What We Do

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works to conserve and manage both bald eagle and golden eagle populations to assure both species continue to thrive.

Management and Conservation

Along with our internal work to conserve and manage eagles, the USFWS also works with partners on multiple eagle-focused working groups.

Eastern Golden Eagle Working Group

California and Nevada Golden Eagle Working Group

Our Services

Guidance

The Service provides information and recommendations on living around eagles and working around eagles to help protect eagles and facilitate compliance with the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

More about Living around Eagles

More about Working around Eagles

 

Eagle Permits

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may issue permits for the take, possession, or transportation of bald and golden eagles, as well as their parts, nests, and eggs.

More about Eagle Permits

 

Eagle Feathers and Parts for Native Americans

Native Americans can request and possess eagle feathers and parts for religious and cultural purposes from our National Eagle Repository.

National Eagle Repository

 

Crimes Against Eagles

Our National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Lab examines, identifies, and compares evidence using a wide range of scientific procedures and instruments, in the attempt to link suspect, victim, and crime scene with physical evidence.

National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Lab

Our Projects and Research

A Bald Eagle in flight with wings fully stretched out gliding through the air
Population Status

Understanding the populations of both bald eagles and golden eagles is the biological basis for the Service's regulatory management framework.

The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act explicitly identifies incidental take of eagles as a prohibited act, and the...

Golden eagle head
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Distribution & Movement  |  Management & Mitigation  |  Ecoregional Strategies  |  Risk Analysis Tools

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Head shot of Golden Eagle, raptor with brown feathers, yellow beak, brown eye

The conservation of migratory birds requires identifying how events across their annual cycle (often occurring across vast areas) influence their survival and reproduction. It is thought that most golden eagles in Alaska are migratory and move south during autumn to over-winter in the western...

Our Laws and Regulations

Both bald eagles and golden eagles are protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (Eagle Act) and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA).

The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act also has regulations for permitting take, possession, and transportation of bald eagles or golden eagles (50 CFR 22). These regulations allow for permitting of "the taking, possession, and transportation within the United States of bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) and their parts, nests, and eggs for scientific, educational, and depredation control purposes; for the religious purposes of American Indian tribes; and to protect other interests in a particular locality" as well as governing "the transportation into or out of the United States of bald and golden eagle parts for scientific, educational, and Indian religious purposes."

50 CFR 22 Eagle Permits

 

Eagle Incidental Take Permit Regulations Revisions

On September 30th, 2022, the Service published in the Federal Register a proposed rule and draft environmental assessment with approaches to improve eagle incidental take permitting.  The Service’s intent for both bald and golden eagles is to ensure that the regulations for these permits are consistent with the goal of maintaining stable or increasing breeding populations.

Info on Eagle Act Regulation Revisions

 

Laws

The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 668-668d), enacted in 1940, and amended several times since, prohibits anyone, without a permit issued by the Secretary of the Interior, from "taking" bald or golden eagles, including their parts (including feathers), nests, or eggs....

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (16 U.S.C. 703-712) implements four international conservation treaties that the U.S. entered into with Canada in 1916, Mexico in 1936, Japan in 1972, and Russia in 1976. It is intended to ensure the sustainability of populations of all protected migratory...