The US Fish and Wildlife Service recently released proposed revisions to the Eagle Take Permit program. The revisions have proposed to “encourage broader participation in permitting by providing applicants with greater certainty and simplicity, facilitate and improve compliance, and increase the conservation benefit for eagles.” The final version is available here:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/09/30/2022-21025/permits-for-incidental-take-of-eagles-and-eagle-nests. The proposed rule is open for public comment through November 29, 2022.
The proposed revision creates a general permit option under prescribed conditions for wind energy projects. Please reach out to WEST eagle experts Kenton Taylor and Eric Hallingstad for additional details on how this revision may impact your projects.