50 CFR § 21.2 - 21.183 - Taking, Possession, Transportation, Sale, Purchase, Barter, Exportation, and Importation of Wildlife and Plants - Migratory Bird Permits

76 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) Pt. 21 (1) The minutes of Regulations Com mittee meetings made pursuant to paragraph (d) of § 20.153; (2) Any written comments and other significant written communications which occur after the notice of pro posed rulemaking; (3) Summaries, identifying the source, of any significant oral commu nications which occur after the notice of proposed rulemaking; and (4) Copies of or references to any other significant data or information. PART 21—MIGRATORY BIRD PERMITS Subpart A—Introduction and General Requirements Sec. 21.2 Purpose of this part. 21.4 Scope of this part. 21.6 Definitions. 21.8 Information collection requirements. 21.10 General permit requirements. Subpart B—Exceptions to Permit Requirements 21.12 General exceptions to permit require ments. 21.42 Authorization of take incidental to military readiness activities. 21.45 Permit exceptions for captive-reared mallard ducks. 21.47 [Reserved] 21.48 Permit exceptions for captive-bred mi gratory waterfowl other than mallard ducks. Subpart C—Specific Permit Provisions 21.63 Taxidermist permits. 21.67 Import and export permits. 21.70 Banding or marking permits. 21.73 Scientific collecting permits. 21.76 Rehabilitation permits. 21.82 Falconry standards and falconry per mitting. 21.85 Raptor propagation permits. 21.88 Waterfowl sale and disposal permits. 21.95 Special purpose permits. Subpart D—Provisions for Depredating, Overabundant, or Otherwise Injurious Birds 21.100 Depredation permits. 21.120 Special Canada goose permit. 21.123 Special double-crested cormorant permit. 21.150 Depredation order for blackbirds, cowbirds, crows, grackles, and magpies. 21.153 Depredation order for horned larks, house finches, and white-crowned spar rows in California. 21.156 Depredation order for depredating California scrub jays and Steller’s jays in Washington and Oregon. 21.159 Control order for resident Canada geese at airports and military airfields. 21.162 Depredation order for resident Can ada geese nests and eggs. 21.165 Depredation order for resident Can ada geese at agricultural facilities. 21.168 Public health control order for resi dent Canada geese. 21.171 Control order for purple swamphens. 21.174 Control order for Muscovy ducks in the United States. 21.177 Control order for invasive migratory birds in Hawaii. 21.180 Conservation order for light geese. 21.183 Population control of resident Can ada geese. AUTHORITY: 16 U.S.C. 703–712. SOURCE: 39 FR 1178, Jan. 4, 1974, unless oth erwise noted. Subpart A—Introduction and General Requirements SOURCE: 39 FR 1178, Jan. 4, 1974, as amended at 87 FR 880, Jan. 7, 2022. § 21.2 Purpose of this part. The regulations contained in this part supplement the general permit regulations of part 13 of this sub chapter with respect to permits for the taking, possession, transportation, sale, purchase, barter, importation, ex portation, and banding or marking of migratory birds. This part also pro vides certain exceptions to permit re quirements for public, scientific, or educational institutions, and estab lishes depredation orders which provide limited exceptions to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703–712). [54 FR 38150, Sept. 14, 1989. Redesignated and amended at 87 FR 880, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.4 Scope of this part. (a) Migratory birds, their parts, nests, or eggs, lawfully acquired prior to the effective date of Federal protec tion under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703–712) may be possessed or transported without a permit, but may not be imported, exported, pur chased, sold, bartered, or offered for VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00086 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 77 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.6 purchase, sale or barter, and all ship ments of such birds must be marked as provided by part 14 of this subchapter: Provide, no exemption from any statute or regulation shall accrue to any off spring of such migratory birds. (b) This part, except for § 21.12(a), (c), and (d) (general permit exceptions); § 21.70 (banding or marking); § 21.76 (re habilitation); and § 21.82 (falconry), does not apply to the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) or the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), for which reg ulations are provided in part 22 of this subchapter. (c) The provisions of this part are in addition to, and are not in lieu of other regulations of this subchapter B which may require a permit or prescribe addi tional restrictions or conditions for the importation, exportation, and inter state transportation of wildlife (see also part 13). [39 FR 1178, Jan. 4, 1974, as amended at 46 FR 42680, Aug. 24, 1981; 68 FR 61137, Oct. 27, 2003; 73 FR 59465, Oct. 8, 2008. Redesignated and amended at 87 FR 880, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.6 Definitions. In addition to definitions contained in part 10 of this chapter, and unless the context requires otherwise, as used in this part: Armed Forces means the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and the National Guard of any State. Bred in captivity or captive-bred refers to raptors, including eggs, hatched in captivity from parents that mated or otherwise transferred gametes in cap tivity. Captivity means that a live raptor is held in a controlled environment that is intensively manipulated by man for the purpose of producing raptors of se lected species, and that has boundaries designed to prevent raptors, eggs or gametes of the selected species from entering or leaving the controlled envi ronment. General characteristics of captivity may include, but are not lim ited to, artificial housing, waste re moval, health care, protection from predators, and artificially supplied food. Conservation measures, as used in § 21.42, means project design or mitiga tion activities that are reasonable from a scientific, technological, and eco nomic standpoint, and are necessary to avoid, minimize, or mitigate the take of migratory birds or other adverse im pacts. Conservation measures should be implemented in a reasonable period of time. Falconry is caring for and training raptors for pursuit of wild game, and hunting wild game with raptors. Fal conry includes the taking of raptors from the wild to use in the sport; and caring for, training, and transporting raptors held for falconry. Hacking is the temporary release of a raptor held for falconry to the wild so that it must survive on its own. Hybrid means any bird that results from a cross of genetic material be tween two separate taxa when one or both are listed at 50 CFR 10.13, and any progeny of those birds. Imprint, for the purposes of falconry, means a bird that is hand-raised, from 2 weeks of age until it has fledged, and has identified itself with humans rath er than its own species. An imprinted bird is considered to be so for its entire lifetime. Livestock depredation area means a specific geographic location in which depredation by golden eagles has been recognized. The boundaries and dura tion of a livestock depredation area are declared by U.S.D.A. Wildlife Services or by a State governor. Military readiness activity, as defined in Pub. L. 107–314, § 315(f), 116 Stat. 2458 (Dec. 2, 2002) [Pub. L. § 319 (c)(1)], in cludes all training and operations of the Armed Forces that relate to com bat, and the adequate and realistic testing of military equipment, vehi cles, weapons, and sensors for proper operation and suitability for combat use. It does not include (a) routine op eration of installation operating sup port functions, such as: administrative offices; military exchanges; com missaries; water treatment facilities; storage facilities; schools; housing; motor pools; laundries; morale, wel fare, and recreation activities; shops; and mess halls, (b) operation of indus trial activities, or (c) construction or demolition of facilities listed above. Population, as used in § 21.42, means a group of distinct, coexisting, conspecific individuals, whose breeding site fidelity, migration routes, and VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00087 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 78 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.8 wintering areas are temporally and spatially stable, sufficiently distinct geographically (at some time of the year), and adequately described so that the population can be effectively mon itored to discern changes in its status. Raptor means a migratory bird of the Order Accipitriformes, the Order Falconiformes, or the Order Strigiformes listed in § 10.13 of this chapter, including the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and the gold en eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). Resident Canada geese means Canada geese that nest within the lower 48 States and the District of Columbia or that reside within the lower 48 States and the District of Columbia in the months of April, May, June, July, or August. Secretary of Defense means the Sec retary of Defense or any other national defense official who has been nomi nated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Service or we means the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the In terior. Significant adverse effect on a popu lation, as used in § 21.42, means an effect that could, within a reasonable period of time, diminish the capacity of a pop ulation of migratory bird species to sustain itself at a biologically viable level. A population is ‘‘biologically via ble’’ when its ability to maintain its genetic diversity, to reproduce, and to function effectively in its native eco system is not significantly harmed. This effect may be characterized by in creased risk to the population from ac tions that cause direct mortality or a reduction in fecundity. Assessment of impacts should take into account year ly variations and migratory move ments of the impacted species. Due to the significant variability in potential military readiness activities and the species that may be impacted, deter minations of significant measurable decline will be made on a case-by-case basis. [48 FR 31607, July 8, 1983, as amended at 64 FR 32774, June 17, 1999; 71 FR 45986, Aug. 10, 2006; 72 FR 8949, Feb. 28, 2007; 72 FR 46408, Aug. 20, 2007; 73 FR 59465, Oct. 8, 2008; 75 FR 931, Jan. 7, 2010; 78 FR 65578, 65864, Nov. 1, 2013; 84 FR 28773, June 20, 2019. Redesignated and amended at 87 FR 880, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.8 Information collection require ments. The Office of Management and Budg et (OMB) has approved the information collection requirements contained in this part and assigned OMB Control Number 1018–0022. Federal agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and a per son is not required to respond to, a col lection of information unless it dis plays a currently valid OMB control number. Direct comments regarding the burden estimate or any other as pect of the information collection to the Service’s Information Collection Clearance Officer at the address pro vided at 50 CFR 2.1(b). [87 FR 880, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.10 General permit requirements. No person may take, possess, import, export, transport, sell, purchase, bar ter, or offer for sale, purchase, or bar ter, any migratory bird, or the parts, nests, or eggs of such bird except as may be permitted under the terms of a valid permit issued pursuant to the provisions of this part and part 13 of this chapter, or as permitted by regula tions in this part, or part 20 of this sub chapter (the hunting regulations), or part 92 of subchapter G of this chapter (the Alaska subsistence harvest regula tions). Birds taken or possessed under this part in ‘‘included areas’’ of Alaska as defined in § 92.5(a) are subject to this part and not to part 92 of subchapter G of this chapter. [68 FR 43027, July 21, 2003. Redesignated at 87 FR 881, Jan. 7, 2022] Subpart B—Exceptions to Permit Requirements SOURCE: 39 FR 1178, Jan. 4, 1974, as amended at 87 FR 880, Jan. 7, 2022. § 21.12 General exceptions to permit requirements. The following persons or entities under the following conditions are ex empt from the permit requirements: (a) Employees of the Department of the Interior (DOI): DOI employees author ized to enforce the provisions of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of July 3, 1918, as amended (40 Stat. 755; 16 U.S.C. 703–(711), may, without a permit, take VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00088 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 79 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.12 or otherwise acquire, hold in custody, transport, and dispose of migratory birds or their parts, nests, or eggs as necessary in performing their official duties. (b) Employees of certain public and pri vate institutions:(1) State game depart ments, municipal game farms or parks, and public museums, public zoological parks, accredited institutional mem bers of the American Association of Zo ological Parks and Aquariums (AAZPA) and public scientific or edu cational institutions may acquire by gift or purchase, possess, transport, and by gift or sale dispose of lawfully acquired migratory birds or their prog eny, parts, nests, or eggs without a per mit: Provided, That such birds may be acquired only from persons authorized by this paragraph or by a permit issued pursuant to this part to possess and dispose of such birds, or from Federal or State game authorities by the gift of seized, condemned, or sick or injured birds. Any such birds, acquired without a permit, and any progeny therefrom may be disposed of only to persons au thorized by this paragraph to acquire such birds without a permit. Any per son exercising a privilege granted by this paragraph must keep accurate records of such operations showing the species and number of birds acquired, possessed, and disposed of; the names and addresses of the persons from whom such birds were acquired or to whom such birds were donated or sold; and the dates of such transactions. Records shall be maintained or repro ducible in English on a calendar year basis and shall be retained for a period of five (5) years following the end of the calendar year covered by the records. (2) Employees of Federal, State, and local wildlife and land management agencies; employees of Federal, State, and local public health agencies; and laboratories under contract to such agencies may in the course of official business collect, possess, transport, and dispose of sick or dead migratory birds or their parts for analysis to con firm the presence of infectious disease. Nothing in this paragraph authorizes the take of uninjured or healthy birds without prior authorization from the Service. Additionally, nothing in this paragraph authorizes the taking, col lection, or possession of migratory birds when circumstances indicate rea sonable probability that death, injury, or disability was caused by factors other than infectious disease and/or natural toxins. These factors may in clude, but are not limited to, oil or chemical contamination, electrocu tion, shooting, or pesticides. If the cause of death of a bird is determined to be other than natural causes or dis ease, Service law enforcement officials must be contacted without delay. (c) Licensed veterinarians: Licensed veterinarians are not required to ob tain a Federal migratory bird permit to temporarily possess, stabilize, or euthanize sick and injured migratory birds. However, a veterinarian without a migratory bird rehabilitation permit must transfer any such bird to a feder ally permitted migratory bird rehabilitator within 24 hours after the bird’s condition is stabilized, unless the bird is euthanized. If a veterinarian is unable to locate a permitted rehabilitator within that time, the vet erinarian must contact his or her Re gional Migratory Bird Permit Office for assistance in locating a permitted migratory bird rehabilitator and/or to obtain authorization to continue to hold the bird. In addition, veterinar ians must: (1) Notify the local U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Ecological Services Of fice immediately upon receiving a threatened or endangered migratory bird species. Contact information for Ecological Services offices can be lo cated on the Internet at http://of fices.fws.gov; (2) Euthanize migratory birds as re quired by § 21.76(e)(4)(iii) and § 21.76(e)(4)(iv), and dispose of dead mi gratory birds in accordance with § 21.76(e)(4)(vi); and (3) Keep records for 5 years of all mi gratory birds that die while in their care, including those they euthanize. The records must include: the species of bird, the type of injury, the date of acquisition, the date of death, and whether the bird was euthanized. (d) General public: Any person may re move a migratory bird from the inte rior of a building or structure under certain conditions. VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00089 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 80 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.42 (1) You may humanely remove a trapped migratory bird from the inte rior of a residence or a commercial or government building without a Federal permit if the migratory bird: (i) Poses a health threat (for exam ple, through damage to foodstuffs); (ii) Is attacking humans, or poses a threat to human safety because of its activities (such as opening and closing automatic doors); (iii) Poses a threat to commercial in terests, such as through damage to products for sale; or (iv) May injure itself because it is trapped. (2) You must use a humane method to capture the bird or birds. You may not use adhesive traps to which birds may adhere (such as glue traps) or any other method of capture likely to harm the bird. (3) Unless you have a permit that al lows you to conduct abatement activi ties with a raptor, you may not release a raptor into a building to either frighten or capture another bird. (4) You must immediately release a captured bird to the wild in habitat suitable for the species, unless it is ex hausted, ill, injured, or orphaned. (5) If a bird is exhausted or ill, or is injured or orphaned during the re moval, the property owner is respon sible for immediately transferring it to a federally permitted migratory bird rehabilitator. (6) You may not lethally take a mi gratory bird for these purposes. If your actions to remove the trapped migra tory bird are likely to result in its le thal take, you must possess a Federal Migratory Bird Permit. However, if a bird you are trying to remove dies, you must dispose of the carcass imme diately unless you have reason to be lieve that a museum or scientific insti tution might be able to use it. In that case, you should contact your nearest Fish and Wildlife Service office or your State wildlife agency about donating the carcass. (7) For birds of species on the Federal List of Threatened or Endangered Wild life, provided at 50 CFR 17.11(h), you may need a Federal threatened or en dangered species permit before remov ing the birds (see 50 CFR 17.21 and 50 CFR 17.31). (8) You must have a permit from your Regional migratory bird permits office to remove a bald eagle or a gold en eagle from a building (see 50 CFR Part 22). (9) Your action must comply with State and local regulations and ordi nances. You may need a State, Tribal, or Territorial permit before you can le gally remove the bird or birds. (10) If an active nest with eggs or nestlings is present, you must seek the assistance of a federally permitted mi gratory bird rehabilitator in removing the eggs or nestlings. The rehabilitator is then responsible for handling them properly. (11) If you need advice on dealing with a trapped bird, you should contact your closest Fish and Wildlife Service office or your State wildlife agency. [39 FR 1178, Jan. 4, 1974, as amended at 50 FR 8638, Mar. 4, 1985; 54 FR 38151, Sept. 14, 1989; 68 FR 61137, Oct. 27, 2003; 72 FR 56928, Oct. 5, 2007; 87 FR 881, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.42 Authorization of take inci dental to military readiness activi ties. (a) Take authorization and monitoring. (1) Except to the extent authorization is withdrawn or suspended pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section, the Armed Forces may take migratory birds incidental to military readiness activities provided that, for those on going or proposed activities that the Armed Forces determine may result in a significant adverse effect on a popu lation of a migratory bird species, the Armed Forces must confer and cooper ate with the Service to develop and im plement appropriate conservation measures to minimize or mitigate such significant adverse effects. (2) When conservation measures im plemented under paragraph (a)(1) of this section require monitoring, the Armed Forces must retain records of any monitoring data for five years from the date the Armed Forces com mence their action. During Integrated Natural Resource Management Plan re views, the Armed Forces will also re port to the Service migratory bird con servation measures implemented and the effectiveness of the conservation measures in avoiding, minimizing, or mitigating take of migratory birds. VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00090 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 81 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.42 (b) Suspension or Withdrawal of take authorization. (1) If the Secretary deter mines, after seeking the views of the Secretary of Defense and consulting with the Secretary of State, that inci dental take of migratory birds during a specific military readiness activity likely would not be compatible with one or more of the migratory bird trea ties, the Secretary will suspend author ization of the take associated with that activity. (2) The Secretary may propose to withdraw, and may withdraw in ac cordance with the procedures provided in paragraph (b)(4) of this section the authorization for any take incidental to a specific military readiness activ ity if the Secretary determines that a proposed military readiness activity is likely to result in a significant adverse effect on the population of a migratory bird species and one or more of the fol lowing circumstances exists: (i) The Armed Forces have not imple mented conservation measures that: (A) Are directly related to protecting the migratory bird species affected by the proposed military readiness activ ity; (B) Would significantly reduce take of the migratory bird species affected by the military readiness activity; (C) Are economically feasible; and (D) Do not limit the effectiveness of the military readiness activity; (ii) The Armed Forces fail to conduct mutually agreed upon monitoring to determine the effects of a military readiness activity on migratory bird species and/or the efficacy of the con servation measures implemented by the Armed Forces; or (iii) The Armed Forces have not pro vided reasonably available information that the Secretary has determined is necessary to evaluate whether with drawal of take authorization for the specific military readiness activity is appropriate. (3) When the Secretary proposes to withdraw authorization with respect to a specific military readiness activity, the Secretary will first provide written notice to the Secretary of Defense. Any such notice will include the basis for the Secretary’s determination that withdrawal is warranted in accordance with the criteria contained in para graph (b)(2) of this section, and will identify any conservation measures or other measures that would, if imple mented by the Armed Forces, permit the Secretary to cancel the proposed withdrawal of authorization. (4) Within 15 days of receipt of the notice specified in paragraph (b)(3) of this section, the Secretary of Defense may notify the Secretary in writing of the Armed Forces’ objections, if any, to the proposed withdrawal, specifying the reasons therefore. The Secretary will give due consideration to any ob jections raised by the Armed Forces. If the Secretary continues to believe that withdrawal is appropriate, he or she will provide written notice to the Sec retary of Defense of the rationale for withdrawal and response to any objec tions to the withdrawal. If objections to the withdrawal remain, the with drawal will not become effective until the Secretary of Defense has had the opportunity to meet with the Sec retary within 30 days of the original notice from the Secretary proposing withdrawal. A final determination re garding whether authorization will be withdrawn will occur within 45 days of the original notice. (5) Any authorized take incidental to a military readiness activity subject to a proposed withdrawal of authorization will continue to be authorized by this regulation until the Secretary makes a final determination on the withdrawal. (6) The Secretary may, at his or her discretion, cancel a suspension or with drawal of authorization at any time. A suspension may be cancelled in the event new information is provided that the proposed activity would be compat ible with the migratory bird treaties. A proposed withdrawal may be cancelled if the Armed Forces modify the pro posed activity to alleviate significant adverse effects on the population of a migratory bird species or the cir cumstances in paragraphs (b)(2)(i) through (iii) of this section no longer exist. Cancellation of suspension or withdrawal of authorization becomes effective upon delivery of written no tice from the Secretary to the Depart ment of Defense. (7) The responsibilities of the Sec retary under paragraph (b) of this sec tion may be fulfilled by his/her VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00091 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 82 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.45 delegatee who must be an official nom inated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. [72 FR 8949, Feb. 28, 2007. Redesignated at 87 FR 881, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.45 Permit exceptions for captive reared mallard ducks. Captive-reared and properly marked mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos), alive or dead, or their eggs may be ac quired, possessed, sold, traded, do nated, transported, and disposed of by any person without a permit, subject to the following conditions, restric tions, and requirements: (a) Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit the taking of live mallard ducks or their eggs from the wild. (b) All mallard ducks possessed in captivity, without a permit, shall have been physically marked by at least one of the following methods prior to 6 weeks of age and all such ducks hatched, reared, and retained in cap tivity thereafter shall be so marked prior to reaching 6 weeks of age. (1) Removal of the hind toe from the right foot. (2) Pinioning of a wing: Provided, That this method shall be the removal of the metacarpal bones of one wing or a portion of the metacarpal bones which renders the bird permanently in capable of flight. (3) Banding of one metatarsus with a seamless metal band. (4) Tattooing of a readily discernible number or letter or combination there of on the web of one foot. (c) When so marked, such live birds may be disposed of to, or acquired from, any person and possessed and transferred in any number at any time or place: Provided, That all such birds shall be physically marked prior to sale or disposal regardless of whether or not they have attained 6 weeks of age. (d) When so marked, such live birds may be killed, in any number, at any time or place, by any means except shooting. Such birds may be killed by shooting only in accordance with all applicable hunting regulations gov erning the taking of mallard ducks from the wild: Provided, That such birds may be killed by shooting, in any number, at any time, within the con fines of any premises operated as a shooting preserve under State license, permit, or authorization; or they may be shot, in any number, at any time or place, by any person for bona fide dog training or field trial purposes: Pro vided further, That the provisions: (1) The hunting regulations (part 20 of this subchapter), with the exception of § 20.108 (Nontoxic shot zones), and (2) The Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act (duck stamp requirement) shall not apply to shooting preserve op erations as provided for in this para graph, or to bona fide dog training or field trial operations. (e) At all times during possession, transportation, and storage until the raw carcasses of such birds are finally processed immediately prior to cook ing, smoking, or canning, the marked foot or wing must remain attached to each carcass: Provided, That persons, who operate game farms or shooting preserves under a State license, permit, or authorization for such activities, may remove the marked foot or wing when either the number of his State li cense, permit, or authorization has first been legibly stamped in ink on the back of each carcass and on the con tainer in which each carcass is main tained, or each carcass is identified by a State band on leg or wing pursuant to requirements of his State license, per mit, or authorization. When properly marked, such carcasses may be dis posed of to, or acquired from, any per son and possessed and transported in any number at any time or place. [40 FR 28459, July 7, 1975, as amended at 46 FR 42680, Aug. 24, 1981; 54 FR 36798, Sept. 5, 1989. Redesignated and amended at 87 FR 881, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.47 [Reserved] § 21.48 Permit exceptions for captive bred migratory waterfowl other than mallard ducks. You may acquire captive-bred and properly marked migratory waterfowl (family Anatidae) of all species other than mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos), alive or dead, or their eggs, and possess and transport such birds or eggs and any progeny or eggs for your use without a permit, subject VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00092 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 83 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.63 to the following conditions and restric tions. Additional restrictions on the acquisition and transfer of muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata) are in para graph (g) of this section. (a) You may acquire live waterfowl or their eggs only from a holder of a valid waterfowl sale and disposal per mit in the United States. You also may lawfully acquire them outside of the United States with appropriate permits (see § 21.67 of subpart C of this part). (b) All progeny of captive-bred birds or eggs from captive-bred birds must be physically marked as set forth in § 21.45(b). (c) You may not transfer or dispose of captive-bred birds or their eggs, whether alive or dead, to any other person unless you have a waterfowl sale and disposal permit (see § 21.88 of subpart C of this part). (d) Lawfully possessed and properly marked birds may be killed, in any number, at any time or place, by any means except shooting. Such birds may be killed by shooting only in accord ance with all applicable hunting regu lations governing the taking of like species from the wild (see part 20 of this subchapter). (e) At all times during possession, transportation, and storage until the raw carcasses of such birds are finally processed immediately prior to cook ing, smoking, or canning, you must leave the marked foot or wing attached to each carcass, unless the carcass was marked as provided in § 21.88(b)(6) and the foot or wing was removed prior to your acquisition of the carcass. (f) If you acquire captive-bred water fowl or their eggs from a waterfowl sale and disposal permittee, you must retain the FWS Form 3–186, Notice of Transfer or Sale of Migratory Water fowl, from the permittee for as long as you have the birds, eggs, or progeny of them. (g) You may not acquire or possess live muscovy ducks, their carcasses or parts, or their eggs, except to raise them to be sold as food, and except that you may possess any live muscovy duck that you lawfully acquired prior to March 31, 2010. If you possess mus covy ducks on that date, you may not propagate them or sell or transfer them to anyone for any purpose, except to be used as food. You may not release them to the wild, sell them to be hunt ed or released to the wild, or transfer them to anyone to be hunted or re leased to the wild. (h) Dealers in meat and game, hotels, restaurants, and boarding houses may serve or sell to their customers the car cass of any bird acquired from a holder of a valid waterfowl sale and disposal permit. [75 FR 9320, Mar. 1, 2010. Redesignated and amended at 87 FR 881, Jan. 7, 2022] Subpart C—Specific Permit Provisions § 21.63 Taxidermist permits. (a) Permit requirement. A taxidermist permit is required before any person may perform taxidermy services on mi gratory birds or their parts, nests, or eggs for any person other than himself. (b) Application procedures. Submit ap plication for taxidermist permits to the appropriate Regional Director (At tention: Migratory bird permit office). You can find addresses for the Regional Directors in 50 CFR 2.2. Each applica tion must contain the general informa tion and certification required in § 13.12(a) of this subchapter, and the fol lowing additional information: (1) The address of premises where taxidermist services will be provided; (2) A statement of the applicant’s qualifications and experience as a taxi dermist; and (3) If a State permit is required by State law, a statement as to whether or not the applicant possesses such State permit, giving its number and ex piration date. (c) Permit authorizations. A permit au thorizes a taxidermist to: (1) Receive, transport, hold in cus tody or possession, mount or otherwise prepare, migratory birds, and their parts, nests, or eggs, and return them to another. (2) Sell properly marked, captive reared migratory waterfowl (family Anatidae) which they have lawfully ac quired and mounted. Such mounted birds may be placed on consignment for sale and may be possessed by such con signee for the purpose of sale. VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00093 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 84 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.67 (d) Additional permit conditions. In ad dition to the general conditions set forth in part 13 of this subchapter B, taxidermist permits shall be subject to the following conditions: (1) Permittees must keep accurate records of operations, on a calendar year basis, showing the names and ad dresses of persons from and to whom migratory birds or their parts, nests, or eggs were received or delivered, the number and species of such, and the dates of receipt and delivery. In addi tion to the other records required by this paragraph, the permittee must maintain in his files, the original of the completed Form 3–186, Notice of Transfer or Sale of Migratory Water fowl, confirming his acquisition of cap tive reared, properly marked migratory waterfowl from the holder of a current waterfowl sale and disposal permit. (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (c) of this section, the re ceipt, possession, and storage by a taxi dermist of any migratory game birds taken by another by hunting is not au thorized unless they are tagged as re quired by § 20.36 of this subchapter. The required tags may be removed during the taxidermy operations but must be retained by the taxidermist with the other records required to be kept and must be reattached to the mounted specimen after mounting. The tag must then remain attached until the mount ed specimen is delivered to the owner. (e) Term of permit. A taxidermist per mit issued or renewed under this part expires on the date designated on the face of the permit unless amended or revoked, but the term of the permit will not exceed five (5) years from the date of issuance or renewal. [39 FR 1178, Jan. 4, 1974, as amended at 54 FR 38151, Sept. 14, 1989; 63 FR 52637, Oct. 1, 1998; 70 FR 18320, Apr. 11, 2005. Redesignated and amended at 87 FR 881, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.67 Import and export permits. (a) Permit requirement. Except as pro vided in paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) of this section, you must have a permit to import or export migratory birds, their parts, nests, or eggs. You must meet the applicable permit requirements of the following parts of this subchapter B, even if the activity is exempt from a migratory bird import or export per mit: (1) 13 (General Permit Procedures); (2) 14 (Importation, Exportation, and Transportation of Wildlife); (3) 15 (Wild Bird Conservation Act); (4) 17 (Taking, Possession, Transpor tation, Sale, Purchase, Barter, Expor tation, and Importation of Wildlife and Plants); (5) 20 (Migratory Bird Hunting); (6) 21 (Migratory Bird Permits); (7) 22 (Eagle Permits); and (8) 23 (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)). (b) Exception to the import permit re quirements. If you comply with the re quirements of parts 14, 20, and 23 of this subchapter B, you do not need a migra tory bird permit to import or possess migratory birds in the families Anatidae, Columbidae, Gruidae, Rallidae, and Scolopacidae for personal use that were lawfully hunted by you in a foreign country. The birds may be carcasses, skins, or mounts. You must provide evidence that you lawfully took the bird or birds in, and exported them from, the country of origin. This evidence must include a hunting li cense and any export documentation required by the country of origin. You must keep these documents with the imported bird or birds permanently. (c) General exceptions to the export per mit requirements. You do not need a mi gratory bird export permit to: (1) Export live, captive-bred migra tory game birds (see § 20.11 of this part) to Canada or Mexico if they are marked by one of the following meth ods: (i) Removal of the hind toe from the right foot; (ii) Pinioning of a wing by removal of all or some of the metacarpal bones of one wing, which renders the bird per manently incapable of flight; (iii) Banding of one metatarsus with a seamless metal band; or (iv) A readily discernible tattoo of numbers and/or letters on the web of one foot. (2) Export live, lawfully-acquired, captive-bred raptors provided you hold a valid raptor propagation permit issued under § 21.85 and you obtain a CITES permit or certificate issued VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00094 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 85 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.67 under part 23 to do so. You must have full documentation of the lawful origin of each raptor, and each must be iden tifiable with a seamless band issued by the Service, including any raptor with an implanted microchip for identifica tion. (d) Falconry birds covered under a CITES ‘‘pet passport.’’ You do not need a migratory bird import or export per mit to temporarily export and subse quently import a raptor or raptors you lawfully possess for falconry to and from another country for use in fal conry when the following conditions are met: (1) You must meet applicable require ments in part 14 (Importation, Expor tation, and Transportation of Wildlife) of this subchapter B. (2) You may need one or more addi tional permits to take a bird from the United States or to return home with it (see 50 CFR part 15 (Wild Bird Con servation Act), part 17 (Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants), and part 23 (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora)). (3) Each raptor must be covered by a CITES certificate of ownership issued under part 23 of this chapter. You must have full documentation of the lawful origin of each raptor (a copy of a prop agation report with band number or a 3–186A report), and each must be iden tifiable with a seamless band or a per manent, nonreusable, numbered Fish and Wildlife Service leg band issued by the Service, including any raptor with an implanted microchip for identifica tion. We may exempt a raptor from banding because of health concerns, but you must provide proof of the ex emption from your falconry permitting authority. (4) You must bring any raptor that you export out of the country for fal conry under a CITES ‘‘pet passport’’ back to the United States when you re turn. (5) If the raptor dies or is lost, you are not required to bring it back, but you must report the loss immediately upon your return to the United States in the manner required by the falconry regulations of your State, and accord ing to any conditions on your CITES certificate. (e) Inspection of imported or exported migratory birds. All migratory birds im ported into, or exported from, the United States, and any associated doc umentation, may be inspected by the Service. You must comply with the im port and export regulations in Part 14 of this chapter. (f) Applying for a migratory bird import or export permit. You must apply to the appropriate Regional Director—Atten tion Migratory Bird Permit Office. You can find the address for your Regional Director in § 2.2 of subchapter A of this chapter. Your application package must include a completed application (form 3–200–6, or 3–200–7 if the import or export is associated with an applica tion for a scientific collecting permit), and a check or money order made pay able to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv ice in the amount of the application fee for permits issued under this section, as listed in § 13.11 of this chapter. (g) Criteria we will consider before issuing a permit. After we receive a com pleted import or export application, the Regional Director will decide whether to issue you a permit based on the general criteria of § 13.21 of this chapter, and whether you meet the fol lowing requirements: (1) You are at least 18 years of age; (2) The bird was lawfully acquired; and (3) The purpose of the import or ex port is consistent with the conserva tion of the species; and (4) For an import permit, whether you are authorized to lawfully possess the migratory bird after it is imported. (h) Are there standard conditions for the permit? Yes, standard conditions for your permit are set forth in part 13 of this subchapter B. You must also com ply with the regulations in part 14 (Im portation, Exportation, and Transpor tation of Wildlife). We may place addi tional requirements or restrictions on your permit as appropriate. (i) Term of a migratory bird import and export permit. Your migratory bird im port or export permit will be valid for not more than 5 years. It will expire on the date designated on its face unless it is amended or revoked. [73 FR 47097, Aug. 13, 2008, as amended at 73 FR 55451, Sept. 25, 2008. Redesignated and amended at 87 FR 881, Jan. 7, 2022] VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00095 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 86 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.70 § 21.70 Banding or marking permits. (a) Permit requirement. A banding or marking permit is required before any person may capture migratory birds for banding or marking purposes or use of ficial bands issued by the Service for banding or marking any migratory bird. (b) Application procedures. Applica tions for banding or marking permits shall be submitted by letter of applica tion addressed to the Bird Banding Laboratory, Office of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Laurel, Maryland 20708. Each such application shall contain the gen eral information and certification set forth by § 13.12(a) of this subchapter plus the following additional informa tion: (1) Species and numbers proposed to be banded or marked; (2) Purpose of banding or marking; (3) State or States in which author ization is requested; and (4) Name and address of the public, scientific, or educational institution to which any specimens will be donated that are salvaged pursuant to para graphs (c) (3) and (4) of this section. (c) Additional permit conditions. In ad dition to the general conditions set forth in part 13 of this subchapter B, banding or marking permits shall be subject to the following conditions: (1) The banding of migratory birds shall only be by official numbered leg bands issued by the Service. The use of any other band, clip, dye, or other method of marking is prohibited unless specifically authorized in the permit. (2) All traps or nets used to capture migratory birds for banding or mark ing purposes shall have attached there to a tag or label clearly showing the name and address of the permittee and his permit number, or the area in which such traps or nets are located must be posted with notice of banding operations posters (Forms available upon request from the Bird Banding Laboratory, U.S. Geological Survey, Laurel, MD 20708) which shall bear the name and address of the permittee and the number of his permit. (3) The holder of a banding or mark ing permit may salvage, for the pur pose of donating to a public scientific or educational institution, birds killed or found dead as a result of the permit tee’s normal banding operations, and casualties from other causes. All dead birds salvaged under authority of a mi gratory bird banding or marking per mit must be donated and transferred to a public scientific or educational insti tution at least every 6 months or with in 60 days of the time such permit ex pires or is revoked, unless the per mittee has been issued a special permit authorizing possession for a longer pe riod of time. (4) Permittees must keep accurate records of their operations and file re ports as set forth in the North Amer ican Bird Banding Manual, or supple ments thereto, in accordance with in structions contained therein. (d) Term of permit. A banding or marking permit issued or renewed under this part expires on the date des ignated on the face of the permit un less amended or revoked, but the term of the permit shall not exceed three (3) years from the date of issuance or re newal. [39 FR 1178, Jan. 4, 1974, as amended at 54 FR 38151, Sept. 14, 1989. Redesignated and amended at 87 FR 881, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.73 Scientific collecting permits. (a) Permit requirement. A scientific collecting permit is required before any person may take, transport, or possess migratory birds, their parts, nests, or eggs for scientific research or educational purposes. (b) Application procedures. Submit ap plications for scientific permits to the appropriate Regional Director (Atten tion: Migratory bird permit office). You can find addresses for the Regional Directors in 50 CFR 2.2. Each applica tion must contain the general informa tion and certification required in § 13.12(a) of this subchapter, and the fol lowing additional information: (1) Species and numbers of migratory birds or their parts, nests, or eggs to be taken or acquired when it is possible to determine same in advance; (2) Location or locations where such scientific collecting is proposed; (3) Statement of the purpose and jus tification for granting such a permit, including an outline of any research project involved; VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00096 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 87 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.76 (4) Name and address of the public, scientific, or educational institution to which all specimens ultimately will be donated; and (5) If a State permit is required by State law, a statement as to whether or not the applicant possesses such State permit, giving its number and ex piration date. (c) Additional permit conditions. In ad dition to the general conditions set forth in part 13 of this subchapter B, scientific collecting permits shall be subject to the following conditions: (1) All specimens taken and possessed under authority of a scientific col lecting permit must be donated and transferred to the public scientific, or educational institution designated in the permit application within 60 days following the date such permit expires or is revoked, unless the permittee has been issued a special purpose permit (See § 21.95) authorizing possession for a longer period of time. (2) Unless otherwise provided on the permit, all migratory game birds taken pursuant to a scientific collecting per mit during the open hunting season for such birds must be in conformance with part 20 of this subchapter; (3) Unless specifically stated on the permit, a scientific collecting permit does not authorize the taking of live migratory birds from the wild. (4) In addition to any reporting re quirement set forth in the permit, a re port of the scientific collecting activi ties conducted under authority of such permit shall be submitted to the issuing officer on or before January 10 of each calendar year following the year of issue unless a different date is stated in the permit. (d) Term of permit. A scientific col lecting permit issued or renewed under this part expires on the date designated on the face of the permit unless amend ed or revoked, but the term of the per mit shall not exceed three (3) years from the date of issuance or renewal. [39 FR 1178, Jan. 4, 1974, as amended at 54 FR 38151, Sept. 14, 1989; 63 FR 52637, Oct. 1, 1998. Redesignated and amended at 87 FR 881, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.76 Rehabilitation permits. (a) What is the permit requirement? Ex cept as provided in § 21.12, a rehabilita tion permit is required to take, tempo rarily possess, or transport any migra tory bird for rehabilitation purposes. However, any person who finds a sick, injured, or orphaned migratory bird may, without a permit, take possession of the bird in order to immediately transport it to a permitted rehabilitator. (b) What are the general permit provi sions? (1) The permit authorizes you to: (i) Take from the wild or receive from another person sick, injured, or orphaned migratory birds and to pos sess them and provide rehabilitative care for them for up to 180 days; (ii) Transport such birds to a suitable habitat for release, to another per mitted rehabilitator’s facilities, or to a veterinarian; (iii) Transfer, release, or euthanize such birds; (iv) Transfer or otherwise dispose of dead specimens; and (v) Receive, stabilize, and transfer within 48 hours types of migratory bird species not authorized by your permit, in cases of emergency. If a rehabilitator authorized to care for the bird is not available within that time frame, you must contact the issuing of fice for authorization to retain the bird until it can be transferred. (2) The permit does not authorize the use of migratory birds for educational purposes. (c) How do I apply for a migratory bird rehabilitation permit? You must apply to the appropriate Regional Director—At tention Migratory Bird Permit Office. You can find addresses for the appro priate Regional Directors in § 2.2 of subchapter A of this chapter. Your ap plication package must consist of the following: (1) A completed application (Form 3– 200–10b); (2) A copy of your State rehabilita tion permit, license, or other author ization, if one is required in your State; and (3) A check or money order made payable to the ‘‘U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’’ in the amount of the applica tion fee for permits issued under this section listed in § 13.11 of this chapter. VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00097 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 88 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.76 1 Copies may be obtained by contacting ei ther the National Wildlife Rehabilitators As sociation, https://nwrawildlife.org/; or the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Coun cil, https://theiwrc.org. (d) What criteria will the Service con sider before issuing a permit? (1) Upon re ceiving an application completed in ac cordance with paragraph (c) of this sec tion, the Regional Director will decide whether to issue you a permit based on the general criteria of § 13.21 of this chapter and whether you meet the fol lowing requirements: (i) You must be at least 18 years of age with at least 100 hours of hands-on experience, gained over the course of at least 1 whole year, rehabilitating the types of migratory birds you intend to rehabilitate (e.g., waterbirds, raptors), or comparable experience. Up to 20 hours of the 100-hour time requirement may be fulfilled by participation in mi gratory bird rehabilitation seminars and courses. (ii) Your facilities must be adequate to properly care for the type(s) of mi gratory bird species you intend to re habilitate, or you must have a working relationship with a person or organiza tion with such facilities. (iii) You must have an agreement with a licensed veterinarian to provide medical care for the birds you intend to rehabilitate, unless you are a li censed veterinarian. (iv) You must have a State permit, li cense, or other authorization to reha bilitate migratory birds if such author ization required by your State. (2) In issuing a permit, the Regional Director may place restrictions on the types of migratory bird species you are authorized to rehabilitate, based on your experience and facilities as well as on the specific physical require ments and behavioral traits of par ticular species. (e) What are the standard conditions for this permit? In addition to the gen eral permit conditions set forth in part 13 of this chapter, rehabilitation per mits are subject to the following condi tions: (1) Facilities. You must conduct the activities authorized by this permit in appropriate facilities that are approved and identified on the face of your per mit. In evaluating whether caging di mensions are adequate, the Service will use as a guideline the standards developed by the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association and the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council (Minimum Standards for Wildlife Rehabilitation, 2000). 1 The Regional Mi gratory Bird Permit Office will author ize variation from the standards where doing so is reasonable and necessary to accommodate a particular rehabilitator’s circumstances, unless a determination is made that such vari ation will jeopardize migratory birds. However, except as provided by para graph (f)(2)(i) of this section, all facili ties must adhere to the following cri teria: (i) Rehabilitation facilities for mi gratory birds must be secure and pro vide protection from predators, domes tic animals, undue human disturbance, sun, wind, and inclement weather. (ii) Caging must be made of a mate rial that will not entangle or cause in jury to the type of birds that will be housed within. (iii) Enclosures must be kept clean, well-ventilated, and hygienic. (iv) Birds must not be overcrowded, and must be provided enough perches, if applicable. (v) Birds must be housed only with compatible migratory bird species. (vi) Birds may not be displayed to the public unless you use video equipment, barriers, or other methods to reduce noise and exposure to humans to levels the birds would normally encounter in their habitat. You may not use any equipment for this purpose that causes stress or harm, or impedes the rehabili tation of any bird. (2) Dietary requirements. You must provide the birds in your care with a diet that is appropriate and nutrition ally approximates the natural diet con sumed by the species in the wild, with consideration for the age and health of the individual bird. (3) Subpermittees. Except as provided by paragraph (f)(2)(ii) of this section, anyone who will be performing activi ties that require permit authorization under paragraph (b)(1) of this section when you or a subpermittee are not present, including any individual who VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00098 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 89 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.76 transports birds to or from your facil ity on a regular basis, must either pos sess a Federal rehabilitation permit or be authorized as your subpermittee by being named in writing to your issuing Migratory Bird Permit Office. This does not apply to General Falconers or Master Falconers, who may assist with conditioning raptors for release with out being your subpermittee. If you have a falconer assist in conditioning a rehabilitated raptor for release, you must provide the falconer with a letter or form that identifies the bird and ex plains that the falconer is assisting in rehabilitation of the raptor. (i) Your subpermittees must be at least 18 years of age and possess suffi cient experience to tend the species in their care. (ii) Your subpermittees who are au thorized to care for migratory birds at a site other than your facility must have facilities adequate to house the species in their care, based on the cri teria of paragraph (e)(1) of this section. All such facilities except those of a fal coner assisting in conditioning raptors for release must be approved by the issuing office. (iii) As the primary permittee, you are legally responsible for ensuring that your subpermittees, staff, and vol unteers adhere to the terms of your permit when conducting migratory bird rehabilitation activities. (4) Disposition of birds under your care. (i) You must take every precaution to avoid imprinting or habituating birds in your care to humans. If a bird be comes imprinted to humans while under your care, you will be required to transfer the bird as directed by the issuing office. (ii) After a bird is rehabilitated to a condition suitable for release to the wild, you must release it to suitable habitat as soon as seasonal conditions allow, except that you may transfer a rehabilitated wild raptor to a holder of a State, tribal, or territorial falconry permit if the permit holder is author ized to hold the species for use in fal conry. The transfer may need the ap proval of your State, tribe, or terri tory. The falconer must complete a Form 3-186A reporting the transfer. (A) You may not retain migratory birds longer than 180 days without ad ditional authorization from your Re gional Migratory Bird Permit Office. If the appropriate season for release is outside the 180–day timeframe, you must seek authorization from your Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Mi gratory Bird Permit Office to possess the bird until the appropriate season. (B) Before releasing a threatened or endangered migratory bird, you must comply with any requirements for the release from your Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Migratory Bird Per mit Office. (iii) You must euthanize any bird that cannot feed itself, perch upright, or ambulate without inflicting addi tional injuries to itself where medical and/or rehabilitative care will not re verse such conditions. You must euthanize any bird that is completely blind, and any bird that has sustained injuries that would require amputation of a leg, a foot, or a wing at the elbow or above (humero-ulnar joint) rather than performing such surgery, unless: (A) A licensed veterinarian submits a written recommendation that the bird should be kept alive, including an anal ysis of why the bird is not expected to experience the injuries and/or ailments that typically occur in birds with these injuries and a commitment (from the veterinarian) to provide medical care for the bird for the duration of its life, including complete examinations at least once a year; (B) A placement is available for the bird with a person or facility author ized to possess it, where it will receive the veterinary care described in para graph (e)(4)(iii)(A) of this section; and (C) The issuing office specifically au thorizes continued possession, medical treatment, and rehabilitative care of the bird. (iv) You must obtain authorization from your issuing Migratory Bird Per mit Office before euthanizing endan gered and threatened migratory bird species. In rare cases, the Service may designate a disposition other than eu thanasia for those birds. If Service per sonnel are not available, you may euthanize endangered and threatened migratory birds without Service au thorization when prompt euthanasia is warranted by humane consideration for the welfare of the bird. VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00099 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 90 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.76 (v) You may place nonreleasable live birds that are suitable for use in edu cational programs, foster parenting, re search projects, or other permitted ac tivities with persons permitted or oth erwise authorized to possess such birds, with prior approval from your issuing Migratory Bird Permit Office. (vi)(A) You may donate dead birds and parts thereof, except threatened and endangered species, and bald and golden eagles, to persons authorized by permit to possess migratory bird speci mens or exempted from permit require ments under § 21.12. (B) You must obtain approval from your issuing office before disposing of or transferring any live or dead endan gered or threatened migratory bird specimen, parts, or feathers. (C) You must send all dead bald and golden eagles, and their parts and feathers to: National Eagle Repository, Building 128, Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Commerce City, CO 80022. If your State requires you to notify State wildlife of ficers of a dead bald or golden eagle be fore sending the eagle to the Reposi tory you must comply with State regu lations. States may assume temporary possession of the carcasses for purposes of necropsy. (D) Unless specifically required to do otherwise by the Service, you must promptly destroy all other dead speci mens by such means as are necessary to prevent any exposure of the speci mens to animals in the wild. (vii) With authorization from your issuing Migratory Bird Permit Office, you may hold a nonreleasable bird longer than 180 days for the purpose of fostering juveniles during their reha bilitation. You may also use birds you possess under an educational permit to foster juveniles. (viii) You may possess a reasonable number of feathers for imping pur poses, based on the numbers and spe cies of birds for which you regularly provide care. (ix) You may draw blood and take other medical samples for purposes of the diagnosis and recovery of birds under your care, or for transfer to au thorized facilities conducting research pertaining to a contagious disease or other public health hazard. (x) You may conduct necropsies on dead specimens in your possession, ex cept that you must obtain approval from your Regional Migratory Bird Permit Office before conducting necropsies on threatened or endangered species. (xi) This permit does not confer own ership of any migratory bird. All birds held under this permit remain under the stewardship of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (5) Notification to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (i) You must notify your issuing Migratory Bird Permit Of fice within 24 hours of acquiring a threatened or endangered migratory bird species, or bald or golden eagle, whether live or dead. You may be re quired to transfer these birds to an other facility designated by the Serv ice. (ii) You must immediately notify the local U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Law Enforcement Office if you have reason to believe a bird has been poisoned, electrocuted, shot, or other wise subjected to criminal activity. Contact information for your local Service Law Enforcement office is list ed on your permit, or you can obtain it on the Internet at http://offices.fws.gov. (iii) If the sickness, injury, or death of any bird is due or likely due to avian virus, or other contagious disease or public health hazard, you must notify and comply with the instructions given by the State or local authority that is responsible for tracking the suspected disease or hazard in your location, if that agency is currently collecting such information from the public. (6) You must maintain a working re lationship with a licensed veterinarian. If your working relationship with your original cooperating veterinarian is dissolved, you must establish an agree ment within 30 days with another li censed veterinarian to provide medical services to the birds in your care, and furnish a copy of this agreement to the issuing office. (7) Recordkeeping. You must maintain complete and accurate records of all migratory birds that you receive, in cluding for each bird the date received, type of injury or illness, disposition, and date of disposition. You must re tain these records for 5 years following VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00100 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 91 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.76 2 You can obtain copies of this document by writing to the Division of Environmental Review at the address provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b). the end of the calendar year covered by the records. (8) Annual report. You must submit an annual report that includes the in formation required by paragraph (e)(7) for the preceding calendar year to your issuing Migratory Bird Permit Office by the date required on your permit. You may complete FWS Form 3–202–4, or submit your annual report from a database you maintain, provided your report contains all, and only, the infor mation required by Form 3–202–4. (9) At the discretion of the Regional Director, we may stipulate on the face of your permit additional conditions compatible with the permit conditions set forth in this section, to place limits on numbers and/or types of birds you may possess under your permit, to stip ulate authorized location(s) for your rehabilitation activities, or otherwise specify permitted activities, based on your experience and facilities. (f) How does this permit apply to oil and hazardous waste spills? Prior to en tering the location of an oil or haz ardous material spill, you must obtain authorization from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Field Response Coordi nator or other designated Service rep resentative and obtain permission from the On-Scene Coordinator. All activi ties within the location of the spill are subject to the authority of the On Scene Coordinator. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for the disposition of all migratory birds, dead or alive. (1) Permit provisions in oil or hazardous material spills. (i) In addition to the re habilitation permit provisions set forth in paragraph (b) of this section, when under the authority of the designated U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rep resentative this permit further author izes you to temporarily possess healthy, unaffected birds for the pur pose of removing them from imminent danger. (ii) This permit does not authorize salvage of dead migratory birds. When dead migratory birds are discovered, a Service law enforcement officer must be notified immediately in order to co ordinate the handling and collection of evidence. Contact information for your local Service Law Enforcement office is listed on your permit and on the Internet at http://offices.fws.gov. The designated Service representative will have direct control and responsibility over all live migratory birds, and will coordinate the collection, storage, and handling of any dead migratory birds with the Service’s Division of Law En forcement. (iii) You must notify your issuing Mi gratory Bird Permit Office of any mi gratory birds in your possession within 24 hours of removing such birds from the area. (2) Conditions specific to oil and haz ardous waste spills—(i) Facilities. Facili ties used at the scene of oil or haz ardous waste spills may be temporary and/or mobile, and may provide less space and protection from noise and disturbance than facilities authorized under paragraph (e)(1) of this section. Such facilities should conform as close ly as possible with the facility speci fications contained in the Service pol icy titled Best Practices for Migratory Bird Care During Oil Spill Response.2 (ii) Subpermittees. In cases of oil and hazardous waste spills, persons who as sist with cleaning or treating migra tory birds at the on-scene facility will not be required to have a rehabilitation permit or be a subpermittee; however, volunteers must be trained in rescue protocol for migratory birds affected by oil and hazardous waste spills. A permit (or subpermittee designation) is required to perform extended rehabili tation of such birds, after initial clean ing and treating, at a subsequent loca tion. (g) Will I also need a permit from the State in which I live? If your State re quires a license, permit, or other au thorization to rehabilitate migratory birds, your Federal migratory bird re habilitation permit will not be valid if you do not also possess and adhere to the terms of the required State author ization, in addition to the Federal per mit. Nothing in this section prevents a State from making and enforcing laws or regulations consistent with this sec tion that are more restrictive or give further protection to migratory birds. VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00101 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 92 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.82 (h) How long is a migratory bird reha bilitation permit valid? Your rehabilita tion permit will expire on the date des ignated on the face of the permit un less amended or revoked. No rehabili tation permit will have a term exceed ing 5 years. [68 FR 61137, Oct. 27, 2003, as amended at 73 FR 59477, Oct. 8, 2008; 75 FR 29918, May 28, 2010; 79 FR 43965, July 29, 2014. Redesignated and amended at 87 FR 881, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.82 Falconry standards and fal conry permitting. (a) Background—(1) The legal basis for regulating falconry. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibits any person from taking, possessing, purchasing, bar tering, selling, or offering to purchase, barter, or sell, among other things, raptors (birds of prey) listed in § 10.13 of this subchapter unless the activities are allowed by Federal permit issued under this part and part 13 of this chap ter, or as permitted by regulations in this part. (i) This section covers all Falconiformes (vultures, kites, eagles, hawks, caracaras, and falcons) and all Strigiformes (owls) listed in § 10.13 of this subchapter (‘‘native’’ raptors), and applies to any person who possesses one or more wild-caught, captive-bred, or hybrid raptors protected under the MBTA to use in falconry. (ii) The Bald and Golden Eagle Pro tection Act (16 U.S.C. 668-668d, 54 Stat. 250) provides for the taking of golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) from the wild to use in falconry. It specifies that the only golden eagles that may be taken from the wild for falconry are those that would be taken because of depre dations on livestock or wildlife (16 U.S.C. 668a). (2) ‘‘Possession’’ and short-term han dling of a falconry raptor. We do not consider short-term handling, such as letting any other person hold or prac tice flying a raptor you possess under your permit, to be possession for the purposes of this section if you are present and the person is under your supervision. (3) Regulatory year for governing fal conry. For determining possession and take of raptors for falconry, a year is any 12–month period for take defined by the State, tribe, or territory. (b) Federal approval of State, tribal, and territorial falconry programs—(1) General. (i) A State (including the Dis trict of Columbia), tribe, or territory under the jurisdiction of the United States that wishes to allow falconry must establish laws and regulations (hereafter referred to as laws) that meet the standards established in this section. To allow the practice of fal conry on tribal lands by tribal mem bers or residents, a tribe may either certify that it has adopted Service-ap proved State laws if those laws are fully enforceable on tribal lands, or issue its own laws and request our ap proval. (ii) State, tribal, or territorial laws may be more restrictive than these Federal standards but may not be less restrictive. For instance, a State, tribe, or territory may choose not to allow possession of some species of raptors otherwise allowed in this sec tion. State, tribal, and territorial laws must be consistent with the terms con tained in any convention between the United States and any foreign country for the protection of raptors and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. (2) Reporting. (i) The State, tribe, or territory must work with us to ensure that the electronic 3–186A reporting system (https://epermits.fws.gov/falcp/) for reporting take, transfers, and loss of falconry birds is fully operational for residents of that jurisdiction. (ii) If you are required to submit a re port or other information under this section, you must either enter the re quired information in the electronic database at https://epermits.fws.gov/ falcp/, or at http://www.wildlife.ca.gov/ FalconryReporting if you are a resident of California, or submit a paper form 3– 186A to your State, tribal, or terri torial agency that governs falconry. (3) Federal approval and terms. If we concur that the regulations and the ex amination meet the requirements of this section, we will publish a rule in the FEDERAL REGISTER adding the State, tribe, or territory to the list of those approved for allowing the prac tice of falconry. We will terminate Federal falconry permitting in any State certified under these regulations on January 1st of the calendar year fol lowing publication of the rule. VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00102 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 93 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.82 (4) Review of a State, tribal, or terri torial falconry program. We may review the administration of an approved State’s, tribe’s, or territory’s falconry program if complaints from the public or law enforcement investigations indi cate the need for a review or for revi sions to the State’s, tribe’s, or terri tory’s laws, or falconry examination. The review may involve, but is not lim ited to: (i) Inspecting falconers’ facilities to ensure that the facilities standards in this section are met; (ii) Processing time of applications; (iii) Reviewing approved applications for completeness; (iv) Determining that permits issued are appropriate for the experience of the applicants; (v) Determining the adequacy of the State’s, tribe’s, or territory’s record keeping for the needs of State, tribal, or territorial and Federal law enforce ment; (vi) Reviewing laws to determine if they meet the requirements of this sec tion; and (vii) Reviewing a revised falconry ex amination to determine if it meets the requirements of this section. (5) Suspension of a State’s, tribe’s, or territory’s certification. (i) We may pro pose to suspend, and may suspend, the approval of a State, tribal, or terri torial falconry program in accordance with the procedures in paragraph (b)(5)(ii) of this section if we determine that the State, tribe, or territory has deficiencies in one or more items in paragraph (b)(4) of this section. (ii) When we propose to suspend ap proval of a State, tribal, or territorial falconry program, we will first provide written notice to the State, tribe, or territory. Any such notice will include the basis for our determination that suspension is warranted. We will iden tify the actions that would, if imple mented by the State, tribe, or terri tory, allow us to cancel the proposed suspension of approval. (iii) The State, tribe, or territory will have 2 years from the date of our noti fication to correct the deficiencies. The State, tribe, or territory must respond in writing within that time to the pro posed suspension, specifying the rea sons why the certification should not be suspended. We will give due consid eration to any objections and evidence raised by the State, tribe, or territory. (iv) If we continue to believe that suspension is warranted, we will pro vide written notice of suspension, in cluding the rationale for suspension, and respond to any objections to the suspension. (A) The suspension of approval of the State’s, tribe’s, or territory’s falconry program will be effective 180 days from the date of the Service’s final notifica tion of suspension. (B) The State, tribe, or territory must then inform all falconry appli cants and permittees of the impending cancellation of permitting. (v) We will honor all falconry permits in that jurisdiction for 2 years from the date of our final notification of suspen sion of certification. At the end of the 2 years, you must transfer all raptors (including captive-bred raptors) held under permits from the State, tribal, or territorial falconry program to other falconry permittees in other States or territories, or to Federal raptor propagation or education per mittees, institutions exempt from the Federal permit requirements, or per manently released to the wild (if it is allowed by the State, tribe, or terri tory and by this section), or euthanized. However, you may not per manently release hybrid raptors to the wild. (6) Appeal of a decision to suspend State, tribal, or territorial certification. The State, tribe, or territory may ap peal a decision to suspend certification to the Director within 180 days of the date of the Director’s decision. The Di rector will then respond to the State, tribe, or territory within 180 days of re ceipt of the appeal. The State, tribe, or territory certification will remain ef fective until the Director makes a final decision on the appeal. (7) Recertification of compliance with this section if a State’s, tribe’s, or terri tory’s falconry permitting authority has been suspended. If a State, tribe, or ter ritory has had its falconry permitting authority suspended but has corrected its problems, it must submit a request for approval of its permitting activi ties. We will then either recertify the program, or report in writing why we VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00103 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 94 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.82 do not believe that earlier permitting problems have been rectified. (8) Authority to suspend or revoke a fal conry permit issued by a State, tribe, or territory. Suspension or revocation of a falconry permit is the responsibility of the State, tribe, or territory. However, compliance with all provisions of these regulations remains under the purview of the Fish and Wildlife Service. (9) Standards in effect in your place of residence. If you live in any State ex cept Hawaii, you may practice falconry as permitted in these regulations if you have a falconry permit from your State, tribe, or territory. (c) Practicing falconry—(1) Permits and inspections to practice falconry. You must have a valid falconry permit from the State, tribe, or territory in which you reside (or the tribe on whose land you wish to practice falconry if you re side on tribal land or are a tribal mem ber), to take, possess, or transport raptors for falconry, or to hunt with them. Depending on the game you hunt as a falconer and where you hunt, you also may need a Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp (a ‘‘Duck Stamp’’), and State, tribal, or territorial hunting permits or stamps to hunt with a raptor. (i) Some State, tribal, territorial, or local governments may require you to have additional permits or licenses to practice falconry or to take a raptor from the wild. (ii) You must comply with all regula tions governing migratory bird permit ting. (iii) If you reside for more than 120 consecutive days in a State or terri tory or on tribal lands other than the location of your primary residence, your falconry facilities in the second location must meet the standards in paragraph (d) of this section and of the corresponding State, tribal, or terri torial lands, and your facilities must be listed on your falconry permit. (2) Classes of permit to practice fal conry. We recognize Apprentice, Gen eral, and Master Falconer levels. Each State, tribe, or territory may have any number of permit levels, but the stand ards for them must be at least as re strictive as these Federal standards. Your State, tribe, or territory may have more restrictive laws or regula tions governing falconry. (i) Requirements and possession op tions for an Apprentice Falconer. (A) You must be at least 12 years of age. (B) If you are under 18 years of age, a parent or legal guardian must sign your application and is legally respon sible for your activities. (C) You must have a letter from a Master Falconer or a General Falconer with a valid State, tribal, or territorial falconry permit who is at least 18 years old and has at least 2 years experience at the General Falconer level, stating that he or she will assist you, as nec essary, in: (1) Learning about the husbandry and training of raptors held for falconry; (2) Learning and about relevant wild life laws and regulations, and (3) Deciding what species of raptor is appropriate for you to possess while an Apprentice. (D) Regardless of the number of State, tribal, or territorial falconry permits you have, you may possess no more than one raptor for use in fal conry. (E) You may take raptors less than 1 year old, except nestlings, from the wild during any period or periods speci fied by the State, tribe, or territory. You may take any raptor species from the wild except a federally listed threatened or endangered species or the following species: Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Steller’s sea eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), swallow tailed kite (Elanoides forficatus), Swainson’s hawk (Buteo swainsoni), peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), flammulated owl (Psiloscops flammeolus), elf owl (Micrathene whitneyi), and short-eared owl (Asio flammeus). (F) You may possess a raptor of any Falconiform or Strigiform species, in cluding wild, captive-bred, or hybrid individuals, except a federally listed threatened or endangered species, a bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), a white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), a Steller’s sea-eagle (Haliaeetus pelagicus), or a golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00104 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 95 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.82 (G) You do not need to capture a wild raptor yourself; it can be transferred to you by another falconry permittee. (H) You may not possess a raptor taken from the wild as a nestling. (I) You may not possess a bird that is imprinted on humans. (J) Your raptor facilities must pass inspection by your State, tribe, or ter ritory before you may be granted a per mit. (ii) Requirements and possession op tions for a General Falconer. (A) You must be at least 16 years of age. (B) If you are 16 or 17 years of age, a parent or legal guardian must sign your application and must be legally responsible for your activities. (C) You must submit a document from a General Falconer or Master Fal coner (preferably your sponsor) to your State, tribal, or territorial wildlife agency stating that you have practiced falconry with raptor(s) at the Appren tice Falconer level or equivalent for at least 2 years, including maintaining, training, flying, and hunting the raptor(s) for least 4 months in each year. That practice may include cap ture and release of falconry raptors. (D) You may not substitute any fal conry school program or education to shorten the period of 2 years at the Ap prentice level. (E) You may take and possess any species of Falconiform or Strigiform except a golden eagle, a bald eagle, a white-tailed eagle, or a Steller’s sea eagle. You may use captive-bred indi viduals and hybrids of the species you are allowed to possess. (F) Regardless of the number of State, tribal, or territorial falconry permits you have, you may possess no more than 3 raptors. (iii) Requirements and possession op tions for a Master Falconer. (A) You must have practiced falconry with your own raptor(s) at the General Falconer level for at least 5 years. (B) You may take and possess any species of Falconiform or Strigiform except a bald eagle. However, you may take and possess a golden eagle, a white-tailed eagle, or a Steller’s sea eagle only if you meet the qualifica tions set forth under paragraph (c)(2)(iv). (C) You may possess any captive-bred individuals or hybrids of species your State, tribe, or territory allows you to possess for use in falconry. (D) Regardless of the number of State, tribal, or territorial falconry permits you have, you may possess no more than 5 wild raptors, including golden eagles. (E) You may possess any number of captive-bred raptors. However, you must train them in the pursuit of wild game and use them in hunting. (iv) If you meet the requirements in paragraph (c) of this section for fal conry you may possess up to 3 eagles of the following species: golden eagle, white-tailed eagle, or Steller’s sea eagle. (A) Your State, tribal, or territorial agency that regulates falconry must document the following before approv ing your request to possess an eagle to use in falconry: (1) Your experience in handling large raptors, including information about the species you have handled and the type and duration of the activity in which you gained the experience. (2) At least two letters of reference from people with experience handling and/or flying large raptors such as ea gles, ferruginous hawks, goshawks (Accipiter gentilis), or great horned owls (Bubo virginianus). Each must contain a concise history of the author’s experi ence with large raptors, which can in clude, but is not limited to, handling of raptors held by zoos, rehabilitating large raptors, or scientific studies in volving large raptors. Each letter must also assess your ability to care for ea gles and fly them in falconry. (B) A golden eagle, white-tailed eagle, or Steller’s sea-eagle you hold will count as one of the raptors you are allowed to possess for use in falconry. (3) Taking a test to qualify for a fal conry permit. Before you are issued an Apprentice permit you must correctly answer at least 80 percent of the ques tions on an examination administered by the State, tribe, or territory under which you wish to obtain a falconry permit. The examination must cover care and handling of falconry raptors, Federal, State or territorial, and tribal VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00105 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 96 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.82 (if applicable) laws and regulations rel evant to falconry, and other appro priate subject matter. Contact your State, tribal, or territorial agency that regulates falconry for information about permits and taking the test. (4) Reinstatement of a lapsed falconry permit if your State, tribe, or territory al lows it. (i) If your permit has lapsed for fewer than 5 years, it may be rein stated at the level you held previously if you have proof of your certification at that level. (ii) If your permit has lapsed for 5 years or longer, you must correctly an swer at least 80 percent of the ques tions on an examination administered by the State, tribe, or territory in which you wish to obtain a falconry permit. If you pass the exam, your per mit may be reinstated at the level you previously held. Your facilities must pass State, tribal, or territorial inspec tion before you may possess a falconry bird. (5) Permit to practice falconry at an ap propriate level if you have experience in falconry but are a new resident in the United States. You may qualify for the falconry permit appropriate for your experience. To demonstrate your knowledge of U.S. falconry laws and regulations, you must correctly answer at least 80 percent of the questions on the supervised examination for fal coners administered by the State, tribe, or territory under which you wish to obtain a falconry permit. If you pass the test, the State, tribe, or terri tory will decide for which level of fal conry permit you are qualified, con sistent with the class requirements in paragraph (c)(2) of this section. To do so, the State, tribe, or territory should base its decision on your documenta tion of your experience. Your falconry facilities must meet the standards in paragraph (d)(1) of this section before you may keep a raptor to use in fal conry. (6) Banding or tagging raptors used in falconry. (i) If you take a goshawk, Harris’s hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus), peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), or gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) from the wild or acquire one from another fal coner or a rehabilitator, and if the raptor is not already banded, you must band it with a permanent, nonreusable, numbered U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv ice leg band that your State, tribal, or territorial agency will supply. If you wish, you may purchase and implant an ISO (International Organization for Standardization)-compliant (134.2 kHz) microchip in addition to the band. You must report the band number when you report your acquisition of the bird. Contact your State, tribal, or terri torial agency for information on ob taining and disposing of bands. Within 10 days from the day on which you take the raptor from the wild, you must re port take of the bird by submitting the required information (including the band number) using one of the methods listed in paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this sec tion. You may request an appropriate band from your State, tribal, or terri torial agency in advance of any effort to capture a raptor. Your State, tribe, or territory may require that you band other species taken from the wild. (ii) A raptor bred in captivity must be banded with a seamless metal band (see § 21.85). If you must remove a seam less band or if it is lost, within 10 days from the day you remove or note the loss of the band, you must report it and request a replacement U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service nonreusable band from your State, tribe, or territory. You must submit the required information using one of the methods listed in para graph (b)(2)(ii) of this section. You must replace a seamless band that is removed or lost. You may implant an ISO-compliant (134.2 kHz) microchip in a falconry raptor in addition to the seamless band. (iii) If the band must be removed or is lost from a raptor in your posses sion, you must report the loss of the band within 5 days, and you must then do at least one of the following: (A) Request a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service nonreusable band from your State, tribal, or territorial agency that regulates falconry. You must submit the required information within 10 days of rebanding the raptor using one of the methods listed in paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section. (B) Purchase and implant an ISO compliant (134.2 kHz) microchip in the bird and report the microchip informa tion using one of the methods listed in paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section. VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00106 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 97 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.82 (iv) You must not alter, deface, or counterfeit a band. You may remove the rear tab on a band on a raptor you take from the wild, and you may smooth any imperfect surface if you do not affect the integrity of the band or the numbering on it. (v) If you document health or injury problems for a raptor you possess that are caused by the band, the State, tribe, or territory may provide an ex emption to the requirement for that raptor. In that case, you must keep a copy of the exemption paperwork with you when transporting or flying the raptor. If your bird is a wild goshawk, Harris’s hawk, peregrine falcon, or gyrfalcon, you must replace the band with an ISO-compliant microchip that we will supply to your State, tribe, or territory. We will not provide a microchip for a wild goshawk, Harris’s hawk, peregrine falcon, or gyrfalcon unless you have demonstrated that a band causes an injury or a health prob lem for the bird. (vi) You may not band a raptor re moved from the wild with a seamless numbered band. (7) Carrying your permit(s) when con ducting falconry activities. You must have your permit(s) or legible copies of them in your immediate possession if you are not at the location of your fal conry facilities and you are trapping, transporting, working with, or flying your falconry raptor(s). (8) Transporting a falconry raptor or raptors to other States or territories. If you have a valid falconry permit, you may possess and transport for falconry purposes a lawfully possessed raptor through other States or territories. However, any State, tribe, or territory may further regulate such transport. (d) Facilities and care requirements—(1) Facilities you must have and maintain. You must keep all raptors you hold under your falconry permit in humane and healthful conditions. (i) Whether they are indoors (a ‘‘mews’’) or outdoors (a ‘‘weathering area’’), your raptor facilities must pro tect raptors in them from the environ ment, predators, and domestic animals. You are responsible for the mainte nance and security (protection from predators) of raptors you possess under your permit. (ii) You must have raptor housing fa cilities approved by your State, tribe, or territory before you may obtain a bird to use in falconry. Your State, tribe, or territory may require that you have both indoor and outdoor fa cilities. A representative of your agen cy that regulates falconry, or its des ignee, must certify that your facilities and equipment meet the following standards: (A) For housing raptors indoors or outdoors, the facility must protect raptors from predators and domestic animals. (1) The facility must have a suitable perch for each raptor, at least one opening for sunlight, and must provide a healthy environment for raptors in side. (2) You may house untethered raptors together if they are compatible with each other. (3) Each raptor must have an area large enough to allow it to fly if it is untethered or, if tethered, to fully ex tend its wings or bate (attempt to fly while tethered) without damaging its feathers or contacting other raptors. (4) Each falconry bird must have ac cess to a pan of clean water unless weather conditions, the perch type used, or some other factor makes ac cess to a water pan unsafe for the raptor. (B) An indoor facility must be large enough to allow easy access for the care and feeding of raptors kept there. (1) If raptors you house in this indoor facility are not tethered, all walls that are not solid must be protected on the inside. Suitable materials may include vertical bars spaced narrower than the width of the body of the smallest raptor you house in the enclosure. However, heavy-duty netting or other such materials may be used to cover the walls or roof of the enclosure. (2) Acceptable indoor facilities in clude shelf perch enclosures where raptors are tethered side by side. Other innovative housing systems are accept able if they provide the enclosed raptors with protection and allow them to maintain healthy feathers. (3) An eyas raptor may be kept in any suitable container or enclosure until it is capable of flight. VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00107 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 98 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.82 (C) You may keep a falconry raptor or raptors inside your place of resi dence if you provide a suitable perch or perches. If you house your raptor(s) in side your home, you do not need to modify windows or other openings of the structure. Raptors kept in your home must be tethered when they are not being moved into or out of the lo cation in which they are kept. (D) An outdoor facility must be to tally enclosed, and may be made of heavy-gauge wire, heavy-duty plastic mesh, slats, pipe, wood, or other suit able material. (1) The facility must be covered and have at least a covered perch to protect a raptor held in it from predators and weather. (2) The facility must be large enough to insure that the birds cannot strike the enclosure when flying from the perch. (3) New types of housing facilities and/or husbandry practices may be used if they satisfy the requirements above and are approved by the State, tribal, or territorial authority regu lating falconry. (iii) You may keep falconry raptors outside in the open if they are under watch, such as by you or a family member at any location or, for exam ple, by a designated individual in a weathering yard at a falconry meet. (iv) You must inform your State, tribal, or territorial agency within 5 business days if you change the loca tion of your facilities. (2) Falconry facilities on property you do not own—(i) Your falconry facilities may be on property owned by another person where you reside, or at a dif ferent location. Regardless of location, the facilities must meet the standards in paragraph (d)(1) of this section and those of the State, tribe, or territory from which you have a falconry permit. (ii) You must submit to your State, tribal, or territorial agency that regu lates falconry a signed and dated state ment showing that you agree that the falconry facilities and raptors may be inspected without advance notice by State, tribal (if applicable), or terri torial authorities at any reasonable time of day, but you must be present. If your facilities are not on property that you own, you must submit a signed and dated statement showing that the property owner agrees that the falconry facilities and raptors may be inspected by State, tribal (if appli cable), or territorial authorities at any reasonable time of day in the presence of the property owner; except that the authorities may not enter the facilities or disturb the raptors unless you are present. (3) Equipment you must have and main tain. You must have jesses or the mate rials and equipment to make them, leash and swivel, bath container, and appropriate scales or balances for weighing raptor(s) you possess. (4) Facilities you must have for a raptor when you are transporting it, using it for hunting, or are away from your home with it. You must be sure that the bird has a suitable perch and is protected from extreme temperatures, wind, and excessive disturbance. A ‘‘giant hood’’ or similar container is acceptable for transporting or housing a raptor when you are away from the permanent fa cility where it is housed. (5) Temporarily housing a raptor out side of your permanent facilities when you are not transporting it or using it for hunting. You may house a raptor in temporary facilities for no more than 120 consecutive calendar days if the bird has a suitable perch and is pro tected from predators, domestic ani mals, extreme temperatures, wind, and excessive disturbance. (6) Care of falconry raptors by another falconry permittee. Another falconry permittee may care for a raptor or raptors for you at your facilities or at that person’s facilities for up to 120 consecutive calendar days. The other person must have a signed and dated statement from you authorizing the temporary possession, plus a copy of FWS form 3-186A that shows that you are the possessor of each of the raptors. The statement must include informa tion about the time period for which he or she will keep the raptor(s), and about what he or she is allowed to do with it or them. (i) Your raptor(s) will remain on your falconry permit, and will not be count ed against the possession limit of the person caring for your raptors. (ii) If the person caring for your raptor(s) holds the appropriate level VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00108 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 99 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.82 falconry permit, he or she may fly your raptor(s) in whatever way you author ize, including hunting. (iii) This care of your raptors may be extended indefinitely in extenuating circumstances, such as illness, military service, or for a family emergency. The State, tribe, or territory may consider such instances on a case-by-case basis. (7) Care of falconry raptors by someone who does not have a falconry permit. An other person may care for falconry birds you possess at your facilities for up to 45 consecutive calendar days. (i) The raptor(s) will remain on your falconry permit. (ii) The raptors must remain in your facilities. (iii) This care may be extended in definitely in extenuating cir cumstances, such as illness, military service, or for a family emergency. (iv) The person(s) caring for your raptors may not fly them for any rea son. (8) Residence part of the year in an other jurisdiction. (i) The State, tribe, or territory in which you live part-time may require that you obtain its fal conry permit. You must contact the State, tribal, or territorial agency that regulates falconry to determine wheth er you need a permit. (ii) If you live for more than 120 con secutive days in a State or territory or on tribal lands other than where you maintain your primary residence, your falconry facilities in the second State must meet the standards in this sec tion. (9) Inspections. Falconry equipment and records may be inspected in the presence of the permittee during busi ness hours on any day of the week by State, tribal, or territorial officials. (e) Taking, possessing, and transporting raptors for falconry—(1) Raptor species you may take from the wild to use for fal conry. (i) You may not intentionally capture a raptor species that your clas sification as a falconer does not allow you to possess for falconry. If you cap ture a bird you are not allowed to pos sess, you must release it immediately. (ii) On some tribal lands and in some States there may be State, tribal, or Federal restrictions on the take or use of these species, and you may need a tribal or State permit or permits to capture a bird. (iii) State, tribal, or territorial regu lations on take may be more restric tive than those in this section. (iv) Take of any species must be in compliance with these regulations. (v) If you are a Master Falconer and your State, tribe, or territory allows you to possess golden eagles, in any year you may take up to two golden eagles from the wild and only in a live stock depredation area during the time the depredation area and associated depredation permit or depredation con trol order are in effect. A livestock depredation area is declared by USDA Wildlife Services and permitted under § 22.100, or upon the request of a State governor and authorized by the Service Director pursuant to §§ 22.120 and 22.122. (2) How and when you may take raptors from the wild to use in falconry. You may take no more than two raptors from the wild each year to use in fal conry. (i) If you transfer a bird you take from the wild to another permittee in the same year in which you capture it, the bird will count as one of the raptors you are allowed to take from the wild that year; it will not count as a capture by the recipient, though it will always be considered a wild bird. (ii) If you are a General or Master Falconer, you may remove nestlings from a nest or aerie in accordance with tribal (if applicable), State, territorial, and Federal restrictions. (iii) You may not take raptors at any time or in any manner that violates any law of the State, tribe, or territory on whose land you are trapping. (iv) If you are responsible for report ing take of a raptor from the wild, use one of the methods listed in paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section. You must do this at your first opportunity to do so, but no later than 10 days after the cap ture of the bird. (v) If you are present at the capture site, even if another person captures the bird for you, you are considered the person who removes the bird from the wild. You are responsible for filing a 3 186A form reporting take of the bird from the wild. This would occur, for ex ample, if another person climbs a tree or rappells down a cliff and takes a VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00109 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 100 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.82 nestling for you and gives it to you at the tree or cliff. (vi) If you are not at the immediate location where the bird is taken from the wild, the person who removes the bird from the wild must be a General or Master Falconer, and must report take of the bird. If that person then trans fers the bird to you, you must both file 3-186A forms reporting the transaction at your first opportunity to do so, but no later than 10 days after the transfer. The bird will count as one of the two raptors the person who took it from the wild is allowed to capture in any year. The bird will not count as a bird you took from the wild. The person who takes the bird from the wild must report the take even if he or she promptly transfers the bird to you. (vii) If you have a long-term or per manent physical impairment that pre vents you from attending the capture of a species you can use for falconry, a General or Master Falconer may cap ture a bird for you. You are then re sponsible for filing a 3-186A form re porting take of the bird from the wild, and the bird will count against the take of wild raptors that you are al lowed in any year. (viii) You must promptly release any bird you capture unintentionally. (3) Other restrictions on taking raptors from the wild for falconry. (i) If you are a General or Master Falconer, you may take only raptors less than 1 year of age from the wild during any period or periods specified by the State, tribe, or territory. However, you may take an American kestrel or great horned owl of any age from the wild during any pe riod or periods specified by the State, tribe, or territory. (ii) If you are a Master Falconer au thorized to possess golden eagles for use in falconry, you may capture a golden eagle in a livestock or wildlife depredation area during the time the depredation area and associated depre dation permit or depredation control order are in effect. (A) You may capture an immature or subadult golden eagle. (B) You may take a nestling from its nest in a livestock depredation area if a biologist representing the agency re sponsible for declaring the depredation area has determined that the adult eagle is preying on livestock or wild life. (C) You may take a nesting adult golden eagle only if a biologist rep resenting the agency responsible for declaring the depredation area has de termined that the adult eagle is prey ing on livestock or wildlife and that any nestling of the adult will be taken by a falconer authorized to possess it or by the biologist and transferred to an individual authorized to possess it. (D) You must determine the loca tions of the livestock or wildlife depre dation areas declared by USDA Wildlife Services, or published in the FEDERAL REGISTER by the Service in response to a State governor’s request. We will not notify you about them. (E) Before you begin any trapping ac tivities, you must inform our regional Law Enforcement office of your cap ture plans. You must notify the office in person, in writing, or via facsimile or email at least 3 business days before you start trapping. You may send an email with your trapping plans to lawenforcement@fws.gov, or you may de liver your trapping plans in person or by mail to the Law Enforcement office in your region at the applicable street address provided at 50 CFR 2.2. Tele phone and fax numbers are as follows: Region Law enforcement of fice telephone number Law enforcement of fice fax number 1 ............... 503–231–6125 503–231–2193 2 ............... 505–248–7889 505–248–7899 3 ............... 612–713–5320 612–713–5283 4 ............... 404–679–7057 404–679–7065 5 ............... 413–253–8274 413–253–8459 6 ............... 303–236–7540 303–236–7901 7 ............... 907–786–3311 907–786–3313 8 ............... 916–414–6660 916–414–6715 (F) You also must meet all require ments of the State or territory in which you plan to trap, or the tribe on whose lands you plan to trap. (G) You must have permission from the landowner to capture an eagle; or if you wish to capture one on public land, the responsible agency must allow it. (iii) You may recapture a falconry bird you have lost at any time. We do not consider recapture of a wild bird to be taking a bird from the wild. (iv) You may recapture a raptor wearing falconry equipment or a cap tive-bred bird at any time - even if you are not allowed to possess the species. VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00110 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 101 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.82 The bird will not count against your possession limit, nor will its take from the wild count against your limit. You must report your recapture of the bird to your State, tribal, or territorial agency that regulates falconry no more than 5 working days after the recap ture. You must return a recaptured fal conry bird to the person who lost it, if that person may legally possess it. Dis position of a bird whose legal posses sion cannot be determined will be at the discretion of the State, tribe, or territory. (v) You may take any raptor that you are authorized to possess from the wild if the bird is banded with a Fed eral Bird Banding Laboratory alu minum band, except that you may not take a banded peregrine falcon from the wild. (A) If a raptor (including a peregrine falcon) you capture is marked with a seamless metal band, a transmitter, or any other item identifying it as a fal conry bird, you must report your cap ture of the bird to your State, tribal, or territorial agency that regulates fal conry no more than 5 working days after the capture. You must return a recaptured falconry bird to the person who lost it. If that person cannot pos sess the bird or does not wish to pos sess it, you may keep it. Otherwise, disposition of a bird whose legal posses sion cannot be determined will be at the discretion of the State, tribe, or territory. While you keep a bird for re turn to the person who lost it, the bird will not count against your possession limit or your limit on take of raptors from the wild if you have reported pos sessing the bird to your State, tribal, or territorial falconry permit office. (B) If you capture a peregrine falcon that has a research band (such as a col ored band with alphanumeric codes) or a research marking attached to it, you must immediately release the bird, ex cept that if the falcon has a trans mitter attached to it, you are author ized to possess the bird up to 30 days if you wish to contact the researcher to determine if he or she wishes to replace the transmitter or its batteries. If the researcher wishes to do so, or to have the transmitter removed, the re searcher or his or her designee can make the change or allow you to do so before you release the bird. If the re searcher does not wish to keep the transmitter on the falcon, you may keep the bird if you captured it in cir cumstances in which capture of wild peregrines is allowed. (C) If a raptor you capture has any other band, research marking, or trans mitter attached to it, you must promptly report the band numbers and all other relevant information to the Federal Bird Banding Laboratory at 1 800-327-2263. (1) You may contact the researcher and determine if he or she wishes to re place a transmitter attached to a bird you capture. If so, you are authorized to possess the bird up to 30 days until the researcher or his or her designee does so, or until you can replace it yourself. Disposition of the bird will be at the discretion of the researcher and your State, tribal, or territorial agency that regulates falconry. (2) If you possess such a bird tempo rarily, it will not count against your possession limit for falconry raptors. (vi) You must leave at least one young from any nest or aerie from which you take a nestling. (vii) If you are an Apprentice Fal coner, you may not take a nestling from the wild. (viii) If you are a Master Falconer with a permit to do so, you may take, transport, or possess up to three ea gles, including golden eagles, white tailed eagles, or Steller’s sea-eagles, subject to the requirements in para graph (c)(2)(iv) of this section and § 22.70 of this part. A golden eagle, white-tailed eagle, or Steller’s sea eagle you possess counts as a bird to be included under your possession limit. (ix) If you are a General or Master Falconer, you may take no more than one bird of a threatened species from the wild each year if the regulations in part 17 of this subchapter allow it and if you obtain a Federal endangered spe cies permit to do so before you take the bird. You also may need a State, tribal, or territorial endangered species permit to take a listed species. (4) Take of a species or subspecies that was recently removed from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wild life to use in falconry. We must first VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00111 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 102 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.82 publish a management plan for the spe cies. If take is allowed in the manage ment plan, you may do so in accord ance with the provisions for take in the plan. (5) Raptors injured due to falconer trap ping efforts. You have two options for dealing with a bird injured by your trapping efforts. In either case, you are responsible for the costs of care and re habilitation of the bird. (i) You may put the bird on your fal conry permit. You must report take of the bird using one of the methods list ed in paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section at your first opportunity to do so, but no more than 10 days after capture of the bird. You must then have the bird treated by a veterinarian or a per mitted wildlife rehabilitator. The bird will count against your possession limit. (ii) You may give the bird directly to a veterinarian, or a permitted wildlife rehabilitator, or an appropriate wild life agency employee. If you do so, it will not count against your allowed take or the number of raptors you may possess. (6) Acquisition, transfer, loss, or re banding of a raptor. (i) If you acquire a raptor; transfer, reband, or microchip a raptor; if a raptor you possess is stolen; if you lose a raptor to the wild and you do not recover it within 30 days; or if a bird you possess for falconry dies; you must report the change within 10 days using one of the methods listed in para graph (b)(2)(ii) of this section. (ii) If a raptor you possess is stolen, you must report the theft to your State, tribal, or territorial agency that regulates falconry and to your Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Law En forcement office (see paragraph (e)(3)(ii)(E) of this section) within 10 days of the theft of the bird. (iii) You must keep copies of all elec tronic database submissions docu menting take, transfer, loss, rebanding or microchipping of each falconry raptor until 5 years after you have transferred or lost the bird, or it has died. (7) Acquiring a bird for falconry from a permitted rehabilitator. You may acquire a raptor of any age of a species that you are permitted to possess directly from a rehabilitator. Transfer to you is at the discretion of the rehabilitator. (i) If you acquire a bird from a rehabilitator, within 10 days of the transaction you must report it using one of the methods listed in paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section. (ii) If you acquire a bird from a rehabilitator, it will count as one of the raptors you are allowed to take from the wild that year. (8) Flying a hybrid raptor in falconry. When flown free, a hybrid raptor must have attached at least two functioning radio transmitters to help you to lo cate the bird. (9) Releasing a falconry bird to the wild. You must follow all applicable State or territorial and Federal laws and regulations before releasing a fal conry bird to the wild. (i) If the raptor you wish to release is not native to the State or territory, or is a hybrid of any kind, you may not permanently release the bird to the wild. You may transfer it to another falconry permittee. (ii) If the species you wish to release is native to the State or territory and is captive-bred, you may not release the bird to the wild unless you have permission from the State, tribe, or territory to release the bird. If you are permitted to do so, you must hack the bird (allow it to adjust) to the wild at an appropriate time of year and an ap propriate location. You must remove its falconry band (if it has one) and re port release of the bird by submitting the required information using one of the methods listed in paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section. (iii) If the species you wish to release is native to the State and was taken from the wild, you may release the bird only at an appropriate time of year and an appropriate location. You must re move its falconry band and report re lease of the bird by submitting the re quired information using one of the methods listed in paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section. (10) Restrictions on transfers of falconry raptors from other falconers. We do not restrict the number of wild-caught or captive-bred raptors transferred to you, but you may not exceed your pos session limit. VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00112 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 103 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.82 (f) Additional information on the prac tice of falconry—(1) Raptors removed from the wild for falconry are always consid ered ‘‘wild’’ raptors. No matter how long such a bird is held in captivity or whether it is transferred to another permittee or permit type, it is always considered a ‘‘wild’’ bird. However, it is considered to be taken from the wild only by the person who originally cap tured it. We do not consider the raptor to be taken from the wild by any subse quent permittee to whom it is legally transferred. (2) ‘‘Hacking’’ of falconry raptors. Hacking (temporary release to the wild) is an approved method for fal coners to condition raptors for fal conry. If you are a General Falconer or a Master Falconer, you may hack a fal conry raptor or raptors. (i) You may need permission from your State, tribal, or territorial wild life agency to hack a bird you possess for falconry. Check with your State, tribal, or territorial agency that regu lates falconry to determine if hacking is allowed. (ii) Any bird you are hacking counts against your possession limit and must be a species you are authorized to pos sess. (iii) Any hybrid you hack must have two attached functioning radio trans mitters during hacking. (iv) You may not hack a falconry bird near a nesting area of a Federally threatened or endangered bird species or in any other location where the raptor is likely to harm a Federally listed threatened or endangered animal species that might be disturbed or taken by your falconry bird. You should contact your State or terri torial wildlife agency before hacking a falconry bird to ensure that this does not occur. You can contact the State Fish and Wildlife Service office in your State or territory for information on Federally-listed species. (3) Use of other falconry training or conditioning techniques. You may use other acceptable falconry practices, such as, but not limited to, the use of creance (tethered) flying, lures, bal loons, or kites in training or condi tioning falconry raptors. You also may fly falconry birds at bird species not protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act or at pen-raised animals. (4) Selling or trading raptors under a falconry permit. (i) If allowed by your State, tribe or territory, you may sell, purchase, or barter, or offer to sell, purchase, or barter captive-bred raptors marked with seamless bands to other permittees who are authorized to possess them. (ii) You may not purchase, sell, trade, or barter wild raptors. You may only transfer them. (5) Transfer of wild-caught raptors cap tured for falconry to another type of per mit. Under some circumstances you may transfer a raptor to another per mit type if the recipient of the bird (which could be you) possesses the nec essary permits for the other activity. (i) If your State, tribe, or territory allows you to do so, you may transfer a wild-caught falconry bird to a raptor propagation permit after the bird has been used in falconry for at least 2 years (1 year for a sharp-shinned hawk, a Cooper’s hawk, a merlin, or an Amer ican kestrel). When you transfer the bird, you must provide a copy of the 3 186A form documenting acquisition of the bird by the propagator to the Fed eral migratory bird permit office that administers the propagation permit. (ii) You may transfer a wild-caught bird to another permit type in less than 2 years (1 year for a sharp-shinned hawk, a Cooper’s hawk, a merlin, or an American kestrel) if the bird has been injured and a veterinarian or permitted wildlife rehabilitator has determined that the bird can no longer be flown for falconry. (A) Within 10 days of transferring the bird, you must provide a copy of the 3 186A form documenting acquisition of the bird to the Federal migratory bird permit office that administers the other permit type. (B) When you transfer the bird, you must provide a copy of the certifi cation from the veterinarian or rehabilitator that the bird is not use able in falconry to the Federal migra tory bird permits office that admin isters the other permit type. (6) Transfer of captive-bred falconry raptors to another type of permit. You may transfer captive-bred falconry VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00113 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 104 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.82 raptors if the holder of the other per mit type is authorized to possess the bird(s). Within 10 days, you must re port the transfer by submitting the re quired information using one of the methods listed in paragraph (b)(2)(ii) of this section. (7) Use of raptors held under a falconry permit in captive propagation. You may use raptors you possess for falconry in captive propagation if you or the per son overseeing the propagation has the necessary permit(s) (see § 21.85). You do not need to transfer a bird from your falconry permit if you use it for fewer than 8 months in a year in captive propagation, but you must do so if you permanently transfer the bird for prop agation. The bird must then be banded as required in § 21.85. (8) Use of falconry raptors in conserva tion education programs. If you are a General or Master Falconer, you may use a bird you possess in conservation education programs presented in public venues. (i) You do not need a Federal edu cation permit to conduct conservation education activities using a falconry raptor held under a State, tribal, or territorial falconry permit. (ii) You may present conservation programs as an Apprentice Falconer if you are under the supervision of a Gen eral or Master Falconer when you do so. (iii) You must use the bird primarily for falconry. (iv) You may charge a fee for presen tation of a conservation education pro gram. The fee may not exceed the amount required to recoup your costs. (v) In conservation education pro grams, you must provide information about the biology, ecological roles, and conservation needs of raptors and other migratory birds, although not all of these topics must be addressed in every presentation. You may not give presen tations that do not address falconry and conservation education. (vi) You are responsible for all liabil ity associated with conservation edu cation activities you undertake (see 50 CFR 13.50). (9) Other educational uses of falconry raptors. You may allow photography, filming, or other such uses of falconry raptors to make movies or other sources of information on the practice of falconry or on the biology, ecologi cal roles, and conservation needs of raptors and other migratory birds, though you may not be paid for doing so. (i) You may not use falconry raptors to make movies, commercials, or in other commercial ventures that are not related to falconry. (ii) You may not use falconry raptors for commercial entertainment; for ad vertisements; as a representation of any business, company, corporation, or other organization; or for promotion or endorsement of any products, merchan dise, goods, services, meetings, or fairs, with the following exceptions: (A) You may use a falconry raptor to promote or endorse a nonprofit fal conry organization or association. (B) You may use a falconry raptor to promote or endorse products or endeav ors related to falconry, including, but not limited to items such as hoods, te lemetry equipment, giant hoods, perch es, materials for raptor facilities, fal conry training and education mate rials, and scientific research and publi cation. (10) Assisting in rehabilitation of raptors to prepare them for release. If your State, tribe, or territory allows you to do so, and if you are a General or Master Falconer, you may assist a permitted migratory bird rehabilitator to condition raptors in preparation for their release to the wild. You may keep a bird you are helping to rehabilitate in your facilities. (i) The rehabilitator must provide you with a letter or form that identi fies the bird and explains that you are assisting in its rehabilitation. (ii) You do not need to meet the rehabilitator facility standards. You need only meet the facility standards in this section; your facilities are not subject to inspection for compliance with the standards in § 21.76. (iii) You do not have to add any raptor you possess for this purpose to your falconry permit; it will remain under the permit of the rehabilitator. (iv) You must return any such bird that cannot be permanently released to the wild to the rehabilitator for place ment within the 180–day timeframe in which the rehabilitator is authorized VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00114 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 105 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.82 to possess the bird, unless the issuing office authorizes you to retain the bird for longer than 180 days. (v) Upon coordination with the rehabilitator, you must release all releaseable raptors to the wild or re turn them to the rehabilitator for re lease within the 180–day timeframe in which the rehabilitator is authorized to possess the birds, unless the issuing office authorizes you to retain and con dition a bird for longer than 180 days, or unless the rehabilitator transfers the bird to you to hold under your fal conry permit. (11) Using a falconry bird in abatement activities. (i) If you are a Master Fal coner, you may conduct abatement ac tivities with a bird or birds you possess for falconry. If you are a General Fal coner, you may conduct abatement ac tivities only as a subpermittee of the holder of the abatement permit. (ii) You may receive payment for pro viding abatement services if you have a Special Purpose Abatement permit. (12) Feathers that a falconry bird or birds molts. (i) For imping (replacing a damaged feather with a molted feath er), you may possess tail feathers and primary and secondary wing feathers for each species of raptor you possess or previously held for as long as you have a valid falconry permit. You may receive feathers for imping from other permitted falconers, wildlife rehabilitators, or propagators in the United States, and you may give feath ers to them. You may not buy, sell, or barter such feathers. (ii) You may donate feathers from a falconry bird, except golden eagle feathers, to any person or institution with a valid permit to have them, or to anyone exempt from the permit re quirement under § 21.12. (iii) Except for primary or secondary flight feathers or retrices from a gold en eagle, you are not required to gath er feathers that are molted or other wise lost by a falconry bird. You may leave the feathers where they fall, store them for imping, or destroy them. However, you must collect molted flight feathers and retrices from a golden eagle. If you choose not to keep them for imping, you must send them to the National Eagle Re pository. (iv) We request that you send all feathers (including body feathers) that you collect from any falconry golden eagle and that you do not need for imping, to the National Eagle Reposi tory at the following address: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Eagle Repository, Rocky Mountain Arsenal, Building 128, Commerce City, Colorado 80022. The telephone number at the Re pository is 303-287-2110. (v) If your permit expires or is re voked, you must donate the feathers of any species of falconry raptor except a golden eagle to any person or any insti tution exempt from the permit require ment under § 21.12 or authorized by per mit to acquire and possess the feathers. If you do not donate the feathers, you must burn, bury, or otherwise destroy them. (13) Disposition of carcasses of falconry birds that die. (i) You must send the en tire body of a golden eagle you held for falconry, including all feathers, talons, and other parts, to the National Eagle Repository. (ii) You may donate the body or feathers of any other species of fal conry raptor to any person or institu tion exempt under § 21.12 or authorized by permit to acquire and possess such parts or feathers. (iii) If the bird was banded or micro chipped prior to its death, you may keep the body of any falconry raptor except that of a golden eagle. You may keep the body so that the feathers are available for imping, or you may have the body mounted by a taxidermist. You may use the mount in giving con servation education programs. If the bird was banded, you must leave the band on the body. If the bird has an im planted microchip, you must leave the microchip in place. (iv) If you do not wish to donate the bird body or feathers or keep it your self, you must burn, bury, or otherwise destroy it or them within 10 days of the death of the bird or after final exam ination by a veterinarian to determine cause of death. Carcasses of euthanized raptors could pose a risk of secondary poisoning of eagles and other scav engers. You must take appropriate pre cautions to avoid such poisonings. (v) If you do not donate the bird body or feathers or have the body mounted VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00115 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 106 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.82 by a taxidermist, you may possess the flight feathers for as long as you have a valid falconry permit. However, you may not buy, sell, or barter the feath ers. You must keep the paperwork doc umenting your acquisition of the bird. (14) Visitors practicing falconry in the United States. (i) A visitor to the United States may qualify for a temporary fal conry permit appropriate for his or her experience. (A) The permit may be valid for any period specified by the State, tribe, or territory. (B) To demonstrate knowledge of U.S. falconry laws and regulations, the visitor must correctly answer at least 80 percent of the questions on the su pervised examination for falconers ad ministered by the tribe, State, or terri tory from which he or she wishes to ob tain a temporary falconry permit. If the visitor passes the test, the tribe, State, or territory will decide for what level of temporary permit the person is qualified. The decision should be based on the individual’s documentation of his or her experience. (C) If you hold a temporary falconry permit, you may possess raptors for falconry if you have approved falconry facilities. (D) A holder of a temporary falconry permit may fly raptors held for fal conry by a permitted falconer. (E) A holder of a temporary falconry permit may not take a bird from the wild to use in falconry. (ii) For the duration of a permit from a State, tribe, or territory, a visitor may use any bird for falconry that he or she possess legally in his or her country of residence for that purpose, provided that import of that species to the United States is not prohibited, and provided that he or she has met all permitting requirements of his or her country of residence. (A) A visitor must comply with the provisions in this section, those of the State, tribe or territory where he or she wishes to conduct falconry, and all States through which he or she will travel with the bird. (B) The visitor may transport reg istered raptors. He or she may need one or more additional permits to bring a raptor into the United States or to re turn home with it (see 50 CFR part 14 (importation, exportation, and trans portation of wildlife), part 15 (Wild Bird Conservation Act), part 17 (endan gered and threatened species), part 21 (migratory bird import and export per mits), and part 23 (endangered species convention)). (C) Unless the visitor has the nec essary permit(s) to bring a raptor into the United States and leave it here, he or she must take raptors brought into the country for falconry out of the country when he or she leaves. If a raptor brought into the United States dies or is lost while in this country, the visitor must document the loss before leaving the United States by reporting the loss to the State, tribal, or terri torial agency that governs falconry where the bird was lost. (D) When flown free, any bird brought to this country temporarily must have two attached radio trans mitters that will allow the falconer to locate it. (E) There also may be tribal or State restrictions on nonresidents practicing falconry or importing a raptor or raptors held for falconry. (15) Taking falconry raptors to another country to use in falconry activities. A permit issued under this section au thorizes you to export and then import raptors you legally possess for falconry to another country to use in falconry without an additional migratory bird import/export permit issued under § 21.67. (i) You must meet any requirements in 50 CFR 14 subpart B. (ii) You may need one or more addi tional permits to take a bird from the United States or to return home with it (see 50 CFR part 15 (Wild Bird Con servation Act), part 17 (endangered and threatened species), and part 23 (endan gered species convention)). (iii) Unless you have the necessary permit(s) to permanently export a raptor from the United States, you must bring any raptor you take out of the country for falconry back to the United States when you return. Each raptor must be covered by a CITES cer tificate of ownership issued under part 23 of this chapter. You must have full documentation of the lawful origin of VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00116 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 107 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.82 each raptor (a copy of a propagation re port with band number or a 3-186A re port), and each must be identifiable with a seamless band or a permanent, nonreusable, numbered Fish and Wild life Service leg band issued by the Service or an implanted microchip for identification. (iv) If the raptor dies or is lost, you are not required to bring it back but must report the loss immediately upon your return to the United States in the manner required by the falconry regu lations of your State, and any condi tions on your CITES certificate. (16) Permission to capture, fly, or re lease a falconry bird at any location. You do not need special or written permis sion for any of these activities on pub lic lands if it is authorized. However, you must comply with all applicable Federal, State, tribal, or territorial laws regarding falconry activities, in cluding hunting. Your falconry permit does not authorize you to capture or release raptors or practice falconry on public lands if it is prohibited on those lands, or on private property, without permission from the landowner or cus todian. (17) Practicing falconry in the vicinity of a Federally listed threatened or endan gered animal species. In practicing fal conry you must ensure that your ac tivities do not cause the take of Feder ally listed threatened or endangered wildlife. ‘‘Take’’ under the Endangered Species Act means ‘‘to harass, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect or attempt to engage in any such conduct’’ (Endangered Species Act § 3(18)). Within this definition, ‘‘harass’’ means any act that may injure wildlife by disrupting normal behavior, includ ing breeding, feeding, or sheltering, and harm’’ means an act that actually kills or injures wildlife (50 CFR 17.3). To obtain information about threat ened or endangered species that may occur in your State or on tribal lands where you wish to practice falconry, contact your State, tribal, or terri torial agency that regulates falconry. You can contact your State Fish and Wildlife Service office for information on Federally-listed species. (18) Trapping a bird for use in falconry in areas used by the northern aplomado falcon. Capture of a northern aplomado falcon (Falco femoralis septentrionalis) is not authorized because it is a violation of the Endangered Species Act. To avoid trapping northern aplomado fal cons, you must comply with the fol lowing conditions when trapping a bird for use in falconry in the following counties. If you trap in You may trap a bird for falconry in the following counties if you comply with the conditions below. (i) Arizona, Cochise, Graham, Pima, Pinal, or Santa Cruz. (ii) New Mexico, Doa Ana, Eddy, Grant, Hidalgo, Lea, Luna, Otero, Sierra, or Socorro. (iii) Texas, Aransas, Brewster, Brooks, Calhoun, Cameron, Culberson, Duval, Ector, El Paso, Hidalgo, Hudspeth, Jackson, Jeff Davis, Kenedy, Kinney, Kleberg, Matagorda, Maverick, Midland, Nueces, Pecos, Presidio, Reeves, Refugio, San Patricio, Starr, Terrell, Val Verde, Victoria, Webb, Willacy, or Zapata. (iv) If you are an Apprentice Fal coner, you must be accompanied by a General or Master Falconer when trap ping in one of these counties. (v) You may not begin trapping if you observe a northern aplomado fal con in the vicinity of your intended trapping effort. (vi) You must suspend trapping if a northern aplomado falcon arrives in the vicinity of your trapping effort. (19) Prey item killed by a falconry bird without your intent, including an animal taken outside of a regular hunting season. (i) You may allow your falconry bird to feed on the animal, but you may not take the animal into your possession. (ii) You must report take of any fed erally listed threatened or endangered species to our Ecological Services Field Office for the location in which the take occurred. (20) Take of bird species for which a depredation order is in place. With a fal conry bird, you may take any species listed in § 21.150, § 21.153, or § 21.156 of VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00117 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 108 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.82 this subchapter at any time in accord ance with the conditions of the applica ble depredation order, as long as you are not paid for doing so. (21) Transfer of falconry raptors if a permittee dies. A surviving spouse, ex ecutor, administrator, or other legal representative of a deceased falconry permittee may transfer any bird held by the permittee to another authorized permittee within 90 days of the death of the falconry permittee. After 90 days, disposition of a bird held under the permit is at the discretion of the authority that issued it. (g) Applying for a falconry permit. If you apply for a falconry permit, you must include the following information plus any other information required by your State, tribe, or territory. (1) The completed application form from your State, tribal, or territorial agency that regulates falconry per mits. (2) Proof that you have passed the falconry test administered by the State, tribe, or territory where you maintain your legal residence, or proof that you have previously held a fal conry permit at the level you seek. (3) For an Apprentice permit, you must provide the following: (i) A letter from a General or Master Falconer stating that he or she has agreed to assist you in learning about the husbandry and training of raptors held for falconry and about relevant wildlife laws and regulations, and in deciding what species of raptor is ap propriate for you to possess while an Apprentice. (ii) An original, signed certification that you are particularly familiar with § 10.13 of this subchapter, the list of mi gratory bird species to which the Mi gratory Bird Treaty Act applies; part 13 of this subchapter, general permit regulations; part 21 of this subchapter, migratory bird permits; and part 22 of this subchapter, eagle permits. The certification can be incorporated into tribal and State application forms, and must be worded as follows: I certify that I have read and am familiar with the regulations in title 50, part 13, of the Code of Federal Regulations and the other ap plicable parts in subchapter B of chapter I of title 50, and that the information I have sub mitted is complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief. I understand that any false statement herein may subject me to the criminal penalties of 18 U.S.C. 1001. (4) For an Apprentice or General Fal conry permit, a parent or legal guard ian must co-sign your application if you are under 18. (5) For a General Falconer permit: (i) Information documenting your ex perience maintaining falconry raptors, including a summary of what species you held as an Apprentice Falconer and how long you possessed each bird, and (ii) A letter from a General Falconer or Master Falconer (preferably your sponsor) attesting that you have prac ticed falconry with raptor(s) at the Ap prentice Falconer level for at least 2 years, including maintaining, training, flying, and hunting the raptor(s) for at least 4 months in each year. (6) For a Master Falconer permit, you must attest that you have prac ticed falconry at the General Falconer level for at least 5 years. (h) Updating a falconry permit after a move. If you move to a new State or outside the jurisdiction of your tribe or territory and take falconry birds with you, within 30 days you must inform both your former State, tribe, or terri tory and the permitting authority for your new place of residence of your ad dress change. To obtain a new falconry permit, you must follow the permit ap plication procedures of the authority under which you wish to acquire a new permit. You may keep falconry birds you hold while you apply for a new fal conry permit. However, the State, tribe, or territory into which you move may place restrictions on your posses sion of falconry birds until you meet the residency requirements there. (i) Restoration of revoked permits. Upon request of the person whose permit has been revoked, the State, tribe, or terri tory may restore the person’s falconry permit at the end of the revocation pe riod. (j) Information collection requirements. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the information collection requirements contained in this section and assigned OMB Control Number 1018–0022. Federal agencies VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00118 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 109 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.85 may not conduct or sponsor, and a per son is not required to respond to, a col lection of information unless it dis plays a currently valid OMB control number. Direct comments regarding the burden estimate or any other as pect of the information collection to the Service’s Information Collection Clearance Officer at the address pro vided at 50 CFR 2.1(b). (k) Database required of States, tribes, and territories. Each State, tribe, or ter ritory that permits falconry must maintain information in a database. The information will enable enforce ment of this section. (1) The State, tribal, or territorial database must be compatible with the database that we maintain. The State, tribal, or territorial database must contain the following information: (i) The current address of each person with a falconry permit. (ii) The classification of each person with a falconry permit - Apprentice Falconer, General Falconer, or Master Falconer. (iii) The address of the falconry fa cilities of each person with a falconry permit. (iv) The Federal falconry identifier number assigned via the 3-186A system to each person with a falconry permit. (v) Whether each permittee is author ized to possess eagles. (vi) Information on the status of each person’s permit: whether it is active, suspended, or revoked. (2) Information on each permit grant ed, including changes in status from Apprentice Falconer to General Fal coner or General Falconer to Master Falconer, and moves of falconers or their facilities must be entered into the State’s, tribe’s, or territory’s data base within 30 days of the granting of the permit or a falconer’s change in status. New additions to the State, tribal, or territorial database must be forwarded to us monthly. [73 FR 59465, Oct. 8, 2008, as amended at 74 FR 64640, Dec. 8, 2009; 75 FR 931, Jan. 7, 2010; 75 FR 3395, Jan. 21, 2010; 75 FR 81141, Dec. 27, 2010; 76 FR 71912, Nov. 21, 2011; 77 FR 66408, Nov. 5, 2012; 78 FR 35152, June 12, 2013; 78 FR 72832, Dec. 4, 2013; 80 FR 38015, July 2, 2015. Redesignated and amended at 87 FR 881, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.85 Raptor propagation permits. (a) Legal basis for regulating raptor propagation. (1) Among other actions, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.) prohibits any per son from capturing from the wild, pos sessing, purchasing, bartering, selling, or offering to purchase, barter, or sell raptors (vultures, kites, eagles, hawks, caracaras, falcons, and owls) listed in § 10.13 of this chapter unless the activi ties are allowed by Federal permit issued pursuant to this part and part 13 of this chapter, or as permitted by reg ulations in this part. (i) This section covers all ‘‘native’’ raptors (accipitriformes, falconiformes, and strigiformes listed in § 10.13 of this chapter), and applies to any person who possesses one or more wild-caught, cap tive-bred, or hybrid raptors protected under the MBTA to use in raptor prop agation, except that neither bald ea gles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nor gold en eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) may be propagated under these regulations or any other permit regulation listed in part 21 of this chapter. (ii) You must have a Federal raptor propagation permit before you may capture from the wild, possess, trans port, import, purchase, barter, or offer to sell, purchase, or barter any raptor, raptor egg, or raptor semen for propa gation purposes. Your State may re quire that you also have a State per mit. (2) Other regulations, such as those for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the Wild Bird Con servation Act, and State regulations, may affect propagation-related activi ties. In cases in which more than one set of regulations affect raptor propa gation, the most restrictive require ments affecting the activity will apply. (b) Species available for raptor propaga tion. If you have a raptor propagation permit, you may attempt to propagate any species of raptor listed in § 10.13 of this chapter, with the following excep tions: (1) You may not propagate bald ea gles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) or golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) under a raptor propagation permit or any other permit regulation listed in part 21 of this chapter. VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00119 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 110 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.85 (2) If you are authorized by your Re gional Migratory Bird Permit office to do so, you may possess and attempt to propagate threatened or endangered raptor species. See paragraphs (f) and (u) of this section. (c) Facilities used for raptor propaga tion. In addition to the general condi tions found in part 13 of this chapter, raptor propagation permits are subject to the following additional conditions: (1) You must maintain any tethered raptor you possess under this permit in accordance with the facilities and standards requirements in § 21.82, un less you obtain a written exception to this requirement from your Regional Migratory Bird Permit Office. (2) For untethered raptors, your breeding facilities must be soundly constructed and entirely enclosed with wood, wire netting, or other suitable material that provides a safe, healthy environment. (i) Your facilities must minimize the risk of injury by providing protection from predators, pets, and extreme weather conditions. (ii) Your facilities must minimize the risk of raptor injuries due to collision with interior or perimeter construction materials and equipment, such as sup port poles, windows, wire netting, perches, or lights. (iii) Your facilities must have suit able perches and nesting sites, fresh air ventilation, a source of light, a well drained floor, and ready access for cleaning. Each bird must have access to a pan of clean water unless weather conditions, the perch type used, or some other factor makes access to a water pan unsafe for the raptor. (iv) You do not need to house your propagation raptors separately from other raptors you hold. However, you must keep raptors that you are not au thorized to propagate separated from those you use in propagation. (d) Inspection. In the presence of the permittee, Federal or State officials may inspect propagation raptors, fa cilities, equipment, and records during business hours on any day of the week. (e) Banding of raptors used for propa gation. —(1) Certain species. You must band a goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), Har ris’s hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus), per egrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), or gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus) that you take from the wild to use in captive propagation. (i) You must use a nonreusable band that we provide. (ii) You may purchase and implant an ISO (International Organization for Standardization)-compliant 134.2 kHz microchip in the raptor in addition to banding it. (iii) You must report the information on the raptor (including information identifying the microchip, if you im plant one, and where it is located) at https://epermits.fws.gov/falcp/ or by sub mitting a paper FWS Form 3–186A form to your State or tribal agency that governs propagation, if applicable, and to us. (2) Banding nestlings. Unless a par ticular nestling is specifically exempt ed, you must band every captive-bred raptor within 2 weeks of hatching. (i) You must use a numbered, seam less band that we will provide. (ii) You must use a band with an in side diameter that is small enough to prevent loss or removal of the band when the raptor is grown without caus ing serious injury to the raptor or dam aging the band’s integrity or one-piece construction. (iii) You may band a nestling with more than one band of different sizes if you cannot determine the proper size when you band the nestling. You must then remove and destroy all but the correctly sized band before the nestling is 5 weeks old. (iv) You may submit a letter request ing an exemption from the banding re quirement for any nestling or fledgling for which the band causes a problem. If you demonstrate that the band itself or the behavior of the raptor in response to the band poses a hazard to the raptor, we may exempt that raptor from the banding requirement. You must destroy the band after you re move it. (3) You may purchase and implant an ISO-compliant 134.2 kHz microchip in the raptor in addition to a band. You must report information to identify the microchip and where on the raptor the chip is implanted when you report your acquisition of the raptor. (4) If a captive-bred raptor is not banded with a seamless band, or if you VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00120 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 111 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.85 must remove the seamless band from a captive-bred raptor, you must band the bird with a nonreusable band that we provide. (f) Taking and transferring raptors or raptor eggs from the wild to use in propa gation. You may take no more than two raptors or raptor eggs from the wild each year to use in propagation. (1) The State must authorize you to take the raptor(s) or egg(s) from the wild. (2) You must comply with all State laws in taking raptor(s) or egg(s) from the wild. (3) You may take a raptor listed in § 17.11(h) of this chapter as ‘‘endan gered’’ or ‘‘threatened’’ from the wild only if you have a permit under part 17 of this chapter (See paragraph (u) of this section.). (4) You may transfer a raptor taken from the wild for propagation to any other person authorized to possess it, except that you must comply with the prohibitions in § 21.82 on a transfer to a falconer. (g) Transfer, purchase, sale, or barter of captive-bred raptors, eggs, or semen. (1) You may transfer, sell, or barter a law fully possessed captive-bred raptor to another person authorized to possess captive-bred raptors if the raptor is marked on the metatarsus by a seam less, numbered band that we provide. (2) You may transfer, sell, or barter a lawfully possessed raptor egg or raptor semen produced by a raptor held under your captive propagation permit (in cluding a raptor taken from the wild) to another raptor propagation per mittee. (3) You may not purchase, sell, or barter any raptor eggs or any raptors taken from the wild in the United States or its territories or possessions, any semen collected from a raptor in the wild in the United States or its ter ritories or possessions, or any raptor hatched from eggs taken from the wild in the United States or its territories or possessions. (h) Required paperwork. You must have a copy of a properly completed FWS Form 3–186A (Migratory Bird Ac quisition and Disposition Report) for each raptor you acquire or that is transferred to you. (1) You do not have to submit or have a copy of an FWS Form 3–186A for raptors you produce by captive propa gation if you keep the raptors in your possession under your propagation per mit. (2) If you sell, trade, barter, or trans fer a raptor held under your captive propagation permit, even if the trans fer is to a falconry permit you hold, you must complete an FWS Form 3– 186A and send it to us within 5 calendar days of the transfer. (i) Care of a propagation raptor by an other person— (1) Care of a propagation raptor by an other permittee. The regulations in this paragraph pertain to care of propaga tion raptors by persons other than the permittee. Another person who can le gally possess raptors may care for a propagation raptor for you for up to 120 calendar days. (i) The person must have a letter from you authorizing him or her to care for the birds, beginning on the date of your letter. (ii) The raptor will remain on your raptor propagation permit. If the per son who temporarily holds it for you is a falconer or a captive propagator, the raptor will not be counted against his or her possession limit on raptors held for falconry or propagation. However, the other person may not use the raptor in falconry or in propagation. (iii) If you wish to have someone else care for a propagation raptor for more than 120 days, or if you wish to let an other person use the raptor in falconry or captive propagation, you must transfer the raptor to that person and report the transfer by submitting a completed FWS Form 3–186A. (2) Care of a propagation raptor by an individual who does not have a propaga tion or falconry permit. Another person may care for propagation raptors you possess for up to 120 consecutive cal endar days. (i) The raptor(s) will remain on your propagation permit. (ii) The raptors must remain in your facilities. (iii) This care may be extended in definitely in extenuating cir cumstances, such as illness, military service, or for a family emergency. The VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00121 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 112 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.85 person(s) caring for your raptors may not fly them for any reason. (j) Care of nestlings by an individual who does not hold a migratory bird per mit. Another person may temporarily care for and band nestlings you hold from the time they are hatched until they are fully feathered. You may allow the other person to keep the nestlings at another location. You must give the individual a letter au thorizing him or her to care for the nestlings, beginning on the date of your letter. The care might be part of each day during the nestling period so that the nestlings can be fed, or it might be a series of full days if trans port to and from the breeding facility is not practical or needed. (k) Disposition of molted feathers from a live raptor or carcasses of raptors held under your permit. (1) You may donate the body or feathers of any species you possess under your propagation permit to any person or institution exempt under § 21.12 or authorized by permit to acquire and possess such parts or feath ers. (2) For any raptor you hold under your propagation permit, if the bird was banded or microchipped prior to its death, you may keep the body to have the feathers available for imping or to have the body mounted by a taxi dermist. You may use the mount in propagation activities or in giving con servation education programs. If the bird was banded, you must leave the band on the body. If the bird has an im planted microchip, the microchip must be placed inside the mounted bird. (3) If you do not wish to donate the bird body or feathers or keep it or them yourself, you must burn, bury, or otherwise destroy it or them within 10 days of the death of the bird or after final examination by a veterinarian to determine cause of death. Carcasses of euthanized raptors could pose a risk of secondary poisoning of eagles and other scavengers. You must take ap propriate precautions to avoid such poisonings. (4) If you do not donate the bird body or feathers or have the body mounted by a taxidermist, you may possess the flight feathers for as long as you have a valid raptor propagation or falconry permit. However, you may not buy, sell, or barter the feathers. You must keep the paperwork documenting your acquisition of the bird. (l) Raptor products. You may possess addled or blown eggs, nests, and feath ers from raptors held under permit, and may transfer any of these items to any other person authorized to possess them. (m) Release to the wild. You may re lease a captive-bred raptor to the wild if it is allowed by the State or terri tory in which you wish to release the raptor, except that you may not re lease a hybrid raptor to the wild. You must leave the captive-bred band on any raptor you release to the wild. (n) Conservation education programs. You may use a raptor you possess for raptor propagation in conservation education programs presented in public venues. (1) You do not need a Federal edu cation permit to conduct conservation education activities using a propaga tion raptor. (2) You must use the raptor primarily for propagation. (3) You may charge a fee for presen tation of a conservation education pro gram. The fee may not exceed the amount required to recoup your costs. (4) In conservation education pro grams, you must provide information about the biology, ecological roles, and conservation needs of raptors and other migratory birds, although not all of these topics must be addressed in every presentation. You may not give presen tations that do not address falconry and conservation education. (5) You are responsible for all liabil ity associated with conservation edu cation activities you undertake (see § 13.50 of this chapter). (o) Permit restrictions. With limited exceptions, you may use raptors held under your captive propagation permit only for propagation or keep them to transfer or sell. You must transfer a raptor used in captive propagation to a falconry permit before you or another person may use it in falconry. If you transfer a raptor used in captive propa gation to another permit, you and the recipient of the raptor (which might be you) must complete an FWS Form 3– 186A and report the transfer. You do not need to transfer a bird from your VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00122 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 113 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.85 falconry permit (if you hold one) if you use the bird for fewer than 8 months in a year in captive propagation, but you must do so if you permanently transfer the bird for propagation. The bird must then be banded as required in para graph (e). (p) Training propagation raptors. You may use falconry training or condi tioning practices such as, but not lim ited to, creance (tethered) flying, lures, balloons, or kites in training or condi tioning captive-bred progeny of raptors you hold under your permit. (1) Until the raptors are 1 year old, you may use captive-bred offspring in actual hunting as a means of training them. To do so, you will not need to transfer them to another permit type. You may not use them in hunting after their first year if they are held under your captive propagation permit. (2) Any hybrid raptor that you fly free must have at least two attached radio transmitters to help you to lo cate the bird. (3) You may not hunt at any time with raptors you use in propagation. (q) Hacking of propagation raptors. ‘‘Hacking’’ (temporary release to the wild) is an approved method to condi tion raptors. You may hack a raptor that you produce under your propaga tion permit. (1) You may need permission from your State or tribal wildlife agency to hack a raptor you possess under your propagation permit. Check with your State or tribal agency that regulates falconry to determine if hacking is al lowed. (2) Any hybrid you hack must have two attached functioning radio trans mitters during hacking. (3) You may not hack a raptor near a nesting area of a federally threatened or endangered bird species or in any other location where the raptor is like ly to harm a federally listed threatened or endangered animal species that might be disturbed or taken by your falconry raptor. You should contact your State or territorial wildlife agen cy before hacking a falconry raptor to ensure that this does not occur. Con tact the Fish and Wildlife Service of fice in your State or territory for infor mation on federally listed species. (r) Transfer of propagation raptors and offspring if a permittee dies. A surviving spouse, executor, administrator, or other legal representative of a deceased raptor propagation permittee may transfer any bird, eggs, or semen held by the deceased permittee to another authorized permittee within 90 days of the death of the falconry permittee. After 90 days, disposition of a bird held under the permit is at our discretion. (s) Records of captive propagation ef forts. You must maintain complete and accurate records of all operations, in cluding the following, for at least 5 years after the expiration of your per mit. However, you may want to retain your records for a longer time if you want to get another migratory bird permit, a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora permit, or a Wild Bird Conservation Act permit. (1) The acquisition of raptors, eggs, or semen you acquired from the wild or that were transferred to you. (i) What you acquired, and the spe cies, sex, age, and band number of each bird you acquired. (ii) Whether you acquired the raptor, egg, or semen from the wild or you pur chased it or it was transferred to you. (2) The disposition of raptors, eggs, or semen you sell or transfer to an other permittee. The information should include the band number of raptors you sell or transfer. (t) Annual report. You must submit a completed FWS Form 3–202–8 to your Regional Migratory Bird Permit office by January 31 each year for January 1 through December 31 of the preceding year. (u) Endangered or threatened species. If you wish to propagate endangered or threatened species, you must have at least 2 years of experience handling raptors in a propagation program or programs. You may also need an en dangered species permit to propagate threatened or endangered raptors. See §§ 17.21 and 17.22 of this chapter for per mit requirements to propagate threat ened or endangered raptors. (v) Applying for a Federal raptor prop agation permit. Using FWS Form 3–200– 12, you must submit your application for a raptor propagation permit to the appropriate Regional Director, to the VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00123 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 114 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.88 attention of the Migratory Bird Permit Office. You can find addresses for the Regional Directors in 50 CFR 2.2. Your application must contain the general information and the certification re quired in § 13.12(a) of this chapter, a copy of your State permit authorizing raptor propagation, if your State re quires one, and a description (including dimensions), drawings, and photo graphs of the facilities and equipment you will use. (w) Criteria for issuing a permit. When we receive a completed application, we will decide whether we should issue a permit to you. We will consider the general criteria in part 13 of this chap ter and the following factors: (1) You must be at least 18 years old and have at least 2 full years of experi ence handling raptors. (2) You must have a propagation per mit or other authorization for raptor propagation from your State or Tribe, if your State or Tribe requires it. (3) Your raptor propagation facilities must be adequate for the number and species of raptors to be held under your permit. (x) Updating a raptor propagation per mit after a move. If you move within your State or get a new mailing ad dress, you must notify us within 30 days (see § 13.23(c) of this chapter). If you move to a new State, within 30 days you must inform both your former and your new (if applicable) Mi gratory Bird Permit Offices of your ad dress change. If you have new propaga tion facilities, you must provide infor mation, pictures, and diagrams of them, and they may be inspected in ac cordance with Federal or State require ments. Thereafter, no mandatory in spections of the facilities will con tinue. (y) Permit expiration. Your Federal permit may be valid for up to 5 years from when it is issued or renewed. It will expire on the same day as your State permit, unless your State permit is for a period longer than 5 years, or unless we amend, suspend, or revoke it. [76 FR 29667, May 23, 2011. Redesignated and amended at 87 FR 881, 882, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.88 Waterfowl sale and disposal permits. (a) Permit requirement. You must have a waterfowl sale and disposal permit before you may lawfully sell, trade, do nate, or otherwise dispose of most spe cies of captive-reared and properly marked migratory waterfowl (family Anatidae) or their eggs. You do not need a permit to sell or dispose of prop erly marked captive-reared mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) or their eggs. (b) Permit conditions. In addition to the general conditions set forth in part 13 of this subchapter B, waterfowl sale and disposal permits are subject to the following conditions: (1) You may not take migratory wa terfowl or their eggs from the wild, un less take is provided for elsewhere in this subchapter. (2) You may not acquire migratory waterfowl or their eggs from any per son who does not have a valid water fowl propagation permit. (3) Before they are 6 weeks of age, all live captive migratory waterfowl pos sessed under authority of a valid wa terfowl sale and disposal permit must be physically marked as defined in § 21.45(b). (4) All offspring of birds hatched, reared, and retained in captivity also must be marked before they are 6 weeks of age in accordance with § 21.45(b), unless they are held in cap tivity at a public zoological park, or a public scientific or educational institu tion. (5) Properly marked captive-bred birds may be killed, in any number, at any time or place, by any means except shooting. They may be killed by shoot ing only in accordance with all the ap plicable hunting regulations governing the taking of like species from the wild. (6) At all times during possession, transportation, and storage, until the raw carcasses of such birds are finally processed immediately prior to cook ing, smoking, or canning, the marked foot or wing must remain attached to each carcass. However, if you have a State license, permit, or authorization that allows you to sell game, you may remove the marked foot or wing from the raw carcasses if the number of your VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00124 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 115 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.95 State license, permit, or authorization has been legibly stamped in ink on the back of each carcass and on the wrap ping or container in which each carcass is maintained, or if each carcass is identified by a State band on a leg or wing pursuant to requirements of your State license, permit, or authorization. (7) You may dispose of properly marked live or dead birds or their eggs (except muscovy ducks and their eggs) in any number at any time or place, or transfer them to any person, if the birds are physically marked prior to sale or disposal, regardless of whether or not they have attained 6 weeks of age. (8) You may propagate muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata) only for sale for food. (i) You may not release muscovy ducks to the wild or transfer them for release to the wild. (ii) You may not sell or transfer mus covy ducks to be killed by shooting. (9) If you transfer captive-bred birds or their eggs to another person, you must complete FWS Form 3–186, Notice of Transfer or Sale of Migratory Water fowl, and provide all information re quired on the form, plus the method or methods by which individual birds are marked as required by § 21.45(b). (i) Give the original of the completed form to the person acquiring the birds or eggs. (ii) Retain one copy in your files. (iii) Attach one copy to the shipping container for the birds or eggs, or in clude it with shipping documents that accompany the shipment. (iv) By the end of the month in which you complete the transfer, mail two copies to the Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Office that issued your per mit. (c) Reporting requirements. You must submit an annual report by January 10th of each year to the Fish and Wild life Service Regional Office that issued your permit. You must report the num ber of waterfowl of each species you possess on that date, and the method or methods by which each is marked. (d) Applying for a waterfowl propaga tion permit. Submit your application for a waterfowl sale and disposal permit to the appropriate Regional Director (At tention: Migratory Bird Permit Office). You can find addresses for the Regional Directors in 50 CFR 2.2. Your applica tion must contain the general informa tion and certification required in § 13.12(a) of subchapter A of this chap ter, and the following additional infor mation: (1) A description of the area where you will keep waterfowl in your posses sion; (2) The species and numbers of water fowl you possess and a statement show ing from whom the birds were ob tained; (3) A statement indicating the meth od by which birds you hold will be marked as required by the provisions of this part 21; and (4) The number and expiration of your State permit if you are required to have one. (e) Term of permit. A waterfowl sale and disposal permit issued or renewed under this part expires on the date des ignated on the face of the permit un less amended or revoked, but the term of the permit will not exceed five (5) years from the date of issuance or re newal. [75 FR 9320, Mar. 1, 2010. Redesignated and amended at 87 FR 881, 882, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.95 Special purpose permits. Permits may be issued for special purpose activities related to migratory birds, their parts, nests, or eggs, which are otherwise outside the scope of the standard form permits of this part. A special purpose permit for migratory bird related activities not otherwise provided for in this part may be issued to an applicant who submits a written application containing the general in formation and certification required by part 13 and makes a sufficient showing of benefit to the migratory bird re source, important research reasons, reasons of human concern for indi vidual birds, or other compelling jus tification. (a) Permit requirement. A special pur pose permit is required before any per son may lawfully take, salvage, other wise acquire, transport, or possess mi gratory birds, their parts, nests, or eggs for any purpose not covered by the standard form permits of this part. In addition, a special purpose permit is required before any person may sell, VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00125 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 116 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.100 purchase, or barter captive-bred, mi gratory game birds (see 50 CFR 20.11(a)), other than waterfowl, that are marked in compliance with § 21.45(b) of this part. (b) Application procedures. Submit ap plication for special purpose permits to the appropriate Regional Director (At tention: Migratory bird permit office). You can find addresses for the Regional Directors in 50 CFR 2.2. Each applica tion must contain the general informa tion and certification required in § 13.12(a) of this subchapter, and the fol lowing additional information: (1) A detailed statement describing the project or activity which requires issuance of a permit, purpose of such project or activity, and a delineation of the area in which it will be conducted. (Copies of supporting documents, re search proposals, and any necessary State permits should accompany the application); (2) Numbers and species of migratory birds involved where same can reason ably be determined in advance; and (3) Statement of disposition which will be made of migratory birds in volved in the permit activity. (c) Additional permit conditions. In ad dition to the general conditions set forth in part 13 of this subchapter B, special purpose permits shall be sub ject to the following conditions: (1) Permittees shall maintain ade quate records describing the conduct of the permitted activity, the numbers and species of migratory birds acquired and disposed of under the permit, and inventorying and identifying all migra tory birds held on December 31 of each calendar year. Records shall be main tained at the address listed on the per mit; shall be in, or reproducible in English; and shall be available for in spection by Service personnel during regular business hours. A permittee may be required by the conditions of the permit to file with the issuing of fice an annual report of operation. An nual reports, if required, shall be filed no later than January 31 of the cal endar year following the year for which the report is required. Reports, if re quired, shall describe permitted activi ties, numbers and species of migratory birds acquired and disposed of, and shall inventory and describe all migra tory birds possessed under the special purpose permit on December 31 of the reporting year. (2) Permittees shall make such other reports as may be requested by the issuing officer. (3) All live, captive-bred, migratory game birds possessed under authority of a valid special purpose permit shall be physically marked as defined in § 21.45(b) of this part. (4) No captive-bred migratory game bird may be sold or bartered unless marked in accordance with § 21.45(b) of this part. (5) No permittee may take, purchase, receive or otherwise acquire, sell, bar ter, transfer, or otherwise dispose of any captive-bred migratory game bird unless such permittee submits a Serv ice form 3–186A (Migratory Bird Acqui sition/Disposition Report), completed in accordance with the instructions on the form, to the issuing office within five (5) days of such transaction. (6) No permittee, who is authorized to sell or barter migratory game birds pursuant to a permit issued under this section, may sell or barter such birds to any person unless that person is au thorized to purchase and possess such migratory game birds under a permit issued pursuant to this part and part 13, or as permitted by regulations in this part. (d) Term of permit. A special purpose permit issued or renewed under this part expires on the date designated on the face of the permit unless amended or revoked, but the term of the permit shall not exceed three (3) years from the date of issuance or renewal. [39 FR 1178, Jan. 4, 1974, as amended at 54 FR 38152, Sept. 14, 1989; 63 FR 52637, Oct. 1, 1998. Redesignated and amended at 87 FR 881, 882, Jan. 7, 2022] Subpart D—Provisions for Dep redating, Overabundant, or Otherwise Injurious Birds § 21.100 Depredation permits. (a) Permit requirement. Except as pro vided in §§ 21.150, 21.153, and 21.156, a depredation permit is required before any person may take, possess, or trans port migratory birds for depredation control purposes. No permit is required merely to scare or herd depredating VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00126 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 117 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.120 migratory birds other than endangered or threatened species or bald or golden eagles. (b) Application procedures. Submit ap plication for depredation permits to the appropriate Regional Director (At tention: Migratory bird permit office). You can find addresses for the Regional Directors in 50 CFR 2.2. Each applica tion must contain the general informa tion and certification required in § 13.12(a) of this subchapter, and the fol lowing additional information: (1) A description of the area where depredations are occurring; (2) The nature of the crops or other interests being injured; (3) The extent of such injury; and (4) The particular species of migra tory birds committing the injury. (c) Additional permit conditions. In ad dition to the general conditions set forth in part 13 of this subchapter B, depredation permits shall be subject to requires, in this section: (1) Permittees may not kill migra tory birds unless specifically author ized on the permit. (2) Unless otherwise specifically au thorized, when permittees are author ized to kill migratory birds they may do so only with a shotgun not larger than No. 10 gauge fired from the shoul der, and only on or over the threatened area or area described on the permit. (3) Permittees may not use blinds, pits, or other means of concealment, decoys, duck calls, or other devices to lure or entice birds within gun range. (4) All migratory birds killed shall be retrieved by the permittee and turned over to a Bureau representative or his designee for disposition to charitable or other worthy institutions for use as food, or otherwise disposed of as pro vided by law. (5) Only persons named on the permit are authorized to act as agents of the permittee under authority of the per mit. (d) Tenure of permits. The tenure of depredation permits shall be limited to the dates which appear on its face, but in no case shall be longer than one year. [39 FR 1178, Jan. 4, 1974, as amended at 42 FR 17122, Mar. 31, 1977; 63 FR 52637, Oct. 1, 1998; 80 FR 15691, Mar. 25, 2015. Redesignated and amended at 87 FR 882, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.120 Special Canada goose permit. (a) What is the special Canada goose permit and what is its purpose? The spe cial Canada goose permit is a permit issued by us to a State wildlife agency authorizing certain resident Canada goose (Branta canadensis) management and control activities that are nor mally prohibited. We will only issue such a permit when it will contribute to human health and safety, protect personal property, or allow resolution or prevention of injury to people or property. The management and control activities conducted under the permit are intended to relieve or prevent inju rious situations only. No person should construe the permit as opening, re opening, or extending any hunting sea son contrary to any regulations estab lished under Section 3 of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. (b) Who may receive a permit? Only State wildlife agencies (State) are eli gible to receive a permit to undertake the various goose management and control activities. Additionally, only employees or designated agents of a permitted State wildlife agency may undertake activities for injurious resi dent Canada geese in accordance with the conditions specified in the permit, conditions contained in 50 CFR part 13, and conditions specified in paragraph (d) of this section. (c) How does a State apply for a permit? Any State wildlife agency wishing to obtain a permit must submit an appli cation (Form 3–200–6) to the appro priate Regional Director (see § 13.11(b) of this subchapter) containing the gen eral information and certification re quired by § 13.12(a) of this subchapter plus the following information: (1) A detailed statement showing that the goose management and con trol activities will either provide for human health and safety, protect per sonal property, or allow resolution of other injury to people or property; (2) An estimate of the size of the resi dent Canada goose breeding population in the State; (3) The requested annual take of resi dent Canada geese, including eggs and nests; VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00127 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 118 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.120 (4) A statement indicating that the State will inform and brief all employ ees and designated agents of the re quirements of these regulations and permit conditions. (d) What are the conditions of the per mit? The special Canada goose permits are subject to the general conditions in 50 CFR part 13, the conditions else where in this section, and, unless oth erwise specifically authorized on the permit, the conditions outlined below: (1) What are the limitations on manage ment and control activities? (i) Take of resident Canada geese as a manage ment tool under this section may not exceed the number authorized by the permit. States should utilize non-lethal goose management tools to the extent they deem appropriate in an effort to minimize lethal take. (ii) Methods of take for the control of injurious resident Canada geese are at the State’s discretion. Methods in clude, but are not limited to, firearms, alpha-chloralose, traps, egg and nest manipulation and other damage con trol techniques consistent with accept ed wildlife damage-management pro grams. (2) When may a State conduct manage ment and control activities? States and their employees and agents may con duct egg and nest manipulation activi ties at any time of year. Other manage ment and control activities, including the take of resident Canada geese, under this section may only be con ducted between March 11 and August 31. (3) How must the States dispose or uti lize geese taken under this permit? States and their employees and agents may possess, transport, and otherwise dis pose of Canada geese taken under this section. States must utilize such birds by donation to public museums or pub lic institutions for scientific or edu cational purposes, by processing them for human consumption and distrib uting them free of charge to charitable organizations, or by burying or incin erating them. States, their employees, and designated agents may not sell, offer for sale, barter, or ship for the purpose of sale or barter any Canada geese taken under this section, nor their plumage or eggs. (4) How does the permit relate to exist ing State law? No person conducting management and control activities under this section should construe the permit to authorize the killing of inju rious resident Canada geese contrary to any State law or regulation, nor on any Federal land without specific au thorization by the responsible manage ment agency. No person may exercise the privileges granted under this sec tion unless they possess any permits required for such activities by any State or Federal land manager. (5) When conducting management and control activities, are there any special in spection requirements? Any State em ployee or designated agent authorized to carry out management and control activities must have a copy of the per mit and designation in their possession when carrying out any activities. The State must also require the property owner or occupant on whose premises the State is conducting activities to allow, at all reasonable times, includ ing during actual operations, free and unrestricted access to any Service spe cial agent or refuge officer, State wild life or deputy wildlife agent, warden, protector, or other wildlife law en forcement officer (wildlife officer) on the premises where they are, or were, conducting activities. Furthermore, any State employee or designated agent conducting such activities must promptly furnish whatever information is required concerning such activities to any such wildlife officer. (6) What are the reporting requirements of the permit? Any State employee or designated agent exercising the privi leges granted by this section must keep records of all activities carried out under the authority of this permit, in cluding the number of Canada geese killed and their disposition. The State must submit an annual report detailing activities, including the time, numbers and location of birds, eggs, and nests taken and non-lethal techniques uti lized, before December 31 of each year. The State should submit the annual re port to the appropriate Assistant Re gional Director—Refuges and Wildlife (see § 10.22 of this subchapter). (7) What are the limitations of the spe cial permit? The following limitations apply: VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00128 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 119 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.123 (i) Nothing in this section applies to any Federal land within a State’s boundaries without written permission of the Federal Agency with jurisdic tion. (ii) States may not undertake any ac tions under any permit issued under this section if the activities adversely affect other migratory birds or species designated as endangered or threatened under the authority of the Endangered Species Act. (iii) We will only issue permits to State wildlife agencies in the conterminous United States. (iv) States may designate agents who must operate under the conditions of the permit. (v) How long is the special permit valid? A special Canada goose permit issued or renewed under this section expires on the date designated on the face of the permit unless it is amended or re voked or such time that we determine that the State’s population of resident Canada geese no longer poses a threat to human health or safety, personal property, or injury to other interests. In all cases, the term of the permit may not exceed five (5) years from the date of issuance or renewal. (vi) Can we revoke the special permit? We reserve the right to suspend or re voke any permit, as specified in §§ 13.27 and 13.28 of this subchapter. (e) Information collection requirements. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the information collection requirements of the permit and assigned OMB Control Number 1018–0022. Federal agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a cur rently valid OMB control number. Di rect comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of the in formation collection to the Service’s Information Collection Clearance Offi cer at the address provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b). [64 FR 32774, June 17, 1999, as amended at 79 FR 43965, July 29, 2014; 84 FR 28773, June 20, 2019. Redesignated and amended at 87 FR 881, 882, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.123 Special double-crested cor morant permit. (a) What is the special double-crested cormorant permit, and what is its pur pose? The special double-crested cor morant (Nannopterum auritum) permit is a permit issued by the Service to State or Tribal fish and wildlife agen cies that authorizes specific take ac tivities that are normally prohibited and are intended to relieve or prevent impacts from cormorants on lands or in waters managed by those agencies and within those agencies’ jurisdiction. We will issue such a permit only when we determine that an application sub mitted by a State or Tribal fish and wildlife agency meets the requirements set forth in paragraph (c) of this sec tion. The take activities conducted under the permit are intended to re duce or prevent conflicts associated with cormorants for the following con cerns: (1) Depredation of fish at State- and Tribal-owned or operated aquaculture facilities, including hatcheries; (2) Realized and potential impacts to human health and safety (e.g., colli sions of airplanes with birds, fecal con tamination of urban wetlands); (3) Impacts to threatened and endan gered species (species listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and species identified in State- or Tribal specific legislation as threatened or en dangered) or those listed as Species of Greatest Conservation Need in State Wildlife Action Plans, where take ac tivities to prevent depredation on aquatic Species of Greatest Conserva tion Need may occur only in natural or public waters; (4) Damage to State- or Tribal-owned property and assets; and (5) Depredation of wild and publicly stocked fish managed by State fish and wildlife agencies or federally recog nized Tribes and accessible to the pub lic or all Tribal members. (b) Who may receive a permit? Only State and Tribal fish and wildlife agen cies are eligible to receive a permit to undertake management and take ac tivities. Additionally, only employees or subpermittees of a permitted State or Tribal fish and wildlife agency des ignated on the permit application may VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00129 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 120 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.123 undertake activities for double-crested cormorants in accordance with the conditions specified in the permit, con ditions specified in 50 CFR part 13, other requirements set forth in this section, and conditions specified in paragraph (d) of this section. (c) How does a State or Tribe apply for a permit? Any State or federally recog nized Tribal fish and wildlife agency wishing to obtain a permit must sub mit an application (FWS Form 3–200– 90) to the appropriate Regional Direc tor (see § 13.11(b) of this subchapter) containing the general information and certification required by § 13.12(a) of this subchapter plus the following in formation: (1) A description of your State’s or Tribe’s double-crested cormorant con flicts, including physical location(s) and type of conflict specified in para graph (a) of this section; (2) A detailed description of the non lethal methods (i.e., active hazing, pas sive hazing, habitat management, and changes in management practices) you have and/or will implement and how take activities will address one or more of the issues specified in para graph (a) of this section; (3) The requested annual take of dou ble-crested cormorants by life-stage, including eggs and nests; (4) A description of long-term plans to eliminate or significantly reduce continued need to take double-crested cormorants; (5) A statement indicating that the State or Tribe will inform and brief all employees and subpermittees of the re quirements of these regulations and permit conditions; (6) A list of all subpermittees who may conduct activities under the spe cial double-crested cormorant permit, including their names, addresses, and telephone numbers; and (7) The name and telephone number of the individual in your agency who will oversee the double-crested cor morant management activities author ized under the permit. (d) What are the conditions of the per mit? The special double-crested cor morant permits are subject to the con ditions specified in the permit, the gen eral conditions in 50 CFR part 13, and other requirements set forth elsewhere in this section, and, unless otherwise specifically authorized on the permit, the following conditions: (1) What are the limitations on manage ment and take activities? Take of double crested cormorants under this section may not exceed the number authorized by the permit. In addition, permittees must adhere to these provisions: (i) States and Tribes must implement nonlethal methods, and independently determine that those methods are in sufficient at resolving depredation con flicts, before taking double-crested cor morants. (ii) A permit under this section does not authorize the take of any other mi gratory bird, including other species of cormorants; the take of bald or golden eagles; or the take of any species feder ally listed as threatened or endangered. If take of those species is likely to occur, the permittee must obtain per mits specifically authorizing that take (i.e., permits under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, or the Endangered Spe cies Act of 1973, as amended). (iii) Methods of take for double crested cormorants are at the State’s or Tribe’s discretion. Take of double crested cormorants may occur by means of humane lethal take or active nest take. Lethal take of adults during the breeding season should occur prior to hatching of eggs. Adult birds may not be taken at any nest with young in it unless the take of adults addresses a human health and safety issue. States and Tribes and their subpermittees must make efforts to avoid disturbance to co-nesting species. Lethal take may occur by firearm in accordance with paragraph (d)(1)(iv) of this section or lethal or live traps. Active nest take may occur by egg oiling or destruction of nest material and contents (includ ing viable eggs and chicks). Birds may be euthanized by cervical dislocation, CO2 asphyxiation, or other methods recommended by the American Veteri nary Medical Association. Only 100 per cent corn oil, a substance exempted from regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, may be used to oil eggs. Other damage control methods of take con sistent with accepted wildlife damage VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00130 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 121 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.123 management programs may be author ized. (iv) Take using firearms (other than an air rifle or air pistol) must use nontoxic shot or nontoxic bullets (see § 20.21 of this subchapter). (v) Individuals conducting lethal take activities may not use decoys, calls, or other devices or bait to lure birds within gun range. (vi) States and Tribes applying for the first time must consult with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wild life Services for an assessment of the appropriate level of take and provide recommendations of short-term meas ures to provide relief from depredation and long-term measures to help elimi nate or significantly reduce conflicts. First-time applicants must include a completed ‘‘Form 37 Permit Review’’ from Wildlife Services. Permittees need not submit a Form 37 for renewal applications unless requested by the re gional Migratory Bird Permit Office. Permittees should continue working with Wildlife Services for review of conflict management approaches and anticipated level of take, and to re main current on effective strategies for nonlethal removal. (2) When may a State or Tribe conduct management and control activities? Ac tions may occur only when cormorants are committing or are about to commit depredations. State and Tribal employ ees and approved subpermittees may conduct management activities, in cluding lethal take, at any time of year. (3) How must States and Tribes dispose of or utilize cormorants taken under this permit? Unless otherwise authorized on your permit, double-crested cor morants taken under this permit may be temporarily possessed and trans ported for the purposes of disposal under the regulations in this section. Double-crested cormorants must be disposed of by donation to an entity authorized by permit or regulation to receive migratory birds, such as a pub lic museum or public institution for scientific or educational purposes, or be destroyed completely by burial or incineration in accordance with Fed eral, State, and/or local laws and ordi nances. States, Tribes, their employ ees, and subpermittees may not sell, offer for sale, barter, or ship for the purpose of sale or barter any double crested cormorants taken under this section or their parts or eggs. Birds may not be retained for personal use. (4) How does the permit relate to exist ing State and Tribal law and Federal land? Permits under this section do not authorize the take of double-crested cormorants contrary to any State or Tribal laws or regulations or on any Federal land without specific written authorization by the responsible man agement agency. Prior to taking dou ble-crested cormorants pursuant to a permit under this section, the per mittee must obtain any permits re quired by State, Tribal, or other Fed eral law or regulation. (5) How will the Service ensure that per sons conducting control activities have the authority to do so? Any State or Tribal employee or approved subper mittee authorized to carry out man agement and take activities must have a copy of the permit and, if appro priate, the subpermittee’s designation in their possession when carrying out any activities. The scope of this permit applies to lands or in waters managed by State and Tribal fish and wildlife agencies and within those agencies’ ju risdictions. If a State or Tribe must enter private property to access State and Tribal lands or waters where take is approved in their permit, the State or Tribe must obtain authorization from the private property owner, and require that the private property owner or occupant provide free and un restricted access. The private property owner or occupant should also allow access at all reasonable times, includ ing during actual operations, to any Service special agent or refuge officer, State or Tribal wildlife or deputy wild life agent, warden, protector, or other wildlife law enforcement officer on the premises where they are, or were, con ducting activities. Furthermore, any State or Tribal employee or approved subpermittee conducting such activi ties must promptly furnish informa tion concerning such activities to any such wildlife officer. (6) What are the reporting requirements of the permit? Any State or Tribal agen cy, when exercising the privileges of this permit, must keep records of all VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00131 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 122 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.150 activities, including those of sub permittees, carried out under the au thority of the special permit, including the number of double-crested cor morants taken and their disposition. Any other species of bird taken inci dentally to double-crested cormorant management activities under this per mit, along with the numbers of birds taken of those species, also must be re ported. The State or Tribe must submit an annual report (FWS Form 3–202–56) detailing activities and purpose for take, including the date birds were taken, numbers, and locations and life stage of birds, eggs, and nests taken and nonlethal techniques utilized, by January 31 for activities conducted during the preceding calendar year. The State or Tribe must submit the an nual report to the appropriate Migra tory Bird Permit Office (see § 2.2 of this subchapter). (7) What are the limitations of this per mit? The following limitations apply: (i) Nothing in this section applies to any Federal land within a State’s or Tribe’s boundaries without written per mission of the Federal agency with ju risdiction. (ii) We will issue permits only to State and Tribal fish and wildlife agen cies in the conterminous (i.e., contig uous 48) United States. (iii) States and Tribes may designate subpermittees who must operate under the conditions of the permit. Sub permittees can be employees of State and Tribal fish and wildlife agencies, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wild life Services employees, employees of other Federal, State, or Tribal agen cies, or private companies licensed to conduct wildlife damage abatement and under direct control of the per mittee. (iv) A special double-crested cor morant permit issued or renewed under the regulations in this section expires on the date designated on the face of the permit unless it is amended or re voked, or at such time we determine that conflicts with cormorants within the bounds of the specific population of double-crested cormorants have been reduced to the point where lethal take is no longer necessary. In all cases, the term of the permit may not exceed 1 year from the date of issuance or re newal. (v) We reserve the right to suspend or revoke any permit, as specified in §§ 13.27 and 13.28 of this subchapter. (e) What are the OMB information col lection requirements of the permit pro gram? OMB has approved the informa tion collection requirements of the per mit and assigned OMB Control Number 1018–0175. Federal agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a cur rently valid OMB control number. Di rect comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of the in formation collection to the Service’s Information Collection Clearance Offi cer at the address provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b). [85 FR 85555, Dec. 29, 2020. Redesignated and amended at 87 FR 881, 882, Jan. 7, 2022; 88 FR 49355, July 31, 2023] § 21.150 Depredation order for black birds, cowbirds, crows, grackles, and magpies. (a) Species covered. Blackbirds Cowbirds Crows Grackles Magpies Brewer’s (Euphagus cyanocephalus) Bronzed (Molothrus aeneus) American (Corvus brachyrhynchos) Boat-tailed (Quiscalus major) Black-billed (Pica hudsonia) Red-winged (Agelaius phoeniceus) Brown-headed (Molothrus ater) Fish (Corvus ossifragus) Common (Quiscalus quiscula) Yellow-headed (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) Shiny (Molothrus bonariensis) Northwestern (Corvus caurinus) Great-tailed (Quiscalus mexicanus) Greater Antillean (Quiscalus niger) (b) Conditions under which control is allowed by private citizens. You do not need a Federal permit to control the species listed in paragraph (a) of this section in the following circumstances: VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00132 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 123 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.150 (1) Where they are causing serious in juries to agricultural or horticultural crops or to livestock feed; (2) When they cause a health hazard or structural property damage; (3) To protect a species recognized by the Federal Government as an endan gered, threatened, or candidate species in any county in which it occurs, as shown in the Service’s Environmental Conservation Online System (http:// ecos.fws.gov); (4) To protect a species recognized by the Federal Government as an endan gered or threatened species in des ignated critical habitat for the species; or (5) To protect a species recognized by a State or Tribe as endangered, threat ened, candidate, or of special concern if the control takes place within that State or on the lands of that tribe, re spectively. (6) Each calendar year, you must at tempt to control depredation by spe cies listed under this depredation order using nonlethal methods before you may use lethal control. Nonlethal con trol methods can include such meas ures as netting and flagging, the use of trained raptors, propane cannons, and recordings. (c) Conditions under which control is allowed by Federal, State, and Tribal em ployees. You do not need a Federal per mit to control the species listed in paragraph (a) of this section in the fol lowing circumstances: (1) Where they are causing serious in juries to agricultural or horticultural crops or to livestock feed; (2) When they cause a health hazard or structural property damage; or (3) To protect a species recognized by the Federal Government, a State, or a Tribe as an endangered, threatened, or candidate, species, or a species of spe cial concern, including critical habitat for any listed species. (4) Each calendar year, you must at tempt to control depredation by spe cies listed under this depredation order using nonlethal methods before you may use lethal control. Nonlethal con trol methods can include such meas ures as netting and flagging, the use of trained raptors, propane cannons, and recordings. However, this requirement does not apply to Federal, State, or Tribal employees conducting brown headed cowbird trapping to protect a species recognized by the Federal Gov ernment, a State, or a Tribe as endan gered, threatened, candidate, or of spe cial concern. (d) Ammunition. In most cases, if you use a firearm to kill migratory birds under the provisions of this section, you must use nontoxic shot or nontoxic bullets to do so. See § 20.21(j) of this chapter for a listing of approved nontoxic shot types. However, this pro hibition does not apply if you use an air rifle or an air pistol for control of depredating birds. (e) Access to control efforts. If you ex ercise any of the privileges granted by this section, you must allow any Fed eral, State, tribal, or territorial wild life law enforcement officer unre stricted access at all reasonable times (including during actual operations) over the premises on which you are conducting the control. You must fur nish the officer whatever information he or she may require about your con trol operations. (f) Trapping conditions. You must comply with the following conditions if you attempt to trap any species under this order. (1) You may possess, transport, and use a lure bird or birds of the species listed in paragraph (a) that you wish to trap. (2) You must check each trap at least once every day it is deployed. (3) At temperatures above 80 °Fahrenheit, the traps must provide shade for captured birds. (4) Each trap must contain adequate food and water. (5) You must promptly release all healthy nontarget birds that you cap ture. (6) If a federally permitted wildlife rehabilitator is within 1 hour or less of your capture efforts, you must send in jured or debilitated nontarget federally protected migratory birds to the rehabilitator. If no rehabilitator is closer than 1 hour away, you may euthanize an injured or debilitated bird of a nontarget species unless the spe cies is federally listed as an endan gered, threatened, or candidate species, in which case you must deliver it to a rehabilitator and report the take to VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00133 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 124 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.153 the nearest U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Field Office or Special Agent. (7) You must report captures of non target federally protected migratory birds in your annual report (see para graph (i) of this section). (g) Euthanasia. Captured birds and wounded or injured birds of the species listed in paragraph (a) may only be killed by carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide inhalation, or by cervical dis location performed by well-trained per sonnel who are regularly monitored to ensure proficiency. (h) Disposition of birds and parts. You may not sell, or offer to sell, any bird, or any part thereof, killed under this section, but you may possess, trans port, and otherwise dispose of the bird or its parts, including transferring them to authorized research or edu cational institutions. If not trans ferred, the bird and its parts must ei ther be burned, or buried at least 1 mile from the nesting area of any mi gratory bird species recognized by the Federal Government, the State, or a Tribe as an endangered or threatened species. (i) Annual report. Any person, busi ness, organization, or government offi cial acting under this depredation order must provide an annual report using FWS Form 3–2436 to the appro priate Regional Migratory Bird Permit Office. The addresses for the Regional Migratory Bird Permit Offices are pro vided at 50 CFR 2.2, and are on the form. The report is due by January 31st of the following year and must include the information requested on the form. (j) Compliance with other laws. You may trap and kill birds under this order only in a way that complies with all State, tribal, or territorial laws or regulations. You must have any State, tribal, or territorial permit required to conduct the activity. (k) Information collection requirements. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the information collection requirements associated with this depredation order and as signed OMB Control Number 1018–0146. Federal agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Direct comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of the information collec tion to the Service’s Information Col lection Clearance Officer at the address provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b). [79 FR 65601, Nov. 5, 2014. Redesignated and amended at 87 FR 882, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.153 Depredation order for horned larks, house finches, and white crowned sparrows in California. Horned larks (Eremophila alpestris), house finches (Haemorhous mexicanus), and white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) may be taken in Fresno, Merced, Napa, and Sonoma Counties in California if they are dep redating on agricultural or horti cultural crops. Take of birds under this order must be done under the super vision of the county agriculture com missioner. You do not need a Federal permit for this depredation control as long as you meet the conditions below, but a depredation permit (see § 21.100 in this subpart) is required for take of other migratory bird species, or for take of horned larks or white-crowned sparrows from May 1 through October 31. (a) When is take allowed under this depredation order? (1) Horned larks and white-crowned sparrows may be controlled from No vember 1 through April 30. (2) House finches may be controlled at any time. (b) Use of nonlethal control. Each sea son, before lethal control may be un dertaken, the landowner must attempt to use nonlethal control of migratory bird depredation as recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services. The county agriculture commissioner must con firm that nonlethal measures have been undertaken to control or elimi nate the problem prior to the land owner using lethal control. (c) Ammunition. Except when using an air rifle or an air pistol, if firearms are used to kill migratory birds under the provisions of this regulation, the shooter must use nontoxic shot or nontoxic bullets to do so. See § 20.21(j) of this chapter for a listing of approved nontoxic shot types. VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00134 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 125 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.159 (d) Disposition of carcasses. Specimens useful for scientific purposes may be transferred to any entity authorized to possess them. If not transferred, all carcasses of birds killed under this order must be buried or otherwise de stroyed. None of the above migratory birds killed, or the parts thereof, or the plumage of such birds, may be sold or removed from the area where killed. (e) Annual report. Any county official acting under this depredation order must provide an annual report to the Regional Migratory Bird Permit Office using FWS Form 3–2436. The address for the Regional Migratory Bird Per mit Office is in § 2.2 of subchapter A of this chapter, and is on the form. The report is due by January 31st of the year after control activities are under taken. [78 FR 65581, Nov. 1, 2013. Redesignated and amended at 87 FR 882, 883, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.156 Depredation order for dep redating California scrub jays and Steller’s jays in Washington and Or egon. Landowners, sharecroppers, tenants, or their employees or agents actually engaged in the production of nut crops in Washington and Oregon may, with out a permit, take California scrub jays (Aphelocoma californica) and Steller’s jays (Cyanocitta stelleri) when found committing or about to commit serious depredations to nut crops on the premises owned or occupied by such persons: Provided: (a) That California scrub jays and Steller’s jays may only be taken pursu ant to this section between August 1 and December 1 in any year, in the Washington counties of Clark, Cowlitz, and Lewis; and the Oregon counties of Benton, Clackamas, Lane, Linn, Mar ion, Multnomah, Polk, Washington, and Yamhill. (b) That California scrub jays and Steller’s jays taken pursuant to this section shall not be transported or sold or offered for sale except that, such transportation within the area, as may be necessary to bury or otherwise de stroy the carcasses of such birds is per mitted: Provided, That the Director of the State agricultural department, col lege, or other public institution may requisition such California scrub jays and Steller’s jays killed as may be needed for scientific investigations. (c) That such birds may be taken only by trapping or shooting and on areas where serious depredations are being or are about to be committed. (d) That any person exercising any of the privileges granted by this section shall permit at all reasonable times, including during actual operations, any Federal or State game or deputy game agent, warden, protector, or other law enforcement officer free and unre stricted access over the premises on which such operations have been or are being conducted; and shall furnish promptly to such officer whatever in formation he may require, concerning said operations. (e) That nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the killing of such migratory birds contrary to any State laws or regulations; and that none of the privileges granted under this section shall be exercised unless the person possesses whatever permit as may be required for such activities by the States of Washington and Or egon. (f) That any person authorized by this section to act under this depreda tion order must provide an annual re port of take during the calendar year for each species by January 31st of the following year. The report must in clude the number of birds taken for each species, method of take, month(s) in which they were taken, county(ies) and State(s) in which they were taken, purpose of take, and disposition. Sub mit annual reports to the Pacific Re gion Migratory Bird Permit Office in Portland, Oregon, at the address shown at 50 CFR 2.2. [39 FR 31326, Aug. 28, 1974, as amended at 84 FR 45924, Sept. 3, 2019. Redesignated at 87 FR 882, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.159 Control order for resident Canada geese at airports and mili tary airfields. (a) Which Canada geese are covered by this order? This regulation addresses the control and management of resi dent Canada geese (Branta canadensis), as defined in § 21.6. (b) What is the control order for resi dent Canada geese at airports, and what is its purpose? The airport control order VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00135 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 126 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.159 authorizes managers at commercial, public, and private airports (airports) (and their employees or their agents) and military air operation facilities (military airfields) (and their employ ees or their agents) to establish and implement a control and management program when necessary to resolve or prevent threats to public safety from resident Canada geese. Control and management activities include indirect and/or direct control strategies such as trapping and relocation, nest and egg destruction, gosling and adult trapping and culling programs, or other lethal and non-lethal control strategies. (c) Who may participate in the pro gram? To be designated as an airport that is authorized to participate in this program, an airport must be part of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems and have received Federal grant-in-aid assistance, or a military airfield, meaning an airfield or air sta tion that is under the jurisdiction, cus tody, or control of the Secretary of a military department. Only airports and military airfields in the lower 48 States and the District of Columbia are eligi ble to conduct and implement the var ious resident Canada goose control and management program components. (d) What are the restrictions of the con trol order for resident Canada geese at airports and military airfields? The air port control order for resident Canada geese is subject to the following re strictions: (1) Airports and military airfields should use nonlethal goose manage ment tools to the extent they deem ap propriate. To minimize lethal take, airports and military airfields should follow this procedure: (i) Assess the problem to determine its extent or magnitude, its impact on current operations, and the appropriate control method to be used. (ii) Base control methods on sound biological, environmental, social, and cultural factors. (iii) Formulate appropriate methods into a control strategy that uses sev eral control techniques rather than re lying on a single method. (iv) Implement all appropriate non lethal management techniques (such as harassment and habitat modification) in conjunction with take authorized under this order. (2)(i) Methods of take for the control of resident Canada geese are at the air port’s and military airfield’s discretion from among the following: (A) Egg oiling, (B) Egg and nest destruction, (C) Shooting, (D) Lethal and live traps, (E) Nets, (F) Registered animal drugs, pes ticides, and repellants, (G) Cervical dislocation, and (H) CO2 asphyxiation. (ii) Birds caught live may be euthanized or transported and relo cated to another site approved by the State or Tribal wildlife agency, if re quired. (iii) All techniques used must be in accordance with other Federal, State, and local laws, and their use must com ply with any labeling restrictions. (iv) Persons using shotguns must use nontoxic shot, as listed in § 20.21(j) of this subchapter. (v) Persons using egg oiling must use 100 percent corn oil, a substance ex empted from regulation by the U.S. En vironmental Protection Agency under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. (3) Airports and military airfields may conduct management and control activities, involving the take of resi dent Canada geese, under this section between April 1 and September 15. The destruction of resident Canada goose nests and eggs may take place at any time of year. (4) Airports and military airfields and their employees and agents may possess, transport, and otherwise dis pose of resident Canada geese taken under this section. Disposal of birds taken under this order may be by dona tion to public museums or public insti tutions for scientific or educational purposes, processing for human con sumption and subsequent distribution free of charge to charitable organiza tions, or burial or incineration. Air ports/military airfields, their employ ees, and designated agents may not sell, offer for sale, barter, or ship for the purpose of sale or barter any resi dent Canada geese taken under this section, nor their plumage or eggs. Any VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00136 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 127 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.159 specimens needed for scientific pur poses as determined by the Regional Director must not be destroyed, and in formation on birds carrying metal leg bands must be submitted to the Bird Banding Laboratory by means of a toll free telephone number at 1–800–327– BAND (or 2263). (5) Resident Canada geese may be taken only within the airport, or the military base on which a military air field is located, or within a 3-mile ra dius of the outer boundary of such a fa cility. Airports and military airfields or their agents must first obtain all necessary authorizations from land owners for all management activities conducted outside the airport or mili tary airfield’s boundaries and be in compliance with all State and local laws and regulations. (6) Nothing in this section authorizes the killing of resident Canada geese or destruction of their nests and eggs con trary to the laws or regulations of any State or Tribe, and none of the privi leges of this section may be exercised unless the airport or military airfield possesses the appropriate State or Tribal authorization or other permits required by the State or Tribe. More over, this section does not authorize the killing of any migratory bird spe cies or destruction of their nest or eggs other than resident Canada geese. (7) Authorized airports and military airfields, and their employees and agents operating under the provisions of this section may not use decoys, calls, or other devices to lure birds within gun range. (8) Airports and military airfields ex ercising the privileges granted by this section must submit an annual report summarizing activities, including the date and numbers and location of birds, nests, and eggs taken, by December 31 of each year to the Regional Migratory Bird Permit Office listed in § 2.2 of this subchapter. (9) Nothing in this section applies to any Federal land without written per mission of the Federal agency with ju risdiction. (10) Airports and military airfields may not undertake any actions under this section if the activities adversely affect other migratory birds or species designated as endangered or threatened under the authority of the Endangered Species Act. Persons operating under this order must immediately report the take of any species protected under the Endangered Species Act to the Service. Further, to protect certain species from being adversely affected by man agement actions, airports and military airfields must: (i) Follow the Federal-State Contin gency Plan for the whooping crane; (ii) Conduct no activities within 300 meters of a whooping crane or Mis sissippi sandhill crane nest; (iii) Follow all Regional (or National when available) Bald Eagle Nesting Management guidelines for all manage ment activities; (iv) Contact the Arizona Ecological Services Office (for the Colorado River and Arizona sites) or the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office (for Salton Sea sites) if control activities are proposed in or around occupied habitats (cattail or cattail bulrush marshes) to discuss the proposed activity and ensure that implementation will not adversely af fect clapper rails or their habitats; and (v) In California, any control activi ties of resident Canada geese in areas used by the following species listed under the Endangered Species Act must be done in coordination with the appropriate local FWS field office and in accordance with standard local oper ating procedures for avoiding adverse effects to the species or its critical habitat: (A) Birds: Light-footed clapper rail, California clapper rail, Yuma clapper rail, California least tern, south western willow flycatcher, least Bell’s vireo, western snowy plover, California gnatcatcher. (B) Amphibians: California red-legged frog and California tiger salamander. (C) Insects: Valley elderberry long horn beetle and delta green ground bee tle. (D) Crustaceans: Vernal pool fairy shrimp, conservancy fairy shrimp, longhorn fairy shrimp, vernal pool tad pole shrimp, San Diego fairy shrimp, and Riverside fairy shrimp. (E) Plants: Butte County meadowfoam, large-flowered wooly meadowfoam, Cook’s lomatium, Contra Costa goldfields, Hoover’s spurge, fleshy owl’s clover, Colusa grass, hairy VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00137 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 128 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.162 Orcutt grass, Solano grass, Greene’s tuctoria, Sacramento Valley Orcutt grass, San Joaquin Valley Orcutt grass, slender Orcutt grass, California Orcutt grass, spreading navarretia, and San Jacinto Valley crownscale. (e) Can the control order be suspended? We reserve the right to suspend or re voke an airport’s or military airfield’s authority under this control order if we find that the terms and conditions specified in the control order have not been adhered to by that airport or mili tary airfield. Final decisions to revoke authority will be made by the appro priate Regional Director. The criteria and procedures for suspension, revoca tion, reconsideration, and appeal are outlined in §§ 13.27 through 13.29 of this subchapter. For the purposes of this section, ‘‘issuing officer’’ means the Regional Director and ‘‘permit’’ means the authority to act under this control order. For purposes of § 13.29(e), appeals must be made to the Director. (f) Information collection requirements. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the information collection requirements associated with this control order and assigned OMB Control Number 1018–0146. Federal agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Direct comments regarding the burden estimate or any other as pect of the information collection to the Service’s Information Collection Clearance Officer at the address pro vided at 50 CFR 2.1(b). [71 FR 45986, Aug. 10, 2006, as amended at 72 FR 46408, Aug. 20, 2007; 79 FR 43966, July 29, 2014; 84 FR 28773, June 20, 2019. Redesignated and amended at 87 FR 882, 883, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.162 Depredation order for resi dent Canada geese nests and eggs. (a) Which Canada geese are covered by this order? This regulation addresses the control and management of resi dent Canada geese (Branta canadensis), as defined in § 21.6. (b) What is the depredation order for resident Canada geese nests and eggs, and what is its purpose? The nest and egg depredation order for resident Canada geese authorizes private landowners and managers of public lands (land owners); homeowners’ associations; and village, town, municipality, and county governments (local governments); and the employees or agents of any of these persons or entities to destroy resident Canada goose nests and eggs on prop erty under their jurisdiction when nec essary to resolve or prevent injury to people, property, agricultural crops, or other interests. (c) Who may participate in the depreda tion order? Only landowners, home owners’ associations, and local govern ments (and their employees or their agents) in the lower 48 States and the District of Columbia are eligible to im plement the resident Canada goose nest and egg depredation order. (d) What are the restrictions of the dep redation order for resident Canada goose nests and eggs? The resident Canada goose nest and egg depredation order is subject to the following restrictions: (1) Before any management actions can be taken, landowners, homeowners’ associations, and local governments must register with the Service at https://epermits.fws.gov/eRCGR. Land owners, homeowners’ associations, and local governments (collectively termed ‘‘registrants’’) must also register each employee or agent working on their be half. Once registered, registrants and agents will be authorized to act under the depredation order. (2) Registrants authorized to operate under the depredation order must use nonlethal goose management tech niques to the extent they deem appro priate in an effort to minimize take. (3) Methods of nest and egg destruc tion or take are at the registrant’s dis cretion from among the following: (i) Egg oiling, using 100 percent corn oil, a substance exempted from regula tion by the U.S. Environmental Protec tion Agency under the Federal Insecti cide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, and (ii) Egg and nest destruction, includ ing but not limited to the removal and disposal of eggs and nest material. (4) Registrants may conduct resident Canada goose nest and egg destruction activities at any time of year. Home owners’ associations and local govern ments or their agents must obtain landowner consent prior to destroying nests and eggs on private property VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00138 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 129 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.162 within the homeowners’ association or local government’s jurisdiction and be in compliance with all State and local laws and regulations. (5) Registrants authorized to operate under the depredation order may pos sess, transport, and dispose of resident Canada goose nests and eggs taken under this section. Registrants author ized to operate under the program may not sell, offer for sale, barter, or ship for the purpose of sale or barter any resident Canada goose nest or egg taken under this section. (6) Registrants exercising the privi leges granted by this section must sub mit an annual report summarizing ac tivities, including the date, numbers, and location of nests and eggs taken by October 31 of each year at https:// epermits.fws.gov/eRCGR before any sub sequent registration for the following year. (7) Nothing in this section authorizes the destruction of resident Canada goose nests or the take of resident Can ada goose eggs contrary to the laws or regulations of any State or Tribe, and none of the privileges of this section may be exercised unless the registrant is authorized to operate under the pro gram and possesses the appropriate State or Tribal permits, when required. Moreover, this section does not author ize the killing of any migratory bird species or destruction of their nest or eggs other than resident Canada geese. (8) Registrants may not undertake any actions under this section if the activities adversely affect species des ignated as endangered or threatened under the authority of the Endangered Species Act. Persons operating under this order must immediately report the take of any species protected under the Endangered Species Act to the Service. Further, to protect certain species from being adversely affected by man agement actions, registrants must: (i) Follow the Federal-State Contin gency Plan for the whooping crane; (ii) Conduct no activities within 300 meters of a whooping crane or Mis sissippi sandhill crane nest; (iii) Follow all Regional (or National when available) Bald Eagle Nesting Management guidelines for all manage ment activities; (iv) Contact the Arizona Ecological Services Office (for the Colorado River and Arizona sites) or the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office (for Salton Sea sites) if control activities are proposed in or around occupied habitats (cattail or cattail bulrush marshes) to discuss the proposed activity and ensure that implementation will not adversely af fect clapper rails or their habitats; and (v) In California, any control activi ties of resident Canada geese in areas used by the following species listed under the Endangered Species Act must be done in coordination with the appropriate local FWS field office and in accordance with standard local oper ating procedures for avoiding adverse effects to the species or its critical habitat: (A) Birds: Light-footed clapper rail, California clapper rail, Yuma clapper rail, California least tern, south western willow flycatcher, least Bell’s vireo, western snowy plover, California gnatcatcher. (B) Amphibians: California red-legged frog and California tiger salamander. (C) Insects: Valley elderberry long horn beetle and delta green ground bee tle. (D) Crustaceans: Vernal pool fairy shrimp, conservancy fairy shrimp, longhorn fairy shrimp, vernal pool tad pole shrimp, San Diego fairy shrimp, and Riverside fairy shrimp. (E) Plants: Butte County meadowfoam, large-flowered wooly meadowfoam, Cook’s lomatium, Contra Costa goldfields, Hoover’s spurge, fleshy owl’s clover, Colusa grass, hairy Orcutt grass, Solano grass, Greene’s tuctoria, Sacramento Valley Orcutt grass, San Joaquin Valley Orcutt grass, slender Orcutt grass, California Orcutt grass, spreading navarretia, and San Jacinto Valley crownscale. (e) Can the depredation order be sus pended? We reserve the right to suspend or revoke this authorization for a par ticular landowner, homeowners’ asso ciation, or local government if we find that the registrant has not adhered to the terms and conditions specified in the depredation order. Final decisions to revoke authority will be made by the appropriate Regional Director. The criteria and procedures for suspension, revocation, reconsideration, and appeal VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00139 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 130 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.165 are outlined in §§ 13.27 through 13.29 of this subchapter. For the purposes of this section, ‘‘issuing officer’’ means the Regional Director and ‘‘permit’’ means the authority to act under this depredation order. For purposes of § 13.29(e), appeals must be made to the Director. Additionally, at such time that we determine that resident Can ada goose populations no longer need to be reduced in order to resolve or pre vent injury to people, property, agri cultural crops, or other interests, we may choose to terminate part or all of the depredation order by subsequent regulation. In all cases, we will annu ally review the necessity and effective ness of the depredation order. (f) Information collection requirements. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the information collection requirements associated with this depredation order and as signed OMB Control Number 1018–0146. Federal agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Direct comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of the information collec tion to the Service’s Information Col lection Clearance Officer at the address provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b). [71 FR 45988, Aug. 10, 2006, as amended at 72 FR 46408, Aug. 20, 2007; 79 FR 43966, July 29, 2014; 84 FR 28773, June 20, 2019. Redesignated at 87 FR 882, Jan. 7, 2022; 87 FR 883, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.165 Depredation order for resi dent Canada geese at agricultural facilities. (a) Which Canada geese are covered by this order? This regulation addresses the control and management of resi dent Canada geese (Branta canadensis), as defined in § 21.6. (b) What is the depredation order for resident Canada geese at agricultural fa cilities, and what is its purpose? The dep redation order for resident Canada geese at agricultural facilities author izes States and Tribes, via the State or Tribal wildlife agency, to implement a program to allow landowners, opera tors, and tenants actively engaged in commercial agriculture (agricultural producers) (or their employees or agents) to conduct direct damage man agement actions such as nest and egg destruction, gosling and adult trapping and culling programs, or other lethal and non-lethal wildlife-damage man agement strategies on resident Canada geese when the geese are committing depredations to agricultural crops and when necessary to resolve or prevent injury to agricultural crops or other agricultural interests from resident Canada geese. (c) Who may participate in the depreda tion order? State and Tribal wildlife agencies in the following States may authorize agricultural producers (or their employees or agents) to conduct and implement various components of the depredation order at agricultural facilities in the Atlantic, Central, and Mississippi Flyway portions of these States: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Geor gia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mary land, Massachusetts, Michigan, Min nesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mex ico, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Okla homa, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Ten nessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. (d) What are the restrictions of the dep redation order for resident Canada geese at agricultural facilities? The depreda tion order for resident Canada geese at agricultural facilities is subject to the following restrictions: (1) Only landowners, operators, and tenants (or their employees or agents) actively engaged in commercial activi ties (agricultural producers) so des ignated by the States may act under this order. (2) Authorized agricultural producers should use nonlethal goose manage ment tools to the extent they deem ap propriate. To minimize lethal take, ag ricultural producers should adhere to the following procedure: (i) Assess the problem to determine its extent or magnitude, its impact to current operations, and the appropriate control method to be used. (ii) Base control methods on sound biological, environmental, social, and cultural factors. VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00140 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 131 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.165 (iii) Formulate appropriate methods into a control strategy that uses the approach/concept that encourages the use of several control techniques rath er than relying on a single method. (iv) Implement all appropriate non lethal management techniques (such as harassment and habitat modification) in conjunction with take authorized under this order. (3)(i) Methods of take for the control of resident Canada geese are at the State’s or Tribe’s discretion among the following: (A) Egg oiling, (B) Egg and nest destruction, (C) Shotguns, (D) Lethal and live traps, (E) Nets, (F) Registered animal drugs, pes ticides, and repellants, (G) Cervical dislocation, and (H) CO2 asphyxiation. (ii) Birds caught live may be euthanized or transported and relo cated to another site approved by the State or Tribal wildlife agency, if re quired. (iii) All techniques used must be in accordance with other Federal, State, Tribal, and local laws, and their use must comply with any labeling restric tions. (iv) Persons using shotguns must use nontoxic shot, as listed in § 20.21(j) of this subchapter. (v) Persons using egg oiling must use 100 percent corn oil, a substance ex empted from regulation by the U.S. En vironmental Protection Agency under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. (4) Under this section, authorized ag ricultural producers and their employ ees and agents may: (i) Conduct management and control activities, involving the take of resi dent Canada geese, as follows: Where When In the Atlantic Flyway States of Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massa chusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia. Between April 1 and Au gust 31. In the Mississippi and Central Flyway portions of these States: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wis consin, and Wyoming. Between May 1 and Au gust 31. (ii) Destroy the nests and eggs of resident Canada geese at any time of year. (5) Authorized agricultural producers and their employees and agents may possess, transport, and otherwise dis pose of resident Canada geese taken under this section. Disposal of birds taken under this order may be by dona tion to public museums or public insti tutions for scientific or educational purposes, processing for human con sumption and subsequent distribution free of charge to charitable organiza tions, or burial or incineration. Agri cultural producers, their employees, and designated agents may not sell, offer for sale, barter, or ship for the purpose of sale or barter any resident Canada geese taken under this section, nor their plumage or eggs. Any speci mens needed for scientific purposes as determined by the Director must not be destroyed, and information on birds carrying metal leg bands must be sub mitted to the Bird Banding Laboratory by means of a toll-free telephone num ber at 1–800–327–BAND (or 2263). (6) Resident Canada geese may be taken only on land which an author ized agricultural producer personally controls and where geese are commit ting depredations to agricultural crops. (7) Authorized agricultural pro ducers, and their employees and agents, operating under the provisions of this section may not use decoys, calls, or other devices to lure birds within gun range. (8) Any authorized agricultural pro ducer exercising the privileges of this section must keep and maintain a log that indicates the date and number of birds killed and the date and number of nests and eggs taken under this au thorization. The log must be main tained for a period of 3 years (and records for 3 previous years of takings VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00141 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 132 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.168 must be maintained at all times there after). The log and any related records must be made available to Federal, State, or Tribal wildlife enforcement officers upon request during normal business hours. (9) Nothing in this section authorizes the killing of resident Canada geese or the destruction of their nests and eggs contrary to the laws or regulations of any State or Tribe, and none of the privileges of this section may be exer cised unless the agricultural producer possesses the appropriate State or Tribal permits, when required. More over, this regulation does not authorize the killing of any migratory bird spe cies or destruction of their nests or eggs other than resident Canada geese. (10) States and Tribes exercising the privileges granted by this section must submit an annual report summarizing activities, including the numbers and County of birds, nests, and eggs taken, by December 31 of each year to the Re gional Migratory Bird Permit Office listed in § 2.2 of this subchapter. (11) Nothing in this section applies to any Federal land without written per mission of the Federal agency with ju risdiction. (12) Authorized agricultural pro ducers may not undertake any actions under this section if the activities ad versely affect other migratory birds or species designated as endangered or threatened under the authority of the Endangered Species Act. Persons oper ating under this order must imme diately report the take of any species protected under the Endangered Spe cies Act to the Service. Further, to protect certain species from being ad versely affected by management ac tions, agricultural producers must: (i) Follow the Federal-State Contin gency Plan for the whooping crane; (ii) Conduct no activities within 300 meters of a whooping crane or Mis sissippi sandhill crane nest; and (iii) Follow all Regional (or National when available) Bald Eagle Nesting Management guidelines for all manage ment activities. (e) Can the depredation order be sus pended? We reserve the right to suspend or revoke a State, Tribal, or agricul tural producer’s authority under this program if we find that the terms and conditions specified in the depredation order have not been adhered to by that State or Tribe. Final decisions to re voke authority will be made by the ap propriate Regional Director. The cri teria and procedures for suspension, revocation, reconsideration, and appeal are outlined in §§ 13.27 through 13.29 of this subchapter. For the purposes of this section, ‘‘issuing officer’’ means the Regional Director and ‘‘permit’’ means the authority to act under this depredation order. For purposes of § 13.29(e), appeals must be made to the Director. Additionally, at such time that we determine that resident Can ada geese populations no longer pose a threat to agricultural crops or no longer need to be reduced in order to resolve or prevent injury to agricul tural crops or other agricultural inter ests, we may choose to terminate part or all of the depredation order by sub sequent regulation. In all cases, we will annually review the necessity and ef fectiveness of the depredation order. (f) Information collection requirements. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the information collection requirements associated with this depredation order and as signed OMB Control Number 1018–0146. Federal agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Direct comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of the information collec tion to the Service’s Information Col lection Clearance Officer at the address provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b). [71 FR 45989, Aug. 10, 2006, as amended at 79 FR 43966, July 29, 2014; 84 FR 28773, June 20, 2019; 85 FR 10623, Feb. 25, 2020. Redesignated at 87 FR 882, Jan. 7, 2022; 87 FR 883, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.168 Public health control order for resident Canada geese. (a) Which Canada geese are covered by this order? This regulation addresses the control and management of resi dent Canada geese (Branta canadensis), as defined in § 21.6. (b) What is the public health control order for resident Canada geese, and what is its purpose? The public health control VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00142 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 133 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.168 order for resident Canada geese author izes States, Tribes, and the District of Columbia, via the State or Tribal wild life agency, to conduct resident Canada goose control and management activi ties including direct control strategies such as trapping and relocation, nest and egg destruction, gosling and adult trapping and culling programs, or other lethal and non-lethal wildlife damage-management strategies when resident Canada geese are posing a di rect threat to human health. (c) What is a direct threat to human health? A direct threat to human health is one where a Federal, State, Tribal, or local public health agency has determined that resident Canada geese pose a specific, immediate human health threat by creating conditions conducive to the transmission of human or zoonotic pathogens. The State or Tribe may not use this control order for situations in which resident Canada geese are merely causing a nui sance. (d) Who may participate in the pro gram? Only State and Tribal wildlife agencies in the lower 48 States and the District of Columbia (or their employ ees or agents) may conduct and imple ment the various components of the public health control order for resident Canada geese. (e) What are the restrictions of the pub lic health depredation order for resident Canada geese? The public health control order for resident Canada geese is sub ject to the following restrictions: (1) Authorized State and Tribal wild life agencies should use nonlethal goose management tools to the extent they deem appropriate. (2)(i) Methods of take for the control of resident Canada geese are at the State’s and Tribe’s discretion from among the following: (A) Egg oiling, (B) Egg and nest destruction, (C) Shotguns, (D) Lethal and live traps, (E) Nets, (F) Registered animal drugs, pes ticides, and repellants, (G) Cervical dislocation, and (H) CO2 asphyxiation. (ii) Birds caught live may be euthanized or transported and relo cated to another site approved by the State or Tribal wildlife agency, if re quired. (iii) All techniques used must be in accordance with other Federal, State, Tribal, and local laws, and their use must comply with any labeling restric tions. (iv) Persons using shotguns must use nontoxic shot, as listed in § 20.21(j) of this subchapter. (v) Persons using egg oiling must use 100 percent corn oil, a substance ex empted from regulation by the U.S. En vironmental Protection Agency under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. (3) Authorized State and Tribal wild life agencies and their employees and agents may conduct management and control activities, involving the take of resident Canada geese, under this section between April 1 and August 31. The destruction of resident Canada goose nests and eggs may take place at any time of year. (4) Authorized State and Tribal wild life agencies and their employees and agents may possess, transport, and oth erwise dispose of resident Canada geese taken under this section. Disposal of birds taken under this order may be by donation to public museums or public institutions for scientific or edu cational purposes, processing for human consumption and subsequent distribution free of charge to chari table organizations, or burial or incin eration. States, their employees, and designated agents may not sell, offer for sale, barter, or ship for the purpose of sale or barter any resident Canada geese taken under this section, nor their plumage or eggs. Any specimens needed for scientific purposes as deter mined by the Regional Director must not be destroyed, and information on birds carrying metal leg bands must be submitted to the Bird Banding Labora tory by means of a toll-free telephone number at 1–800–327–BAND (or 2263). (5) Resident Canada geese may be taken only within the specified area of the direct threat to human health. (6) Authorized State and Tribal wild life agencies, and their employees and agents operating under the provisions of this section may not use decoys, calls, or other devices to lure birds within gun range. VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00143 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 134 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.168 (7) No person conducting activities under this section should construe the program as authorizing the killing of resident Canada geese or destruction of their nests and eggs contrary to any State law or regulation, nor may any control activities be conducted on any Federal land without specific author ization by the responsible management agency. No person may exercise the privileges granted under this section unless they possess any permits re quired for such activities by any State or Federal land manager. (8) Any State or Tribal employee or designated agent authorized to carry out activities under this section must have a copy of the State’s or Tribal au thorization and designation in their possession when carrying out any ac tivities. If the State or Tribe is con ducting operations on private property, the State or Tribe must also require the property owner or occupant on whose premises resident Canada goose activities are being conducted to allow, at all reasonable times, including dur ing actual operations, free and unre stricted access to any Service special agent or refuge officer, State or Tribal wildlife or deputy wildlife agent, war den, protector, or other wildlife law en forcement officer on the premises where they are, or were, conducting ac tivities. Furthermore, any State or Tribal employee or designated agent conducting such activities must promptly furnish whatever information is required concerning such activities to any such wildlife officer. (9) States and Tribes exercising the privileges granted by this section must submit an annual report summarizing activities, including the numbers and County of birds taken, by December 31 of each year to the Regional Migratory Bird Permit Office listed in § 2.2 of this subchapter. (10) Authorized State and Tribal wildlife agencies may not undertake any actions under this section if the activities adversely affect other migra tory birds or species designated as en dangered or threatened under the au thority of the Endangered Species Act. Persons operating under this order must immediately report the take of any species protected under the Endan gered Species Act to the Service. Fur ther, to protect certain species from being adversely affected by manage ment actions, State and Tribal wildlife agencies must: (i) Follow the Federal-State Contin gency Plan for the whooping crane; (ii) Conduct no activities within 300 meters of a whooping crane or Mis sissippi sandhill crane nest; (iii) Follow all Regional (or National when available) Bald Eagle Nesting Management guidelines for all manage ment activities; (iv) Contact the Arizona Fish and Wildlife Service Ecological Services Of fice (for the Colorado River and Ari zona sites) or the Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office (for Salton Sea sites) if control activities are proposed in or around occupied habitats (cattail or cattail bulrush marshes) to discuss the proposed activity and ensure that im plementation will not adversely affect clapper rails or their habitats; and (v) In California, any control activi ties of resident Canada geese in areas used by the following species listed under the Endangered Species Act must be done in coordination with the appropriate local FWS field office and in accordance with standard local oper ating procedures for avoiding adverse effects to the species or its critical habitat: (A) Birds: Light-footed clapper rail, California clapper rail, Yuma clapper rail, California least tern, south western willow flycatcher, least Bell’s vireo, western snowy plover, California gnatcatcher. (B) Amphibians: California red-legged frog and California tiger salamander. (C) Insects: Valley elderberry long horn beetle and delta green ground bee tle. (D) Crustaceans: Vernal pool fairy shrimp, conservancy fairy shrimp, longhorn fairy shrimp, vernal pool tad pole shrimp, San Diego fairy shrimp, and Riverside fairy shrimp. (E) Plants: Butte County meadowfoam, large-flowered wooly meadowfoam, Cook’s lomatium, Contra Costa goldfields, Hoover’s spurge, fleshy owl’s clover, Colusa grass, hairy Orcutt grass, Solano grass, Greene’s tuctoria, Sacramento Valley Orcutt grass, San Joaquin Valley Orcutt grass, slender Orcutt grass, California VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00144 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 135 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.171 Orcutt grass, spreading navarretia, and San Jacinto Valley crownscale. (f) Can the control order be suspended? We reserve the right to suspend or re voke a State’s or Tribe’s authority under this program if we find that the terms and conditions specified in the depredation order have not been ad hered to by that agency. Final deci sions to revoke authority will be made by the appropriate Regional Director. The criteria and procedures for suspen sion, revocation, reconsideration, and appeal are outlined in §§ 13.27 through 13.29 of this subchapter. For the pur poses of this section, ‘‘issuing officer’’ means the Regional Director and ‘‘per mit’’ means the authority to act under this control order. For purposes of § 13.29(e), appeals must be made to the Director. Additionally, at such time that we determine that resident Can ada geese populations no longer pose direct threats to human health, we may choose to terminate part or all of the control order by subsequent regula tion. In all cases, we will annually re view the necessity and effectiveness of the control order. (g) Information collection requirements. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the information collection requirements associated with this control order and assigned OMB Control Number 1018–0146. Federal agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Direct comments regarding the burden estimate or any other as pect of the information collection to the Service’s Information Collection Clearance Officer at the address pro vided at 50 CFR 2.1(b). [71 FR 45990, Aug. 10, 2006, as amended at 79 FR 43966, July 29, 2014; 84 FR 28773, June 20, 2019. Redesignated at 87 FR 882, Jan. 7, 2022; 87 FR 883, Jan. 7, 2022; 87 FR 66095, Nov. 2, 2022] § 21.171 Control order for purple swamphens. (a) Control of purple swamphens. Fed eral, State, Tribal, and local wildlife management agencies, and their ten ants, employees, or agents may remove or destroy purple swamphens (Porphyrio porphyrio) or their nests or eggs at any time when they find them anywhere in the contiguous United States, Hawaii, Alaska, the Common wealth of Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Vir gin Islands. Any authorized agency per sonnel may temporarily possess, trans port, and dispose of purple swamphens, subject to the restrictions in paragraph (c) of this section. No permit is nec essary to engage in these actions. (b) Disposal of purple swamphens. If you are authorized to control purple swamphens, you may dispose of purple swamphens by the following methods: You may donate purple swamphens taken under this order to public muse ums or public institutions for scientific or educational purposes; you may dis pose of the carcasses by burial or incin eration; or, if the carcasses are not readily retrievable, you may leave them in place. No one may retain for personal use, offer for sale, or sell a purple swamphen removed under this section. (c) Other provisions. (1) You may not remove or destroy purple swamphens or their nests or eggs if doing so is con trary to any State, territorial, tribal, or local laws or regulations. (2) You may not remove or destroy purple swamphens or their nests or eggs if doing so will adversely affect other migratory birds or species des ignated as endangered or threatened under the authority of the Endangered Species Act. In particular, the purple swamphen resembles the native purple gallinule ( Porphyrio martinicus). Au thorized persons must take special care not to take purple gallinules or their nests or eggs when conducting purple swamphen control activities. (3) If you use firearms to control pur ple swamphens under this regulation, you may use only nontoxic shot or nontoxic bullets for the control. (4) If, while operating under this reg ulation, an authorized person takes any other species protected under the Endangered Species Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, or the Bald and Gold en Eagle Protection Act, that person must immediately report the take to the nearest Ecological Services office of the Fish and Wildlife Service. See https://www.fws.gov/offices to find the lo cation of the nearest Ecological Serv ices office. VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00145 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 136 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.174 (5) We may suspend or revoke the au thority of any agency or individual to undertake purple swamphen control if we find that agency or individual has, without an applicable permit, taken actions that may take Federally listed threatened or endangered species or any bird species protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act or the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (see § 10.13 of subchapter A of this chapter for the list of protected migratory bird spe cies), or otherwise violated Federal regulations. [75 FR 9316, Mar. 1, 2010, as amended at 80 FR 15691, Mar. 25, 2015. Redesignated at 87 FR 882, Jan. 7, 2022; 87 FR 883, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.174 Control order for Muscovy ducks in the United States. (a) Control of Muscovy ducks. Any where in the contiguous United States except in Hidalgo, Starr, and Zapata Counties in Texas, and in Alaska, Ha waii, and U.S. territories and posses sions, landowners and Federal, State, Tribal, and local wildlife management agencies, and their tenants, employees, or agents may, without a Federal per mit, remove or destroy Muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata) (including hybrids of Muscovy ducks), or their nests, or eggs at any time when found. Any author ized person may temporarily possess, transport, and dispose of Muscovy ducks taken under this order. (b) Muscovy ducks in Hidalgo, Starr, and Zapata Counties in Texas. In these counties, take of Muscovy ducks, their nests, and their eggs may be allowed if we issue a depredation permit for the activity. (c) Disposal of Muscovy ducks. You may donate Muscovy ducks taken under this order to public museums or public institutions for scientific or educational purposes, or you may dis pose of them by burying or incin erating them. You may not retain for personal use or consumption, offer for sale, or sell a Muscovy duck removed under authority of this section, nor may you release it in any other loca tion. (d) Other provisions. (1) You must comply with any State, territorial, or Tribal laws or regulations governing the removal or destruction of Muscovy ducks or their nests or eggs. (2) You may not remove or destroy Muscovy ducks or their nests or eggs if doing so will adversely affect other mi gratory birds or species designated as endangered or threatened under the au thority of the Endangered Species Act. If you use a firearm to kill Muscovy ducks under the provisions of this sec tion, you must use nontoxic shot or nontoxic bullets to do so. (3) If you operate under this order, you must immediately report the take of any species protected under the En dangered Species Act, or any other bird species protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, to the Fish and Wild life Service Ecological Services Office for the State or location in which the take occurred. (4) We reserve the right to suspend or revoke the authority of any agency or individual to undertake Muscovy duck control if we find that the agency or individual has undertaken actions that may harm Federally listed threatened or endangered species or are contrary to the provisions of this part. [75 FR 9321, Mar. 1, 2010. Redesignated at 87 FR 882, Jan. 7, 2022; 87 FR 883, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.177 Control order for invasive mi gratory birds in Hawaii. (a) Control of cattle egrets and barn owls. Personnel of the agencies listed in paragraph (b) of this section may take cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis) or barn owls (Tyto alba) using the methods au thorized in paragraph (c) of this section at any time anywhere in the State of Hawaii, the Northwestern Hawaiian Is lands, or the unincorporated territory of Midway Atoll. No permit is nec essary to engage in these actions. In this section, the word ‘‘you’’ means a person operating officially as an em ployee of one of the authorized agen cies. (b) Authorized agencies. (1) Federal Aviation Administration; (2) Hawaii Department of Agri culture; (3) Hawaii Department of Lands and Natural Resources, Division of For estry and Wildlife; (4) National Oceanic and Atmos pheric Administration; (5) National Park Service; VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00146 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 137 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.177 (6) U.S. Department of Agriculture— Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services; (7) U.S. Department of Defense; (8) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; (9) U.S. Geological Survey; and (10) University of Hawaii—Pacific Co operative Studies Units with program mandates to accomplish invasive spe cies eradication and control, including the five island Invasive Species Com mittees. (c) Means of take. (1) You may take cattle egrets and barn owls by means of lethal take or active nest take. Lethal take may occur by firearm or slingshot in accordance with paragraph (c)(2) of this section or lethal or live traps. Ac tive nest take may occur by egg oiling in accordance with paragraph (c)(3) of this section or destruction of nest ma terial and contents (including viable eggs and chicks). Birds may be euthanized by cervical dislocation, CO2 asphyxiation, or other recommended method in the American Veterinary Medical Association Guidelines on Eu thanasia. (2) If you use a firearm or slingshot to kill cattle egrets or barn owls under the provisions of this order, you must use nontoxic shot or nontoxic bullets to do so. See § 20.21(j) of this chapter for a list of approved nontoxic shot types. (3) Eggs must be oiled with 100 per cent corn oil, which is exempted from regulation under the Federal Insecti cide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (4) You may use concealment (such as blinds) and luring devices (such as decoys or recorded calls) for locating, capturing, and/or taking cattle egrets or barn owls. (d) Land access. You must obtain ap propriate landowner permission before conducting activities authorized by this order. (e) Relationship to other regulations. You may take cattle egrets and barn owls under this order only in a way that complies with all applicable Fed eral, State, county, municipal, or trib al laws. You are responsible for obtain ing all required authorizations to con duct this activity. (f) Release of injured, sick, or orphaned cattle egrets or barn owls. Wildlife rehabilitators, veterinarians, and all other individuals or agencies who re ceive sick, injured, or orphaned cattle egrets or barn owls are prohibited from releasing any individuals of those spe cies back into the wild in the State of Hawaii, the Northwestern Hawaiian Is lands, or the unincorporated territory of Midway Atoll. All applicable local, State, Federal, and/or territorial regu lations must be followed to transfer, possess, and/or release cattle egrets or barn owls in any other location. (g) Disposal of cattle egret or barn owl carcasses, nests, or nest contents. You may donate carcasses, nests, or nest contents taken under this control order to public museums or public in stitutions for scientific or educational purposes or to persons authorized by permit or regulation to possess them. You may dispose of the carcasses by burial or incineration; or, if the car casses are not safely retrievable, you may leave them in place. No one may retain for personal use, offer for sale, barter or trade, or sell a cattle egret or a barn owl or any feathers, parts, nests, or nest contents taken under this sec tion. (h) Endangered or threatened species. You may not take cattle egrets or barn owls if doing so will adversely affect other migratory birds protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act or spe cies designated as endangered or threatened under the authority of the Endangered Species Act. (i) Reporting take. Any agency en gaged in control activities under this control order must provide an annual report of take during the calendar year for each species by January 31st of the following year. The report must in clude a summary of the number of birds and number of active nests taken for each species, the months in which they were taken, and the island(s) on which they were taken. Multiple re ports within agencies may be com bined, as appropriate. Submit annual reports to the Pacific Region Migra tory Bird Permit Office in Portland, Oregon, at the address shown at 50 CFR 2.2. (j) Reporting nontarget take. If, while operating under this control order, you VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00147 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 138 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.180 take any other species protected under the Endangered Species Act or the Mi gratory Bird Treaty Act, you must re port within 72 hours the take to the Pacific Region Migratory Bird Permit Office in Portland, Oregon, at the ad dress shown at 50 CFR 2.2. (k) Revocation of authority to operate under this order. We may suspend or re voke the authority of any individual or agency to operate under this order if we find that the individual or agency has taken actions that may take feder ally listed endangered or threatened species or any other bird species pro tected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (see 50 CFR 10.13 for the list of pro tected migratory bird species), or has violated any Federal or State law or regulation governing this activity. We will notify the affected agency by cer tified mail, and may change this con trol order accordingly. [82 FR 34425, July 25, 2017. Redesignated at 87 FR 882, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.180 Conservation order for light geese. (a) What is a conservation order? A conservation order is a special manage ment action that is needed to control certain wildlife populations when tra ditional management programs are un successful in preventing overabundance of the population. We are authorizing a conservation order under the authority of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to re duce and stabilize various light goose populations. The conservation order al lows new methods of taking light geese, allows shooting hours for light geese to end one-half hour after sunset, and imposes no daily bag limits for light geese inside or outside the migra tory bird hunting season frameworks as described in this section. (b) Which waterfowl species are covered by the order? The conservation order ad dresses management of greater snow ( Anser caerulescens atlantica), lesser snow (A. c. caerulescens), and Ross’s (C. rossii) geese that breed, migrate, and winter in North America. The term light geese refers collectively to great er and lesser snow geese and Ross’s geese. (c) Where can the conservation order be authorized? The Director can authorize the conservation order in these areas: (1) The following States that are con tained within the boundaries of the At lantic Flyway: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Vir ginia. (2) The following States, or portions of States, that are contained within the boundaries of the Mississippi and Central Flyways: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kan sas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Mon tana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Da kota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyo ming. (3) The following States, or portions of States, that are contained within the boundaries of the Pacific Flyway: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyo ming. (4) Tribal lands within the geographic boundaries in paragraphs (c)(1), (2), and (3) of this section. (d) When will the Director authorize the conservation order in a particular Flyway? (1) The Director may authorize the conservation order for the reduc tion of greater snow geese for any State or Tribe contained within the At lantic Flyway by publishing a notice under paragraph (e) of this section when the May Waterfowl Population Status report indicates that the man agement goal of 500,000 birds has been exceeded and that special conservation actions conducted in Canada are insuf ficient to reduce the population. Au thorization of the conservation order in the U.S. portion of the Atlantic Flyway will occur after the Director determines the degree to which the management goal has been exceeded, the trajectory of population growth, anticipated harvest that would result from implementation of the conserva tion order, and whether or not similar conservation actions will be conducted in Canada. (2) The Director may authorize the conservation order for the reduction of mid-continent light geese (lesser snow and Ross’s geese) for any State or VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00148 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 139 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.180 Tribe contained within the Mississippi and Central Flyways by publishing a notice under paragraph (e) of this sec tion when the May Waterfowl Popu lation Status report indicates that the management goal of 1,600,000 birds (winter index for Mid-continent Popu lation and Western Central Flyway Population, combined) has been ex ceeded. Authorization of the conserva tion order in the U.S. portion of the Mississippi and Central Flyways will occur after the Director determines the degree to which the management goal has been exceeded, the trajectory of population growth, anticipated harvest that would result from implementation of the conservation order, and whether or not similar conservation actions will be conducted in Canada. (3) The Director may authorize a con servation order for the reduction of light geese (lesser snow and Ross’s geese) for any State or Tribe contained within the Pacific Flyway by pub lishing a notice under paragraph (e) of this section when the Director deter mines that light goose numbers in the western Arctic have exceeded the abil ity of their breeding habitat to support them. (e) How will the conservation order be authorized for a particular Flyway? The Director will publish a notice in the FEDERAL REGISTER when the conserva tion order is authorized in a particular Flyway. (f) What is required for State/Tribal governments to participate in the con servation order? When authorized by the Director, any State or Tribal govern ment responsible for the management of wildlife and migratory birds may, without permit, kill or cause to be killed under its general supervision, light geese under the following condi tions: (1) Activities conducted under the conservation order may not affect en dangered or threatened species as des ignated under the Endangered Species Act. (2) Control activities must be con ducted clearly as such and are intended to relieve pressures on migratory birds and habitat essential to migratory bird populations only and are not to be con strued as opening, reopening, or ex tending any open hunting season con trary to any regulations promulgated under Section 3 of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. (3) Control activities may be con ducted only when all waterfowl (includ ing light goose) and crane hunting sea sons, excluding falconry, are closed. (4) Control measures employed through this section may be used only between the hours of one-half hour be fore sunrise to one-half hour after sun set. (5) Nothing in the conservation order may limit or initiate management ac tions on Federal land without concur rence of the Federal agency with juris diction. (6) States and Tribes must designate participants who must operate under the conditions of the conservation order. (7) States and Tribes must inform participants of the requirements and conditions of the conservation order that apply. (8) States and tribes must keep an nual records of activities carried out under the authority of the conserva tion order. Specifically, information must be collected on: (i) The number of persons partici pating in the conservation order; (ii) The number of days people par ticipated in the conservation order; (iii) The number of light geese shot and retrieved under the conservation order; and (iv) The number of light geese shot but not retrieved. (9) The States and Tribes must sub mit an annual report summarizing ac tivities conducted under the conserva tion order on or before September 15 of each year, to the Chief, Division of Mi gratory Bird Management, at the ad dress provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b). Infor mation from Tribes may be incor porated in State reports. (g) What is required for persons to par ticipate in the conservation order? Indi vidual participants in State or Tribal programs covered by the conservation order must comply with the following provisions: (1) Nothing in the conservation order authorizes the take of light geese con trary to any State or Tribal laws or regulations, and none of the privileges granted under the conservation order VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00149 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 140 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.180 may be exercised unless persons acting under the authority of the conserva tion order possess whatever permit or other authorization(s) may be required for such activities by the State or Trib al government concerned. (2) Persons who take light geese under the conservation order may not sell or offer for sale those birds or their plumage but may possess, transport, and otherwise properly use them. (3) Persons acting under the author ity of the conservation order must per mit at all reasonable times, including during actual operations, any Federal or State game or deputy game agent, warden, protector, or other game law enforcement officer free and unre stricted access over the premises on which such operations have been or are being conducted and must promptly furnish whatever information an offi cer requires concerning the operation. (4) Persons acting under the author ity of the conservation order may take light geese by any method except those prohibited as follows: (i) With a trap, snare, net, rifle, pis tol, swivel gun, shotgun larger than 10 gauge, punt gun, battery gun, machine gun, fish hook, poison, drug, explosive, or stupefying substance. (ii) From or by means, aid, or use of a sinkbox or any other type of low floating device having a depression af fording the person a means of conceal ment beneath the surface of the water. (iii) From or by means, aid, or use of any motor vehicle, motor-driven land conveyance, or aircraft of any kind, ex cept that paraplegics and persons miss ing one or both legs may carry out take activities from any stationary motor vehicle or stationary motor driven land conveyance. (iv) From or by means of any motor boat or other craft having a motor at tached, or any sailboat, unless the motor has been completely shut off and the sails furled, and its progress has ceased. A craft under power may be used only to retrieve dead or crippled birds; however, the craft may not be used under power to shoot any crippled bird. (v) By the use or aid of live birds as decoys. It is a violation of this para graph (g) for any person to take light geese on an area where tame or captive live geese are present unless such birds are and have been for a period of 10 consecutive days before the taking, confined within an enclosure that sub stantially reduces the audibility of their calls and totally conceals the birds from the sight of light geese. (vi) By means or aid of any motor driven land, water, or air conveyance, or any sailboat used for the purpose of or resulting in the concentrating, driv ing, rallying, or stirring up of light geese. (vii) By the aid of baiting, or on or over any baited area, where a person knows or reasonably should know that the area is or has been baited as de scribed in § 20.11(j–k). Light geese may not be taken on or over lands or areas that are baited areas, and where grain or other feed has been distributed or scattered solely as the result of manip ulation of an agricultural crop or other feed on the land where grown, or solely as the result of a normal agricultural operation as described in § 20.11(h) and (l). However, nothing in this paragraph (g) prohibits the taking of light geese on or over the following lands or areas that are not otherwise baited areas: (A) Standing crops or flooded stand ing crops (including aquatics); stand ing, flooded, or manipulated natural vegetation; flooded harvested crop lands; or lands or areas where seeds or grains have been scattered solely as the result of a normal agricultural planting, harvesting, postharvest ma nipulation or normal soil stabilization practice as described in § 20.11(g), (i), (l), and (m); (B) From a blind or other place of concealment camouflaged with natural vegetation; (C) From a blind or other place of concealment camouflaged with vegeta tion from agricultural crops, as long as such camouflaging does not result in the exposing, depositing, distributing, or scattering of grain or other feed; or (D) Standing or flooded standing ag ricultural crops where grain is inad vertently scattered solely as a result of a hunter entering or exiting a hunting area, placing decoys, or retrieving downed birds. (viii) Participants may not possess shot (either in shotshells or as loose shot for muzzleloading) other than VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00150 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 141 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior § 21.183 steel shot, bismuth-tin, tungsten-iron, tungsten-polymer, tungsten-matrix, tungsten-bronze, tungsten-nickel-iron, tungsten-tin-iron, tungsten-nickel iron-tin, tungsten-iron-copper-nickel, or other shots that are authorized in § 20.21(j). (h) Can the conservation order be sus pended? The Director reserves the right to suspend or revoke a State’s or Tribe’s authority under the conserva tion order if we find that the State or Tribe has not adhered to the terms and conditions specified in this section. The criteria for suspension and revoca tion are outlined in § 13.27 and § 13.28 of this subchapter. Upon appeal, final de cisions to revoke authority will be made by the Director. Additionally, at such time that the Director determines that a specific population of light geese no longer poses a threat to habitats, agricultural crops, or other interests, or is within Flyway management ob jectives, the Director may choose to terminate part or all of the conserva tion order. (i) Under what conditions would the conservation order be suspended? The Di rector will annually assess the overall impact and effectiveness of the con servation order on each light goose population to ensure compatibility with long-term conservation of this re source. The Director will suspend the conservation order if at any time evi dence clearly demonstrates that an in dividual light goose population no longer presents a serious threat of in jury to the area or areas involved. Sus pension by the Director will occur by publication of a notice in the FEDERAL REGISTER. However, resumption of growth by the light goose population in question may warrant reinstatement of the conservation order to control the population. The Director will publish a notice of such reinstatement in the FEDERAL REGISTER. Depending on the status of individual light goose popu lations, it is possible that a conserva tion order may be in effect for one or more light goose populations, but not others. (j) Information collection requirements. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the information collection requirements associated with this conservation order and as signed OMB Control Number 1018–0146. Federal agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Direct comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of the information collec tion to the Service’s Information Col lection Clearance Officer at the address provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b). [73 FR 65951, Nov. 5, 2008; 73 FR 70914, Nov. 24, 2008, as amended at 79 FR 43966, July 29, 2014; 80 FR 13500, Mar. 16, 2015. Redesignated and amended at 87 FR 883, Jan. 7, 2022] § 21.183 Population control of resident Canada geese. (a) Which Canada geese are covered by this regulation? This regulation address es the population control of resident Canada geese (Branta canadensis), as defined in § 21.6. (b) What is the resident Canada goose population control program, and what is its purpose? The resident Canada goose population control program is a man aged take program implemented under the authority of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to reduce and stabilize resi dent Canada goose populations when traditional and otherwise authorized management measures are unsuccess ful, not feasible for dealing with, or ap plicable, in preventing injury to prop erty, agricultural crops, public health, and other interests from resident Can ada geese. The Director is authorized to allow States and Tribes to imple ment a population control, or managed take, program to remedy these inju ries. When authorized by the Director, managed take allows additional meth ods of taking resident Canada geese, al lows shooting hours for resident Can ada geese to extend to one-half hour after sunset, and removes daily bag limits for resident Canada geese inside or outside the migratory bird hunting season frameworks as described in this section. The intent of the program is to reduce resident Canada goose popu lations in order to protect personal property and agricultural crops and other interests from injury and to re solve potential concerns about human health. The management and control activities allowed or conducted under the program are intended to relieve or VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00151 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 142 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) § 21.183 prevent damage and injurious situa tions. No person should construe this program as opening, reopening, or ex tending any hunting season contrary to any regulations established under sec tion 3 of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. (c) What areas are eligible to participate in the program? When approved by the Director, the State and Tribal wildlife agencies of Alabama, Arkansas, Colo rado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kan sas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Mon tana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Okla homa, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Ten nessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming may implement the resident Canada goose population control program compo nents in the Atlantic, Central, and Mis sissippi Flyway portions of these States. (d) What is required in order for State governments to participate in a managed take program? Following the conclusion of the first full operational year of §§ 21.159, 21.162, 21.165, and 21.168 of this part, any wildlife agency from a State listed in paragraph (c) of this section may request approval for the popu lation control program. A request must include a discussion of the State’s or Tribe’s efforts to address its injurious situations utilizing the methods ap proved in this rule or a discussion of the reasons why the methods author ized by these rules are not feasible for dealing with, or applicable to, the inju rious situations that require further action. Discussions should be detailed and provide the Service with a clear understanding of the injuries that con tinue, why the authorized methods uti lized have not worked, and why meth ods not utilized could not effectuate resolution of the injuries. A State’s re quest for approval may be for an area or areas smaller than the entire State. Upon written approval by the Director, any State or Tribal government re sponsible for the management of wild life and migratory birds may, without permit, kill or cause to be killed under its general supervision, resident Can ada geese under the following condi tions: (1) Activities conducted under the managed take program may not affect endangered or threatened species as designated under the Endangered Spe cies Act. (2) Control activities may be con ducted under this section only between August 1 and August 31. (3) Control measures employed through this section may be imple mented only between the hours of one half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. (4) Nothing in the program may limit or initiate management actions on Federal land without concurrence of the Federal agency with jurisdiction. (5) States and Tribes must designate participants who must operate under the conditions of the managed take program. (6) States and Tribes must inform participants of the requirements/condi tions of the program that apply. (7) States and Tribes must keep an nual records of activities carried out under the authority of the program. Specifically, information must be col lected on: (i) The number of individuals partici pating in the program; (ii) The number of days individuals participated in the program; (iii) The total number of resident Canada geese shot and retrieved during the program; and (iv) The number of resident Canada geese shot but not retrieved. The States and Tribes must submit an an nual report summarizing activities conducted under the program and an assessment of the continuation of the injuries on or before June 1 of each year to the Chief, Division of Migra tory Bird Management, at the address provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b). (e) What is required for individuals to participate in the program? Individual participants in State and Tribal pro grams covered by the managed take program must comply with the fol lowing requirements: (1) Participants must comply with all applicable State and Tribal laws or reg ulations including possession of what ever permit(s) or other authorization(s) VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00152 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 143 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., Interior ยง 21.183 may be required by the State or Tribal government concerned. (2) Participants who take resident Canada geese under the program may not sell or offer for sale those birds or their plumage, but may possess, trans port, and otherwise properly use them. (3) Participants must permit at all reasonable times, including during ac tual operations, any Service special agent or refuge officer, State or Tribal wildlife or deputy wildlife agent, war den, protector, or other wildlife law en forcement officer free and unrestricted access over the premises on which such operations have been or are being con ducted and must promptly furnish whatever information an officer re quires concerning the operation. (4) Participants may take resident Canada geese by any method except those prohibited as follows: (i) With a trap, snare, net, rifle, pis tol, swivel gun, shotgun larger than 10 gauge, punt gun, battery gun, machine gun, fish hook, poison, drug, explosive, or stupefying substance. (ii) From or by means, aid, or use of a sinkbox or any other type of low floating device, having a depression af fording the person a means of conceal ment beneath the surface of the water. (iii) From or by means, aid, or use of any motor vehicle, motor-driven land conveyance, or aircraft of any kind, ex cept that paraplegic persons and per sons missing one or both legs may take from any stationary motor vehicle or stationary motor-driven land convey ance. (iv) From or by means of any motor boat or other craft having a motor at tached, or any sailboat, unless the motor has been completely shut off and the sails furled, and its progress has ceased. A craft under power may be used only to retrieve dead or crippled birds; however, the craft may not be used under power to shoot any crippled birds. (v) By the use or aid of live birds as decoys. No person may take resident Canada geese on an area where tame or captive live geese are present unless such birds are, and have been for a pe riod of 10 consecutive days before the taking, confined within an enclosure that substantially reduces the audi bility of their calls and totally con ceals the birds from the sight of resi dent Canada geese. (vi) By means or aid of any motor driven land, water, or air conveyance, or any sailboat used for the purpose of or resulting in the concentrating, driv ing, rallying, or stirring up of resident Canada geese. (vii) By the aid of baiting, or on or over any baited area, where a person knows or reasonably should know that the area is or has been baited as de scribed in ยง 20.11(j) and (k) of this part. Resident Canada geese may not be taken on or over lands or areas that are baited areas, and where grain or other feed has been distributed or scat tered solely as the result of manipula tion of an agricultural crop or other feed on the land where grown, or solely as the result of a normal agricultural operation as described in ยง 20.11(h) and (l) of this part. However, nothing in this paragraph prohibits the taking of resident Canada geese on or over the following lands or areas that are not otherwise baited areas: (A) Standing crops or flooded stand ing crops (including aquatics); stand ing, flooded, or manipulated natural vegetation; flooded harvested crop lands; or lands or areas where seeds or grains have been scattered solely as the result of a normal agricultural planting, harvesting, post-harvest ma nipulation or normal soil stabilization practice as described in ยง 20.11(g), (i), (l), and (m) of this part; (B) From a blind or other place of concealment camouflaged with natural vegetation; (C) From a blind or other place of concealment camouflaged with vegeta tion from agricultural crops, as long as such camouflaging does not result in the exposing, depositing, distributing, or scattering of grain or other feed; or (D) Standing or flooded standing ag ricultural crops where grain is inad vertently scattered solely as a result of a hunter entering or exiting a hunting area, placing decoys, or retrieving downed birds. (E) Participants may not possess shot (either in shotshells or as loose shot for muzzleloading) other than steel shot, bismuth-tin, tungsten-iron, tungsten-polymer, tungsten-matrix, tungsten-nickel iron, or other shots VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00153 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8010 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R 144 50 CFR Ch. I (10–1–23 Edition) Pt. 22 that are authorized in § 20.21(j) of this part. (f) Under what conditions would we suspend the managed take program? Fol lowing authorization by the Director, we will annually assess the overall im pact and effectiveness of the program on resident Canada goose populations to ensure compatibility with long-term conservation of this resource. If at any time evidence is presented that clearly demonstrates that resident Canada geese populations no longer need to be reduced in order to allow resolution or prevention of injury to people, prop erty, agricultural crops, or other inter ests, the Director, in writing, will sus pend the program for the resident Can ada goose population in question. How ever, resumption of injuries caused by growth of the population and not oth erwise addressable by the methods available in part 21 may warrant rein statement of such regulations. A State must reapply for approval, including the same information and discussions noted in paragraph (d) of this section. Depending on the location of the injury or threat or injury, the Director, in writing, may suspend or reinstate this authorization for one or more resident Canada goose populations, but not oth ers. (g) What population information is the State or Tribe required to collect con cerning the resident Canada goose man aged take program? Participating States and Tribes must provide an annual es timate of the breeding population and distribution of resident Canada geese in their State. The States and Tribes must submit this estimate on or before August 1 of each year, to the Chief, Di vision of Migratory Bird Management, at the address provided at 50 CFR 2.1(b). (h) What are the general program con ditions and restrictions? The program is subject to the conditions elsewhere in this section, and, unless otherwise spe cifically authorized, the following con ditions: (1) Nothing in this section applies to any Federal land within a State’s or Tribe’s boundaries without written per mission of the Federal agency with ju risdiction. (2) States may not undertake any ac tions under this section if the activi ties adversely affect other migratory birds or species designated as endan gered or threatened under the author ity of the Endangered Species Act. Per sons operating under this section must immediately report the take of any species protected under the Endangered Species Act to the Service. Further, to protect certain species from being ad versely affected by management ac tions, States must: (i) Follow the Federal State Contin gency Plan for the whooping crane; (ii) Conduct no activities within 300 meters of a whooping crane or Mis sissippi sandhill crane nest; and (iii) Follow all Regional (or National when available) Bald Eagle Nesting Management guidelines for all manage ment activities. (i) Information collection requirements. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the information collection requirements associated with this program and assigned OMB Control Number 1018–0146. Federal agencies may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Direct comments regarding the burden estimate or any other as pect of the information collection to the Service’s Information Collection Clearance Officer at the address pro vided at 50 CFR 2.1(b). [71 FR 45992, Aug. 10, 2006, as amended at 72 FR 46409, Aug. 20, 2007; 79 FR 43966, July 29, 2014. Redesignated at 87 FR 883, Jan. 7, 2022; 87 FR 884, Jan. 7, 2022] PART 22—EAGLE PERMITS Subpart A—Introduction and General Requirements Sec. 22.2 Purpose of this part. 22.4 Scope of this part. 22.6 Definitions. 22.8 Information collection requirements. 22.10 Relationship to other permit require ments. 22.12 Illegal activities. Subpart B [Reserved] VerDate Sep<11>2014 08:53 Feb 09, 2024 Jkt 259244 PO 00000 Frm 00154 Fmt 8010 Sfmt 8006 Y:\SGML\259244.XXX 259244js pe ar s on D S K 12 1T N 23 P R O D w ith C F R