Opinion ID: 213533
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: Supply and Demand of Eagle Feathers and Parts

Text: In 2004, the Repository received 1,822 requests for eagles and eagle parts. Wilgus, 606 F.Supp.2d at 1321. During that same year it received 1,647 eagles. Id. There is greater demand for golden eagles, but more of the eagles received by the Repository are bald eagles. Id. The waiting period for a whole bald eagle is two-and-one-half years; for an adult golden eagle the wait is three-and-one-half to four years; for an immature golden eagle the wait is up to four-and-one-half-years. Id. According to a brochure about the Repository produced by FWS, 95% of all requests are for whole golden eagles, and [c]urrently there are over 4000 people on the waiting list for approximately 900 eagles the Repository receives each year. (Apl't App. at 132.) As the district court found, it is clear the Repository system is already vulnerable to any significant increase in demand. Wilgus, 606 F.Supp.2d at 1321. While the number of eagles received by the Repository has risen on a year-to-year basis, it is unlikely that this will continue. Efforts at eliminating the most obvious causes of eagle deaths (such as power lines) have led to a reduction in the number of eagle deaths most likely to lead to a carcass being sent to the Repository. Id. at 1322-23. [T]here is no significant untapped source of birds not already being sent to the Repository. Id. at 1323 (quotation omitted). Further complicating the supply-and-demand issue is the black market for eagle feathers and parts. Several FWS agents testified to the existence of a thriving black market in eagle feathers, driven in part by the pow-wow circuit, in which Native Americans compete in traditional performances. ( See, e.g., Apl't App at 86-87.) Participants compete for cash prizes, and the more decorated with eagle feathers a competitor's costume, the more likely he is to win. Other sources of demand in the black market include Native Americans who need the feathers for religious purposes but who are stymied by the delays in the permitting system, and non-Native American collectors of Native American art and artifacts. No government witness, however, provided hard data on the volume of traffic in black-market eagle parts. FWS agents also testified that a blanket ban on possessionwith an exception only for members of recognized tribes for religious purposesis the only effective way to enforce the statute. At present, the district court noted, [FWS] agents can be fairly certain that a person who is not Native American who possesses eagle feathers does so illegally. Wilgus, 606 F.Supp.2d at 1324-25. FWS agents predict that without a clear method for determining who is not eligible, efforts to enforce the ban will be mired, particularly given the lack of resources available for FWS enforcement. Id. at 1325. And the eagle feathers distributed by the Repository cannot be marked as legitimate; to do so would destroy the religious value to many Native Americans. Id. at 1324. There is, therefore, no way for FWS to tie particular feathers to particular permits or permit holders.