or tiune lambs or fawns oi- foxes on 

 fox farms.-- Favorably acted on 

 by tlie Senate after certain amend- 

 ments, the bill later failed of pas- 

 sage in the Honse of Represent- 

 atives. 



Companion bills to protect the 

 bald eagle again were introdnced in 

 the Senate and the Honse of Repre- 

 sentatives in the spring of 19J:0. 

 Their provisions followed closely 

 those of the earlier bills with the 

 exception that the Territory of 

 Alaska was exclnded, a sitnation 

 brought about by strenuous objec- 

 tion to the protection of the bald 

 eagle in an area where it was abund- 

 ant and had potentialities for harm 

 to fishing and fur-farming indus- 

 tries. This act was passed, signed 

 by the President and became a law 

 (Title 54, Stat. 250) on June 8, 

 1940. 



The salient features of this legis- 

 lation provide that, except in the 

 Territory of Alaska, it shall be un- 

 lawful to "take, possess, sell, pur- 

 chase, barter, offer to sell, purchase 

 or barter, transport, export or im- 

 port, at any time or in any manner, 

 any bald eagle, commonly known as 

 the American eagle, alive or dead, or 

 any part, nest or egg thereof.'' The 

 act also provides for the granting 

 of permits to collect eagles for 

 scientific purposes and for the pro- 

 tection of wildlife or agricultural 

 or other interests locally. Author- 

 ity and moneys provided inider the 

 Migratory Bird Treaty Act of July 

 3, 1918, were made available for the 

 administration and enforcement of 

 the Bald Eagle Act. 



With the bald eagle now afforded 

 protection under Federal law, pro- 



visions in State laws contrary 

 thereto lose their import. A review 

 of State statutes made several years 

 prior to the protection of the eagle 

 disclosed that in 5 States the bird 

 was specihcally protected, in 39 it 

 was protected by implication, and 

 in 1 it was unprotected. Conse- 

 quently, in the United States enact- 

 ment of a Federal law for the pro- 

 tection of the bald eagle conformed 

 to prevalent thought and strength- 

 ened enforcement procedures. 



ALASKA 



Legislation enacted by the Terri- 

 torial Legislature of Alaska regard- 

 ing the bald eagle has been that con- 

 nected with enactment or repeal of 

 bounties for the birds' destruction. 

 In appraising such legislative ac- 

 tion, one must take into considera- 

 tion the circumstances prevailing in 

 the areas affected by such action. 

 Although there have been marked 

 changes in human populations and 

 activities in recent years in this ex- 

 ])ansive region, throughout much of 

 the bounty-payment period, Alaska 

 was largely a primitive, sparsely 

 ])opulated area. The abundance of 

 bald eagles in the coastal region of 

 Alaska, to which they are partial, 

 was and still is many times that 

 prevailing in those areas in the 

 States where the bird is most plenti- 

 ful. If we consider also that, in its 

 fisheries and fox farming, Alaska 

 has industries that could be vulner- 

 able to eagle depredations, and that 

 a bounty system often is looked 

 upon as a source of income, the 

 reason for the popularity of such a 

 law in the Territory becomes 

 obvious. 



19 



