Media & News

An Oregon sheep rancher estimates she loses 300 lambs a year to eagle depredation — roughly $37,500 annually. A deep dive into how golden eagles have increasingly targeted domestic lambs as open-range practices spread across the West.

In the past five years, golden eagles have been treating some Wyoming ranches as an all-you-can-eat buffet — feasting on lambs and replacement ewes. Because golden eagles are federally protected, there is very little a rancher can do, even when losses are severe. One producer shares what has and hasn't worked.

Eagle predation on livestock is drastically underreported. Many ranchers don't even want to talk about the issue out of fear of reprisal. Producers in the Willamette Valley acknowledge serious problems with eagles but refuse to speak on the record — a troubling pattern across the industry.

A partnership between licensed eagle falconers and domestic sheep producers is adding a new tool to the conflict toolkit. Falconers live-trap depredating eagles, remove them from ranches, and release them hundreds of miles away — while a research component tracks their movements to understand territory and behavior.

Wyoming Game and Fish is backing a plan to trap 16 sheep-hunting golden eagles and relocate them up to 400 miles away — including out of state. The project combines practical depredation relief with a research component to understand how displaced eagles respond and whether translocation is a viable long-term tool.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service published final eagle regulations effective April 12, 2024. The rule updates the definition of "eagle nest" and makes changes to incidental take permits — with additional regulatory changes anticipated in late 2025 or early 2026 under RIN 1018-BI80 that could further affect depredation permit processes.

In a March 2025 update, the American Sheep Industry Association reported that USDA Wildlife Services has hired a dedicated avian predator biologist to help address depredations caused by eagles, ravens, vultures, and caracaras — acknowledging that avian raptors have become "a huge problem" with very limited tools available to producers.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service updated its FAQ on federal eagle depredation permits in January 2025. A golden eagle may only be removed from a livestock depredation area declared by USDA Wildlife Services. A USDA biologist must first issue a WS Form 37 before a take permit is granted.

USDA APHIS outlines the full process for obtaining a migratory bird depredation permit, including documentation requirements, Wildlife Services involvement, and the role of state and federal agencies. An essential reference for any rancher considering formal action against depredating eagles.

A landmark field study examining documented golden eagle depredation of sheep in Montana, analyzing attack patterns, prey selection (young lambs — especially those under about a month old — are the most vulnerable), seasonal timing, and the relationship between eagle territory size and livestock conflict. Still one of the most-cited studies in western ranching literature.

The USFWS Eagle Management program outlines all legal tools available for managing conflicts between golden eagles and livestock operations, including depredation permits, translocation programs, and the annual allocation of up to six golden eagles to master-class falconers through a random draw.