| 1976
|
The United States signed the Migratory
Bird Treaty with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Regional Offices of the Service hired wildlife inspectors at eight
designated ports of entry to inspect wildlife. The eight
ports were Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, New Orleans,
New York, Seattle, and Honolulu. |
| 1979
|
The Supreme Court , in the case of Andrus v. Allard,
upheld the prohibition on the sale of migratory bird feathers, regardless
of whether they were obtained before federal protection took effect.
The number of district offices was reduced to 12 when the Kansas
City District Office was consolidated with the Denver, Colorado,
District Office. |
| 1981
|
The Black Bass and Lacey Acts were repealed and
replaced by the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981. This comprehensive
statute restored protection for migratory birds, which had been
removed from the Act in 1969, and introduced protection for plants.
The Lacey Act Amendments increased penalties and included a felony
punishment scheme to target commercial violators and international
traffickers. Penalties included fines of up to $20,000 or five
years imprisonment, or both.
Dallas-Fort Worth became a designated port for wildlife entering
or leaving the United States. |
| 1982
|
The Endangered Species Act was amended to include
a prohibition against taking plants on federal lands and a new
exception allowing the inadvertent, non-commercial transshipment
through the United States of endangered fish or wildlife.
The field organization of the Division of Law Enforcement was
reduced from 12 to seven districts, one for each region of the
Service. |
| 1983
|
The Service's Law Enforcement Management Information
System (LEMIS) became operational. |
| 1986 |
The Supreme Court, in the case of Dwight Dion,
upheld the applicability of the Eagle Protection Act to Native
Americans on reservations.
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act was amended to require that felony
violations be "knowingly" committed. |
| 1988
|
The African Elephant Conservation Act became law,
providing additional protection for the species, whose numbers
had declined by 50 percent in the last decade.
The Lacey Act was amended to include, among other things, felony
provisions for commercial guiding violations. |
| 1989
|
The
National Fish and Wildlife Forensics
Laboratory
was dedicated in Ashland, Oregon. It's mission was to provide scientific
expertise to assist in investigations, ranging from species identification
to technical assistance such as surveillance and photography. The
Laboratory was renamed the Clark R. Bavin National Fish and Wildlife
Forensics Laboratory in memory of Clark R. Bavin, who served as chief
of the Division of Law Enforcement from 1972 until his death in 1990. |
| 1990
|
Portland, Oregon, became the 10th designated port
of entry for the importation and exportation of wildlife. |
| 1992
|
Baltimore, Maryland, became the 11th designated
port of entry.
The Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992 was signed into law to
address problems with the international trade in wild-caught birds-trade
that contributed to the decline of species and featured unacceptably
high mortality rates. |
| 1994
|
Boston, Massachusetts, became the Nation's 12th designated
port. |
| 1996
|
Designated port status was conferred on Atlanta, Georgia. |
| 1997
|
The Division of Law Enforcement was removed from the
supervision of the Assistant Director-Refuges and Wildlife to report
instead directly to the Service Director. The Washington headquarters
office was renamed the Office of Law Enforcement. |
| 1998
|
The Migratory Bird Treaty Reform Act eliminated
strict liability from the enforcement of baiting prohibitions,
substituting a "know or reasonably should know: standard for charging
individuals for hunting with bait. The Act increased the penalty
for hunting over bait and made placing bait a separate federal
crime.
Reauthorization of the Rhinoceros-Tiger Conservation Act prohibited
the import, export, or sale of any product, item, or substance
containing, or labeled as containing, any substance derived from
tiger and rhinoceros. |
| 2000
|
A Service reorganization established the position
of Assistant Director for Law Enforcement within the Directorate,
providing executive level leadership for the agency's law enforcement
program. |
