Mitigation Credits Made Simple

How the Eagle ILF Program Works

The Eagle ILF Program sells mitigation credits to entities with an incidental eagle take permit and others authorized by the USFWS to participate in the program. Permittees working with the Eagle ILF Program include industries like wind energy generation, solar energy generation, electric transmission and distribution facilities, water management agencies, mining operations, construction projects, timber harvesting, agriculture, and many others.

The Eagle ILF Program offsets permitted incidental take with mitigation actions in the same eagle management unit as the permitted take. We pool funds from multiple permits to implement large mitigation projects in areas with concentrations of breeding, summering, or wintering eagles.

Electrocution Mitigation

Electrocution on power poles is a known cause of mortality or injury to eagles. The USFWS authorized retrofitting power poles as the first method of compensatory mitigation used with eagle permits. 

Eagle electrocutions occur on distribution power poles where clearances between electrified or electrified and grounded parts are shorter than metacarpal-to-metacarpal or head-to-foot distances.

When perching or landing on a power pole, eagles can be electrocuted by simultaneously contacting two different phase conductors (phase-to-phase), or a conductor and a path to ground (phase-to-ground).

Retrofitting poles to make them eagle-friendly requires using established mitigation techniques which ensure adequate 40” vertical and 60” horizontal clearances on poles.  Common mitigation techniques are separation, insulation, and redirection.