The Lacey Act protects both plants and wildlife by creating penalties for a variety of violations. It prohibits trade in wildlife, fish, and plants that have been illegally taken, possessed, transported, or sold.

A person who violates the Lacey Act is charged doubly -- this is a separate offense from violating the Endangered Species Act or the International Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

This act prohibits falsifying documents for shipments of wildlife. It prohibits failure to mark wildlife shipments. Each of these violations is a separate offense.

Under the Lacey Act, it's unlawful to import, export, sell, acquire, or purchase fish, wildlife, or plants taken, possessed, transported, or sold:

• in violation of U.S. or Indian law, or
• in interstate or foreign commerce involving any of the same.

The act specifies felony criminal sanctions for violations involving imports or exports, or violations of a commercial nature in which the value of the wildlife is in excess of $350.

It also establishes a misdemeanor violation with a fine of up to $10,000 and a prison sentence of up to one year, or both.

Under the International Migratory Bird Treaty Act, it's unlawful to ship, transport, or carry from one state or territory to another, or to carry to or through a foreign country, any bird, or any part, nest, or egg that is captured, killed, taken, shipped, transported, or carried at any time contrary to the laws of the state, territory, or district in which it was captured, killed, or taken, or from which it was shipped, transported, or carried.

In other words, if a bird (or part of a bird or its nest or its egg) is captured or killed or carried in a way that's illegal, it's against the law to transport the bird (or part or nest or egg) to another state, territory, or foreign country.

Violators of this act face fines of up to $15,000, imprisonment for up to two years, or both, depending on the violation and conviction.

The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to issue special regulations so that the indigenous inhabitants of the State of Alaska are permitted to take migratory birds and collect eggs of migratory birds for their own nutritional and other essential needs, during seasons established to provide for the preservation and maintenance of stocks of migratory birds.

The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act provides for the protection of the Bald Eagle and the Golden Eagle by prohibiting taking the birds, possessing the birds, and using the birds for commercial purposes.

Penalties under this act were increased in 1972. The act also provides rewards for information leading to arrest and conviction of violators.

In 1994, a policy was put in place concerning the collection and distribution of eagle feathers for Native American religious purposes. The National Eagle Repository serves as a collection point for dead eagles. Most of the dead Golden and Bald Eagles received by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) have been salvaged by state and federal wildlife personnel. Some of the birds have died as a result of electrocution, some in vehicle collisions, some due to unlawful shooting and trapping, and some from natural causes.

The bodies of these eagles are shipped to the National Eagle Repository at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in Denver, Colorado. Each bird is assigned a number for tracking and accountability purposes. Information about each bird is entered into a database. The condition of each eagle and its feathers is noted, and the eagle's species and age are recorded. If part of the bird or its feathers are missing, damaged, or broken, FWS staff may add replacement parts from another bird to make it complete. (The recipient is notified when this is the case prior to shipping.) The bird is then stored in a freezer until it is ready to ship, usually within three to five days.

Only enrolled members of a federally recognized tribe can obtain a permit from the FWS that authorizes them to receive and possess eagle feathers from the Repository for religious purposes.

The Nebraska Nongame and Endangered Species Conservation Act protects birds from harassment, harm, pursuit, hunting, wounding, killing, trapping, capturing, and collecting, all of which are considered "taking."

Any federally threatened or endangered species is automatically on the Nebraska threatened or endangered species list, and Nebraska may also put species on their state threatened or endangered species list that aren't necessarily federally listed.

This act clearly makes it the responsibility of the individual to avoid actions which may have negative effects on these birds. It applies whether an individual is on public or private property.

Penalties for violating this state law include fines and potential imprisonment. Rewards of up to $5,000 have been paid in Nebraska for information that led to the arrest and conviction of people unlawfully taking endangered species.

The Endangered Species Act provides for the conservation of ecosystems upon which threatened and endangered species of fish, wildlife, and plants depend.

This act:

• establishes the circumstances under which a species can be listed as endangered and threatened
• prohibits the unauthorized taking, possession, sale, and transport of endangered species
• provides authority to acquire land for the conservation of listed species, using land and water conservation funds
• authorizes establishment of cooperative agreements and grants-in-aid to states that establish and maintain active and adequate programs for endangered and threatened wildlife and plants
• authorizes the assessment of civil and criminal penalties for violating this act or it regulations
• authorizes payment of rewards to anyone who furnishes information leading to arrest and conviction for any violation of this act or any regulation issued under this act

There are many amendments to the original Endangered Species Act, including the following from 1988:

• "person" was redefined to apply to municipal corporations
• the Departments of Interior and Agriculture were given equal authority for enforcing restrictions on import/export of listed plants
• the Secretary of the Interior was required to monitor all petitioned species that are candidates for listing and emergency listing authority was specified
• the Secretary of the Interior was directed to develop and review recovery plans for listed species without showing preference to any taxonomic group
• the recovery plan criteria were established for listed species
• a requirement was added for a status report to Congress on recovery plans every two years
• a provision was added for public review of new or revised recovery plans prior to final approval
• a requirement was added for five-year monitoring for species that have recovered and been delisted

The CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) established a system of import/export regulations to prevent the over-exploitation of plants and animals listed by CITES.

Under CITES, different levels of trade regulations are provided, depending on the status of the listed species and the contribution trade makes to the decline of the species.

CITES was signed by 80 nations in 1973, and as of April 2009 has been adopted by 175 countries.

The Wild Bird Conservation Act established a new federal system to limit or prohibit U.S. imports of exotic bird species in several ways. The act:

• imposed an immediate moratorium on the importation of certain exotic bird species identified under CITES, and provided procedures for the Secretary of the Interior to suspend trade in any CITES-listed bird species and remove trade suspensions on species
• directed the Secretary of the Interior to publish in the Federal Register a list of exotic bird species for which trade is allowed, and provided procedures for determining such species
• provided criteria to determine whether exotic bird breeding facilities in other nations are "qualified" to export species to the U.S.
• required periodic review of the trade in non-CITES species, and authorized the imposition of emergency moratoriums or quotas if determined to be necessary for species conservation.

The purpose of the The Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA) is to establish a competitive, matching grants program that supports public-private partnerships carrying out projects in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean that promote the long-term conservation of Neotropical migratory birds and their habitats.

The goals of this act include:

• perpetuating healthy populations of these birds
• providing financial resources for bird conservation initiatives
• fostering international cooperation for such initiatives