Why It Matters
Cabinet secretaries directed federal wildlife researchers to relocate golden eagles preying on Wyoming lambs, marking a rare high-level intervention in livestock-predator conflict. The effort has delayed long-term research into nonlethal deterrents and exposed interstate tensions over wildlife management costs.
What Happened
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins issued a directive in February ordering immediate action to address golden eagle attacks on lambing operations. The mandate tasked federal biologist Lindsey Perry with capturing eagles in sheep-grazing areas and relocating them to disrupt their focus on domestic flocks.
Perry, a research biologist at the National Wildlife Research Center, briefed Wyoming’s Animal Damage Management Board on the effort Wednesday. She said the relocation work effectively delayed a planned study on cost-effective deterrents, pushing that research to 2028 and 2029.
By the Numbers
Wyoming hosts roughly one-quarter of the breeding golden eagle population in the western United States and approximately half of migrants from Alaska and Canada. State populations have declined nearly one-third over the past two decades. Wildlife Services hazed zero golden eagles from 2016 to 2018 but recorded 19 hazings by 2020, according to federal environmental assessments.
The Relocation Challenge
Federal wildlife managers sought to move eagles toward the Pacific Coast, placing mountain ranges between relocated birds and their original territories. The strategy aims to prevent rapid returns, though Perry noted eagles often come back to the same location within a year or less.
No states meeting wildlife management criteria have agreed to accept Wyoming eagles. Board member Sharon O’Toole suggested livestock producers in potential receiving states oppose taking birds that could prey on their own flocks. Perry confirmed that concern, saying officials in other states cited worries about relocating eagles into their livestock production areas.
Legal and Conservation Context
Golden eagles are protected under the Bald Eagle Protection Act, amended in 1962 to cover the species. The law restricts most possession and killing of the birds. Conservation challenges include habitat loss, lead poisoning, and wind turbine strikes, according to Teton Raptor Center conservation director Bryan Bedrosian.
What’s Next
The focus for 2026 and 2027 will remain on eagle relocation efforts. Planned research into nonlethal deterrent methods is now scheduled for 2028 and 2029, pending resolution of interstate placement issues and completion of the current relocation directive.