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Media & News

News coverage, policy updates, and field reports on golden eagle depredation, rancher impacts, and wildlife management across the American West.

Rancher Stories 2023 Casper Star-Tribune
Sheep populations decimated by golden and bald eagles across Wyoming ranches
Rancher James Curutchet started 2020 with 350 sheep. Within two months, eagles had reduced his flock to 193. His story reflects a widening crisis across Wyoming, where ranchers report losing the majority of their young lambs to protected golden eagles — and having almost no legal recourse. Many producers don't even report losses, fearing backlash.
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Rancher Stories Wyoming Public Media
When Sheep Become an Eagle's Diet
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.
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Rancher Stories Gillette News Record
Rancher uses different tools to stop eagles preying on livestock
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.
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Rancher Stories Capital Press
The Secret Predators
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.
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Solutions Jan 2022 Wyoming Livestock Roundup
Golden success: Eagle capture and research partnership continues
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.
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Solutions WyoFile
Proposed project would trap, move, and track lamb-hunting eagles
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.
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Policy & Permits Feb 2024 Env. Law & Policy
Changes to Eagle Take Permitting Finalized by Fish and Wildlife Service
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.
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Policy & Permits Mar 2025 American Sheep Industry
ASI: USDA Wildlife Services hires avian predator biologist to address eagle conflicts
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.
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Policy & Permits USFWS
Federal Depredation Permit FAQ — What Ranchers Need to Know
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.
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Research USDA APHIS
Migratory Bird Depredation Permit Process — Official USDA Guide
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.
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Research University of Nebraska
Sheep Depredation by Golden Eagles in Montana — Field Study
A landmark field study examining documented golden eagle depredation of sheep in Montana, analyzing attack patterns, prey selection (76% of kills are lambs aged 2–4 weeks), seasonal timing, and the relationship between eagle territory size and livestock conflict. Still one of the most-cited studies in western ranching literature.
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Solutions USFWS
Eagle Management Program — U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
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.
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