How are bald eagles going to be managed under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act? The bald eagle is protected by two other federal laws: the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Both laws prohibit killing, selling or otherwise harming eagles, their nests or eggs. On June 5, 2007, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service clarified its regulations implementing the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and published a set of National Bald Eagle Management Guidelines. These actions are designed to give landowners and others clear guidance on how to ensure that actions they take on their property are consistent with the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The modifications to implementing regulations for the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act established a regulatory definition of “disturb,” a term specifically prohibited as “take” by the Eagle Act. The final definition defines “disturb” as “to agitate or bother a bald or golden eagle to a degree that causes, or is likely to cause, based on the best scientific information available, 1) injury to an eagle, 2) a decrease in its productivity, by substantially interfering with normal breeding, feeding, or sheltering behavior, or 3) nest abandonment, by substantially interfering with normal breeding, feeding, or sheltering behavior.” For more information, see the final rule defining disturb and accompanying environmental assessment.
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