George Andrejko/AZGFD A seesaw battle over federal protection of Arizona's desert nesting bald eagles took a dip in the direction of less protection last week when the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service concluded the birds no longer warranted protection under the Endangered Species Act.
CAMP VERDE - The Verde River's fledgling desert bald eagle population is being kicked out of its federal nest following a decision by the Fish & Wildlife Service.
Last week thee Fish & Wildlife Service announced that following a 12-month-long evaluation the agency has determined that desert nesting bald eagles do not qualify as a "distinct population segment," and as such does not qualify for protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The eagles will continue to receive protection under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, a layer of protection that critics say is inadequate to protect Arizona's eagle population.
"The idea that Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act affords the same protection as the Endangered Species Act is a bald-faced lie, " says Center for Biological Diversity founder Robin Silver. "The protection act will allow for prosecution if an eagle is shot, but not if you dry up a river. It doesn't afford protection of habitat, and that is critical to the survival of these eagles."
The Fish & Wildlife Service reached a similar conclusion in 2007 when bald eagles nationwide were removed from the endangered species protection. However, a federal court tossed out the agency's conclusion in 2008 and instructed the Fish & Wildlife Service to complete a more thorough study.
To be determined as a "distinct population segment," worthy of continued listing as an endanger species, the birds must pass two tests.
The first is that they are "distinct," meaning they are markedly different in character from other bald eagles. The Fish & Wildlife Service concluded the desert nesting eagles of Arizona were distinct because they have little interaction with other bald eagle populations.
However, the agency determined they did not pass the second test, one that asks if their distinctness is "significant" to the overall health of the species.
"The Sonoran Desert Area bald eagles do not provide any unique adaptations important to the conservation of the species as a whole,
"Because the bald eagle occurs in so many diverse environments, it is difficult to determine what the 'usual' ecological setting is for the species, and, therefore, difficult to conclude that the bird's presence in any particular ecological setting is 'unusual,'" the new study concluded.
Fish and Wildlife's decision is not the end of the legal challenges that have kept the eagles under federal protection. The next step is for a federal judge to rule on the agency's conclusions.
The Center for Biological diversity, an organization that has long played the role of keeping the Fish & Wildlife Service honest, is expected to appeal any decision that would remove the birds from endangered species protection.
Several Native American tribes, including the Yavapai-Apache Nation, have supported the CDB in their legal challenges.
Reader Comments
Posted: Saturday, March 06, 2010
Article comment by:
Mrs Eagle
If protection is an issue then why not error in favor of eagles?
