The Origins of Federal Wildlife Regulation Under the Commerce Clause

Abstract

June 8, 2020, marked the eightieth anniversary of the Bald Eagle Protection Act—the first federal statute to rely on the Commerce Clause for the authority to prohibit the taking of wildlife. Its enactment marked a turning point in federal wildlife law. The Eagle Act’s forgotten history supports the Ninth Circuit’s conclusion that the Eagle Act is within the scope of Congress’s Commerce Clause power, as well as the many federal courts of appeals that have come to the same conclusion about the Endangered Species Act. This history should leave no doubt that Congress may regulate the taking of wildlife.

Keywords: Commerce Clause, wildlife, Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, legal history