an estimated 6471 nesting pairs of
bald eagles.

Today this number has risen to an estimated 7,066 nesting pairs, due to
recovery efforts by the Service, other federal agencies, tribes, state and
local governments, conservation organizations, universities, corporations
and thousands of individual Americans. Five regional recovery plans were
created for the bald eagle.  The delisting criteria for all five plans were
met or exceeded by the year 2000.

If the bald eagle is delisted, the Service will work with state wildlife
agencies to monitor the status of the species for a minimum of five years,
as required by the Endangered Species Act. A draft monitoring plan is
expected to be released for public comment should the species be delisted.
If at any time it becomes evident that the bald eagle again needs the Act’s
protection, the Service will propose to relist the species.

The bald eagle first gained federal protection in 1940, when Congress
passed the predecessor to the Bald Eagle Protection Act. The Act, which was
later amended to include golden eagles, increased public awareness of the
bald eagle. Soon after, populations stabilized or increased in most areas
of the country. However, declines in its numbers during later decades
caused the bald eagle to be protected in 1967 under the Federal law
preceding the current Endangered Species Act.

The legal protections given the species, along with a crucial decision by
the Environmental Protection Agency to ban the use of the pesticide DDT in
1972, provided the springboard for the Service and its partners to
accelerate the pace of recovery through captive breeding programs,
reintroduction, law enforcement efforts, protection of habitat around nest
sites during the breeding season and land purchase and preservation.

The success of these efforts resulted in the recovery of the species to the
point that in 1995 its listing status was changed from endangered to
threatened in most states in the continental U.S. – with the exception of
Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin, where it was always
designated as threatened. The species was never listed as threatened or
endangered in Alaska.

The Service’s re-opening of the public comment period on the proposed
delisting, the draft National Bald Eagle Management Guidelines and the
proposed definition of term “disturb” will be published in the Federal
Register.

Comments on the proposed delisting, draft National Bald Eagle Management
Guidelines and draft definition of the term “disturb” must be received by
May 17, 2006.

·     Comments on the proposed delisting should be sent to Michelle Morgan,
Chief, Branch of Recovery and Delisting, Endangered Species Program, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Headquarters Office, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive, Room
420, Arlington, Virginia   22203.  Comments on the proposed delisting may
also be transmitted electronically at baldeagledelisting@fws.gov.
·     Comments on the draft National Bald Eagle Management Guidelines
should be sent to Brian Millsap, Chief, Division of Migratory Bird
Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N. Fairfax Drive,
MBSP-4107, Arlington, Virginia   22203.  Comments on the draft guidelines
may also be transmitted electronically at
baldeagle_managementguidelines@fws.gov.
·     Comments on the draft definition of the term “disturb” should be sent
to Brian Millsap at the above address.  Comments on the definition of
“disturb” may also be transmitted electronically at
baldeagle_proposedrule@fws.gov.
·     Alternatively, comments on any of the above three documents may also
be transmitted electronically at the Federal eRulemaking Portal:
http://www.regulations.gov.  Follow the instructions for submitting
comments.

The  U.S.  Fish  and  Wildlife  Service  is  the  principal  Federal agency
responsible  for  conserving,  protecting  and enhancing fish, wildlife and
plants  and  their  habitats  for  the  continuing  benefit of the American
people.  The  Service  manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge
System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small
wetlands and  other special management areas. It also operates 69 national
fish  hatcheries,  64  fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services
field  stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the
Endangered  Species  Act,  manages  migratory  bird  populations,  restores
nationally  significant  fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat
such  as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments
with  their  conservation  efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance
program,  which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes
on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

                                   -FWS-

**Editors note:   Press materials are available on the Services new bald
eagle website at    <http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/baldeagle.htm>.
B-roll and still photographs of bald eagles are available.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

                                   Q&As

    Proposal to De-list the Bald Eagle from the Endangered Species Act,
        Definition of Disturb under BGEPA and Voluntary Guidelines.
                          Revised Fellows 2/10/06

What  is  the  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposing to do regarding the
bald eagle?

In 1999, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to remove the bald
eagle from the endangered and threatened species list due to its population
rebound.  The Service has continued to work since then to respond to the
comments received and to determine the best way to manage bald eagles under
two other Federal laws that will continue to protect the species once it is
no longer protected by the Endangered Species Act.  The Service believes
that the public should again have the opportunity to comment on the
proposed delisting in light of the subsequent development of the draft
voluntary management guidelines and the proposed regulatory definition of
the term “disturb” under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, as well
as any new information that may inform this decision. The comment period
also extends to the draft voluntary guidelines and proposed definition as
well.

Once the draft guidelines and the proposed definition are finalized and the
Service completes a final review of the science behind the original
proposal, the Service will make a final decision on the delisting of the
bald eagle.

What is the status of the bald eagle today?

The  bald  eagle  is protected as a threatened species under the Endangered
Species  Act  except  in Alaska where it was never listed under the Act and
Hawaii  where it was never known to occur.  The bald eagle will continue to
have  the  full  protection  of  the ESA in the lower 48 states until it is
officially  removed from the list of threatened and endangered species.  It
is  also  protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) and the Bald
and  Golden  Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA).  Protections under both of these
laws  will  continue  should  the  bald  eagle  be removed from the list of
threatened and endangered species.

Why  is  the  Fish  and Wildlife Service proposing to remove the bald eagle
from the list of threatened and endangered species?

The  bald  eagle  population  in  the  lower 48 states has recovered from a
population  estimated at 417 nesting pairs in 1963, to a current population
of  an estimated 7,066 breeding pairs. The threats to the species have been
reduced;  reproductive  success  has  increased to a healthy level; and the
population  is  growing  and  distributed  across 47 of the lower 48 states
(Vermont  does  not  currently  have  a nesting population of bald eagles).
Therefore,  the  Service  has  determined  that  the  bald  eagle no longer
warrants protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Why has the Service taken so long to act on the 1999 delisting proposal?

The bald eagle is wide ranging, with nesting populations in almost every
state.  Therefore, the Service needs to ensure that the action it takes is
appropriate for the species range-wide.

In addition, the eagle has its own law, the Bald and Golden Eagle
Protection Act .  Congress passed this law in 1940 to protect our national
symbol.  If the species is removed from the list of threatened and
endangered species under the ESA, it will continue to be managed under the
BGEPA throughout its range.  It will also be protected under the Migratory
Bird Treaty Act.

What are the protections provided by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection
Act (BGEPA)?

The BGEPA prohibits anyone, without a permit issued by the Secretary of the
Interior for very limited scientific or educational purposes, from “taking”
bald eagles, including their parts, nests, or eggs.  The Act imposes
criminal and civil penalties on anyone (including associations,
partnerships and corporations) in the U.S. or within its jurisdiction who,
without a permit, takes, possesses, sells, purchases, barters, offers to
sell or purchase or barter, transports, exports or imports at any time or
in any manner a bald or golden eagle, alive or dead; or any part, nest or
egg of these eagles.  The BGEPA defines “take” to include: pursue, shoot,
shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, molest or disturb.

What is the definition of “disturb” under the BGEPA?

The Service has proposed the following draft definition of the term
“disturb” under BGEPA – a definition that is consistent with how resource
managers and law enforcement personnel currently interpret the Act:  “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.”

The Service is accepting comments on this definition during the 90-day
public comment period.


What are the draft National Bald Eagle Management Guidelines?

These voluntary guidelines are intended to be used in the event the bald
eagle is no longer listed as threatened under the federal Endangered
Species Act. They are consistent with current management practices.  If
delisted, bald eagles will still be protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle
Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.  The Service developed
the draft guidelines to advise landowners and others how to avoid take of
bald eagles and ensure that bald eagles continue to be protected consistent
with existing law.  The guidelines also provide recommended best management
practices to provide additional benefits to bald eagles over and above the
recommendations for avoiding disturbance.

What do the guidelines say?

The guidelines recommend buffers around nests when conducting activities
that are likely to disturb bald eagles.  The buffer areas serve to screen
nesting eagles from noise and visual distractions caused by human
activities.  Some activities will have only temporary impacts; the
guidelines generally recommend conducting those types of activities outside
the nesting season.  If the activity you plan to undertake is not
specifically addressed in the guidelines, the Service recommends that you
follow the recommendations for the most similar activity, or contact the
Service for further guidance.

For more details on the guidelines, please see the draft “National Bald
Eagle Management Guidelines” at <
http://migratorybirds.fws.gov/BaldEagle.htm>.

Is it mandatory to follow these guidelines?

No, adhering to the guidelines is not mandatory, but it is recommended.
Following the guidelines will help people avoid violating eagle
conservation laws.

What activities are covered under the guidelines?

The guidelines cover a range of activities including commercial and
residential development, outdoor recreation, and natural resource recovery
operations that can interfere with bald eagles or permanently degrade or
destroy critical bald eagle nesting, roosting and foraging areas.

Do the guidelines apply to abandoned nest sites or nest sites that are not
being used by bald eagles?

Yes, the guidelines apply to active and inactive nest sites except those
nests which have not been used for five consecutive years and are
considered abandoned.  In cases where seasonal restrictions on activities
are recommended, those restrictions can be lifted around inactive nests
once eggs have hatched in the active nests within that territory.

Are the guidelines intended for use in Alaska?

Yes, the guidelines are applicable throughout the United States.

If I am planning a project around a bald eagle nest site, do I have to
consult with the Service?

No, you are not required to contact the Service.  However, we encourage you
to contact the Service and your state wildlife agency if you have any
questions about how the guidelines apply to your situation, or if you want
additional information regarding how to protect bald eagles.

How can I determine how big a buffer zone should be around a nest tree?

First, consult the guidelines.  Most activities can be addressed by
reviewing the guidelines.  However, because the size and shape of effective
buffer zones can vary depending on the topography, the tolerance
demonstrated by the eagles in your area, and other ecological
characteristics surrounding the nest site, you may contact the nearest U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service office to determine the appropriate size and
shape of the buffer zone if you are uncertain about how to apply the
guidelines to your particular situation.

Are there more things I can do to help protect bald eagles?

1.    Protect and preserve communal roost sites, potential nest sites, and
important foraging areas.  Retain mature trees and old growth stands
wherever possible, particularly within ½ mile from water.

2.    Avoid potentially disruptive activities and development in the
eagles’ direct flight path between their nest and roost sites and important
foraging areas.

3.    Locate long-term and permanent water-dependent facilities away from
important eagle foraging areas.

4.    Avoid recreational and commercial boating and fishing near eagle
foraging areas during peak feeding times (usually early to mid morning and
late afternoon), except where eagles have demonstrated tolerance to such
activity.

5.    Do not use explosives within ½ mile (or within 1 mile in open areas)
of communal roosts when eagles are congregating, without prior coordination
with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and your State wildlife agency.

6.    Locate aircraft corridors no closer than 1,000 feet vertical or
horizontal distance from communal roost sites.

7.    Use pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and other chemicals only in
accordance with Federal and State laws and labeled instructions for their
use.

8.    Identify and monitor contaminants associated with hazardous waste
sites (legal or illegal), permitted releases, and runoff from agricultural
areas, especially within watersheds where eagles have shown poor
reproduction or where bioaccumulating contaminants have been documented.
These factors present a risk of contamination to eagles and their food
sources.

9.    Where nests are blown from trees during storms or are otherwise
destroyed by the elements, continue to protect the site in the absence of
the nest for up to three (3) complete breeding seasons.  Many eagles will
rebuild the nest and reoccupy the site.

10.   Site wind turbines and high voltage transmission power lines away
from bald eagle communal roost sites to avoid collisions, where feasible.
Bury utility lines along forested shorelines and roadways in new
development projects.

11.   Employ industry-accepted measures to prevent birds from being
electrocuted on towers and poles.

12.   Where bald eagles are likely to nest in human-made structures (e.g.
cell phone towers) and such use could impede operation or maintenance of
the structures or jeopardize the safety of the eagles, equip the structures
with either (1) devices engineered to discourage bald eagles from building
nests, or (2) nesting platforms that will safely accommodate bald eagle
nests without interfering with structure performance.

13.   Immediately cover carcasses of euthanized animals at landfills to
protect eagles from being poisoned.


14.   Do not intentionally feed bald eagles.  Artificially feeding bald
eagles can disrupt their essential behavioral patterns and put them at
increased risk from power lines, collision with windows and cars, and other
mortality factors.

15.   Avoid excessive groundwater pumping and river diversion that can lead
to destruction of nest trees, roosts, and foraging areas.

16.   Use an approved non-toxic shot when hunting migratory waterfowl,
consistent with current hunting regulations.  Eagles can be poisoned by
elevated levels of lead after feeding on fish and waterfowl that have
ingested lead shot or carrion killed with lead shot.

What  will  happen  to existing permits that cover “take” of bald eagles if
the actions the Service is proposing are made final?

We anticipate that all existing permits would continue to be honored and in
effect  if  the  eagle is delisted and the proposed actions are made final.
We  hope  that  during the comment period on this proposal, the public will
specifically  comment  on  issues  associated  with incidental take permits
issued  under  Habitat  Conservation  Plans  that  include bald eagles as a
covered species.

What  has  contributed  to  the  recovery of the bald eagle in the lower 48
states?

The recovery of the bald eagle was a national effort.  Two important
factors made the recovery of the bald eagle possible, the most critical
being the Federal Government’s ban on the use of DDT  in the United States
in 1972.  Second, the eagle is protected by the BGEPA, the MBTA and was
placed on the list of threatened and endangered species under the
Endangered Species Act.  The ESA listing allowed us to protect habitat for
the bald eagle, including nesting sites and summer and winter roost sites.
States, private landowners and others played a vital role in restoring
eagles, including purchasing and protecting important habitat,
reintroducing the bald eagle back into the wild, and extensive public
education efforts.

Are  total  numbers the only criterion on which removal of the species from
the list is based?

No. The decision to reclassify the bald eagle to threatened in 1995 and the
decision  to  delist, if finalized, are based on numbers of breeding pairs,
population  trends,  geographic distribution, reproductive success, habitat
protection and an assessment of current threats and ability to manage them.

Did the Service have a recovery plan for the bald eagle?

Yes,  the bald eagle population in the lower 48 states is divided into five
recovery  regions.   These regions are the Northern States, Chesapeake Bay,
Southeastern, Southwestern and the Pacific Regions.  Five separate recovery
plans were developed, one for each region.

Since  the  development  and implementation of the recovery plans, the bald
eagle’s population growth has exceeded most of the goals established in the
various  plans.   Population  goals  have  been  met and/or exceeded in the
Chesapeake  Bay, Northern, Pacific, and Southeastern Recovery Regions.  The
Southwest recovery plan did not include population goals.

How does the Service determine whether a species is recovered?

The criteria spelled out in the recovery plans are used as a yardstick to
measure whether the species is no longer endangered or threatened.  But
those factors are not the only criteria.  The ESA identifies five factors
that the Service must consider to determine if delisting is appropriate:

      1.  Threats to, or actual destruction of, the habitat needed by the
      species;
      2.  Threats from the over-use of the species for commercial,
      recreational, scientific, or educational purposes;
      3.  Threats from disease or predation;
      4.  The amount of protection provided to the species or its habitat
      by other laws and regulations; and
      5.  Any other natural or manmade factors affecting the continued
      existence of the species.

The  Service determines whether recovery has been achieved by reviewing the
best available scientific information on whether the threats to the species
have  been  reduced  and  the  population  levels  have  reached  the goals
established  in  its  recovery  plan.  Achievement  of  the  recovery plans
criteria  triggers the Service to formally re-evaluate the species in terms
of these five factors.

A  species  is  recovered  when it is no longer in danger of extinction, or
likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all or
a significant portion of its range, and the threats that led to the species
listing  have  been  reduced  or  eliminated.   The  bald eagle meets these
requirements  for  removal  from  the  List  of  Endangered  and Threatened
Wildlife.

How  will we know that the population will not start to decline without the
protections of the Endangered Species Act?

As  required  by  the  Endangered Species Act, the Service will monitor the
species  in  cooperation  with the states for a minimum of five years after
delisting  in order to evaluate the population after the protections of the
ESA are lifted.  If the population declines and the Service determines that
the protections of the ESA are needed, the bald eagle can be relisted.

The Service recently completed a pilot study in cooperation with the U.S.
Geological Survey and several states to determine the best survey
methodology for monitoring bald eagles after delisting.   The Service
anticipates that a draft bald eagle monitoring plan will be available for
public review 2006.

Will  bald  eagle  habitat  be  protected  once the bald eagle is no longer
listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act?

Other  federal  laws  that  protect our land and water resources, including
bald  eagle  habitat, will still apply.  These include the Clean Water Act,
the  Fish  and Wildlife Coordination Act, the National Environmental Policy
Act,  and  others.   Many National Wildlife Refuges and other federal lands
are  managed  to  protect habitat for the bald eagle as well.  In addition,
many  states,  local governments and private interest groups have purchased
and  protected  lands  important  as  bald eagle habitat.  The Service will
continue  to  promote the preservation of bald eagle habitat through all of
these  means.   Finally,  while primarily crafted to prevent “take” of bald
eagles,   the  National  Bald  Eagle  Management  Guidelines  will  promote
protection  of  important areas that bald eagles use for nesting, roosting,
and  foraging because of the many instances where degradation of such areas
would likely cause bald eagles to be disturbed.

Are there any remaining threats to the bald eagle?

Impacts  from  contaminants have been significantly reduced with the ban of
DDT,  elimination  of  lead shot for waterfowl hunting, and restrictions on
other  harmful  pesticides.   Contaminants still do impact eagles on a more
localized  basis,  but  not  to  the  extent  that they are suppressing the
overall  population  increase.  Overall, a predominance of factors leads us
to  conclude  that  the  bald  eagle  no  longer  meets  the  definition of
threatened  or  endangered  under the ESA, including: the number of current
breeding  pairs,  the  availability of nesting habitat, the extent to which
such habitat is protected, and the adaptability of the species.

What are the protections provided by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA)?

Under the MBTA, it is illegal to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill,
possess, sell, barter, purchase, export, or import migratory birds, their
parts, nests or eggs, except as permitted by regulation.  Take is defined
under the MBTA as “pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture,
possess, or collect.”  The migratory bird species covered by the MBTA
include bald eagles.

Where can I get more information on the bald eagle?

You may obtain more information on the bald eagle at our new bald eagle web
site and related links at http://migratorybirds.fws.gov/BaldEagle.htm.