To consider a general permit for eagle incidental take by wind facilities, the Service needed to account for the potential impacts of authorizing incidental take of eagles through general permits, whiles remaining consistent with our management objectives and preservation standard as detailed in the Service’s 2016 Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Eagle Rule Revision (81 FR 91494). The Service also prioritized clear eligibility requirements to minimize review necessary prior to general permit issuance. To accomplish this for general permits for wind facilities, we pre-analyzed the effect incidental take at general permit eligible projects could have on bald and golden eagles by: 1) identifying...
