In a letter to the U.S. Department of Interior, American
Bird Conservancy (ABC) called on the agency to suspend further consideration of
a revised rule that would weaken protections provided to eagles pursuant to the
Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, by allowing private companies to apply
for an unprecedented 30-year permit to kill these iconic species.
ABC, one of the nation’s leading bird conservation groups,
instead called for the rule to be shelved until Sally Jewell, President Obama’s
nominee for Secretary of Interior, has had time to fully review the proposal
and evaluate its potential long-term impacts on eagle populations.
“The public places a high value on both Bald and Golden
Eagles, two species that have inspired awe, pride, and patriotism in America America
The new, far weaker, version of the eagle protection rule
was drafted after requests from the wind energy industry, and represents a
curious reversal of a FWS decision in 2009. At that time the USFWS wrote, “…the
rule limits permit tenure to five years or less because factors may change over
a longer period of time such that a take authorized much earlier would later be
incompatible with the preservation of the Bald Eagle or the Golden Eagle.”
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