landowners to amend their project and allow it to proceed without adversely affecting
the critical habitat.
There are a variety of permits for the removal of an endangered or threatened species
(incidental take permits, enhancement of survival permits, and recovery and interstate
commerce permits). Each type of permit has a number of prerequisites.
Incidental take permits are required when non‐federal activities will result in take of
threatened or endangered species. A habitat conservation plan (HCP) must accompany
an application for an incidental take permit. The HCP associated with the permit ensures
that the effects of the authorized incidental take are adequately minimized and
mitigated. A 1982 amendment to the Act requires that permit applicants design,
implement, and secure funding for the HCP to minimize and mitigate harm to the
impacted species during the proposed project. An HCP is a legally binding agreement
between the Secretary of the Interior and the permit holder.
Enhancement of survival permits are issued to non‐federal landowners participating in
Safe Harbor Agreements or Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances. These
agreements encourage landowners to take actions to benefit species while also providing
assurances the owners will not be subject to additional regulatory restrictions as a result
of their conservation actions.
Recovery and interstate commerce permits allow for take as part of activities intended
to foster the recovery of listed species. A typical use of a recovery permit is for scientific
research on a listed species in order to understand better the species' long‐term survival
needs. Interstate commerce permits also allow transport and sale of listed species across
state lines (e.g., for purposes such as breeding).
However, because some listed species are subject to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, it is
illegal for anyone to take, possess, import, export, transport, sell, purchase, barter, or
offer for sale or barter any migratory bird, or the parts, nests, or eggs of such a bird,
except under the terms of a valid permit issued pursuant to federal regulations. The
migratory bird species protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act are listed in
50 CFR 10.13.
As authorized by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, USFWS issues permits to qualified
applicants for the following types of activities: falconry, raptor propagation, scientific
collecting, special purposes (rehabilitation, educational, migratory game bird
propagation, and salvage), take of depredating birds, taxidermy, and waterfowl sale and
disposal. Migratory bird permit policy is developed by the Division of Migratory Bird
Management and the permits themselves are issued by the Regional Bird Permit Offices.
Background Report
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