More than 4,000 Native Americans are waiting for eagles and eagle feather parts, a federal government employee said at a court hearing on Tuesday.

Bernadette Atencio works at the National Eagle Repository, part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She said the waiting period for an immature golden eagle is about four years and about two years for a bald eagle, The Casper Star-Tribune reported.

She said the requests pile up because repository doesn't receive many eagles. Those that are received are often in poor condition, she said. The backlog will take years and years to resolve.

Members of the Arapaho Tribe testified of their long waits. Daniel Caldwell said he for an eagle in 1998 and received a spoiled carcass in 2002. Harvey Spoonhunter said he applied for an immature golden eagle in 1997 but was told in 2001 he couldn't obtain one. The center sent a bald eagle with a decayed head and body, he said.

The hearing was called as part of the federal government's case against Winslow Friday, an Arapaho man who shot a bald eagle on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. He didn't obtain a federal permit but Atencio said tribal members aren't made aware of the permit process.

Get the Story:
Feds face big backlog of eagle requests (The Casper Star-Tribune 5/24)

Relevant Links:
National Eagle Repository - http://www.r6.fws.gov/law/le65.html
Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle Protection Act - http://laws.fws.gov/lawsdigest/baldegl.html

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