Opinion ID: 213533
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Statutory Background The Eagle Act

Text: The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, in combination with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Endangered Species Act, is one of the cornerstones of our nation's efforts to protect and preserve the bald eagle. The basis of that protection is a blanket ban on possession of any part of a bald or golden eagle: Whoever . . . without being permitted to do so as provided in this subchapter, shall knowingly, or with wanton disregard for the consequences of his act take, possess, sell, purchase, barter, offer to sell, purchase or barter, transport, export or import, at any time or in any manner, any bald eagle commonly known as the American eagle, or any golden eagle, alive or dead, or any part, nest, or egg thereof of the foregoing eagles, or whoever violates any permit or regulation issued pursuant to this subchapter, shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than one year or both. 16 U.S.C. § 668(a). [1] Originally passed in 1940, see Act of June 8, 1940, ch. 278, 54 Stat. 250-51, the Eagle Act was amended in 1962, adding both protection for golden eagles (the young of which are easily confused with bald eagles) and the exception at issue in this case, for possession for the religious purposes of Indian tribes. See Pub.L. 87-884, 76 Stat. 1246; Hardman, 297 F.3d at 1122. The exception reads: Whenever, after investigation, the Secretary of the Interior shall determine that it is compatible with the preservation of the bald eagle or the golden eagle to permit the taking, possession, and transportation of specimens thereof for the scientific or exhibition purposes of public museums, scientific societies, and zoological parks, or for the religious purposes of Indian tribes . . . he may authorize the taking of such eagles pursuant to regulations which he is hereby authorized to prescribe. 16 U.S.C. § 668a (emphasis added). Therefore, provided that the Secretary of the Interior is satisfied that to do so is compatible with the preservation of bald and golden eagles, he may by regulation allow possession of eagle parts for the religious purposes of Indian tribes. The Secretary, acting through the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) of the Department of the Interior, has exercised this statutory authority and formulated regulations governing eagle permits. See generally 50 C.F.R. Ch. I, pt. 22. These regulations reiterate the broad prohibition on possession without a permit set out in the statute. 50 C.F.R. § 22.11. In implementing the exception to the ban for the religious purposes of Indian tribes, the regulations make it clear that only members of federally-recognized tribes may apply for and obtain eagle feather permits: [w]e will issue a permit only to members of Indian entities recognized and eligible to receive services from the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs listed under 25 U.S.C. § 479a-1 engaged in religious activities who satisfy all the issuance criteria of this section. 50 C.F.R. § 22.22. The Secretary will only grant the permit, however, if we determine that the taking, possession, or transportation is compatible with the preservation of the bald and golden eagle. Id. § 22.22(c). Finally, the permits and lawfully-possessed eagle parts are not transferrable, except such birds or their parts may be handed down from generation to generation or from one Indian to another in accordance with tribal or religious customs. Id. § 22.22(b)(1). Eagle carcasses that are recovered by FWS agents or the public at large are sent to the National Eagle Repository, which is housed on the grounds of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in Commerce City, Colorado. United States v. Friday, 525 F.3d 938, 944 (10th Cir. 2008). The Repository receives the eagle carcasses and the requests for feathers and parts pursuant to permits, then prepares the former in order to fulfill the latter. Native American religious practitioners wishing to obtain eagle parts from the Repository are required to file a request for a permit with the Wildlife Permit Office in their state of residence. Applicants are asked to fill out a form on which they must certify that they are enrolled in a federally-recognized tribe. The FWS forwards those permit requests to the Repository, which then attempts to match the requests with the available supply of eagle parts. As noted below, however, the Repository receives significantly more requests than it has available eagle carcasses, and so applicants for eagle feathers and parts typically must wait a long period of time before those requests are fulfilled.