A federal regulation that allows wind energy companies to obtain 30-year permits to kill eagles without prosecution by the government is being contested by one of the nation's leading bird conservation groups, the Associated Press reported.
A lawsuit is being filed by the American Bird Conservancy against the Obama administration. They are arguing that the Department of the Interior violated federal laws when it promulgated the regulation it says sanctions the killing of bald and golden eagles.
"The rule lacks a firm foundation in scientific justification and was generated without the benefit of a full assessment of its impacts on eagle populations," said Michael Hutchins, National Coordinator of ABC's Bird Smart Wind Energy Campaign.
In December, companies were granted authorization by the Obama administration to kill and harm bald and golden eagles for up to 30 years without penalty in a bid to balance the environmental trade-offs of green energy.
In its notice of intent to sue the government, the American Bird Conservancy argues that the rule "undermines the nation's longstanding commitment to conservation of eagles-unique animals that are 'ubiquitous in U.S. culture."
The National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act have regulated the violation, the group said.
"ABC will pursue legal action to address these violations and ensure that eagles, and the millions of Americans who enjoy them, obtain the legal protections to which they are entitled under U.S. law," the organization's notice read.
Matthew Stuber, an eagle permit coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, told NPR the take permits are an important management tool, the AP reported.
"A permit allows an activity to happen that needs to happen. And in doing so, it gets the best possible thing for the eagles. We're actually able to get conservation, and hopefully in the long run, prevent that nest from begin disturbed at all by that activity." Stuber said.
