A Federal Eagle Depredation permit authorizes you to haze or trap bald eagles and/or golden eagles that are depredating or pose a risk to human or eagle health and safety. Depredation includes agricultural damage, private property damage, threats to human or eagle health and safety, and threats to recovery of protected wildlife. An Eagle Depredation permit is intended to provide short-term relief from eagles until long-term, non-lethal measures can be implemented to eliminate or significantly reduce the depredation problem.
What is eagle depredation?
Eagle Depredation is damage or loss caused by bald eagles and/or golden eagles, including agricultural damage (e.g. livestock loss), private property damage, threats to human or eagle health and safety (e.g. airports), and threats to recovery of protected wildlife. Eagle Depredation permits are intended for the active management of eagles, either for the purpose of addressing depredation by eagles or threats to human and eagle safety (50 CFR 22.23).
Eagle Management
Minimize Attractiveness of Your Site
Reducing the attractiveness to eagles can be done with landscape alteration (e.g. prey management, vegetation management), cultural practices (e.g. covering of food sources, adjusting seasonal timing, constructing livestock enclosures), and/or policies (e.g. roadkill removal policies, no dumping policies, and no feeding policies). Some methods, particularly permanent landscape alteration, may have the potential to disturb eagles.
For more guidance, see the Bald Eagle Management Guidelines or contact your regional Migratory Bird Permit Office. For additional information and expertise on these methods, contact Wildlife Services, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Hazing Eagles
Hazing eagles does not necessarily require a permit. The Eagle Act does not prohibit the activity of hazing. However, a permit is required when hazing of eagles will disturb eagles.
Disturb, as defined in regulation (50 CFR 22.3), means 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.”
When there is potential for purposeful hazing of eagles to disturb eagles, the Service recommends an Eagle Depredation permit. If you are unsure if eagle hazing may result in disturbance, contact your regional Migratory Bird Permit Office for technical assistance. Generally, disturbance or other forms of take of eagles is unlikely to result while hazing migratory birds or other wildlife species. However, if eagle hazing will occur adjacent to eagle nest site, roost site, or important foraging area, please contact your regional Migratory Bird Permit Office for additional guidance. Eagle Depredation permits do not authorize incidental hazing of eagles (e.g. hazing of eagles that results from hazing other wildlife).
What is not covered by this permit?
Unintentional trapping of eagles during management of other wildlife is considered incidental take.
Eagle Incidental Take is authorized under a separate regulation (50 CFR 22.26) and requires implementing all appropriate and practicable means of avoiding and minimizing the risk to eagles. In some circumstances, Eagle Incidental Take authorization may be combined with Eagle Depredation authorization. To request this, contact your regional Migratory Bird Permit Office for guidance.
Process
To Submit an Application
To submit an application online or through the mail, follow the instructions on our ePermits site.
Need to submit your annual report?
Download form 3-202-11 to mail in.
Application Fee
- $100
- Application fee is non-refundable.
- Federal, Tribal, State, and local government agencies, and those acting on the behalf of such agencies, are exempt from the processing fee (documentation may be required).