[Sammy Baugh Fan]

Source: BALD EAGLE PROTECTION ACT: Summary from Federal Wildlife Laws Handbook

BALD EAGLE PROTECTION ACT
16 U.S.C. §§ 668-668d, June 8, 1940, as amended 1959, 1962, 1972, and 1978.

Overview. The Act prohibits the taking or possession of and commerce in bald and golden eagles, with limited exceptions.

Findings/Policy. The enacting clause of the original Act stated that the Continental Congress in 1782 adopted the bald eagle as the national symbol; that the bald eagle became the symbolic representation of a new nation and the American ideals of freedom; and that the bald eagle threatened with extinction. § 668 note.

Selected Definitions. Take: includes pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, molest or disturb. Transport: includes convey or carry by any means; also deliver or receive for conveyance. § 668c.

Prohibitions. The Act imposes criminal and civil penalties on anyone (including associations, partnerships and corporations) in the U.S. or within its jurisdiction who, unless excepted, takes, possesses, sells, purchases, barters, offers to sell or purchase or barter, transports, exports or imports at any time or in any manner a bald or golden eagle, alive or dead; or any part, nest or egg of these eagles; or violates any permit or regulations issued under the Act. A criminal conviction requires that the violator acted knowingly or with wanton disregard of the consequences. According to the Act, the criminal penalty is a maximum $5,000 fine or one-year imprisonment, or both, doubled for subsequent convictions, but the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, as amended in 1987, increases maximum fines significantly. Each prohibited act is a separate violation. One-half of the criminal fine, but not to exceed $2,500, must be paid to whoever gives information leading to conviction. The civil penalty is a maximum fine of $5,000 per violation, with each violation a separate offense. Any livestock grazing agreement on federal land held by a person convicted under this Act is subject to immediate cancellation. § 668.