Sedona, AZ: Arizona’s bald eagle management plan is paying off: the state’s population is soaring to new heights. Bald eagle numbers over the past 30 years have grown more than 400 percent with the number of breeding pairs increasing in that time from only 11 pairs to 56 in 2008.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department, a leading partner in recovery efforts for the species, attributes the success to cooperative on-the-ground management. Through the Southwest Bald Eagle Management Committee (SWBEMC), a broad coalition of 23 government agencies, private organizations and Native American tribes, a plan is in place to help ensure the continued success of the bald eagle population in Arizona.
The plan includes regular monitoring and survey flights; banding and visual identification; contaminants analysis; cooperative partnerships with the other committee partners; and a nestwatch program to protect breeding activities.
Game and Fish recently used this information and other extensive studies to provide comment to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on their status review of the bald eagle in the Sonoran desert. While the department believes that this population of bald eagles is a distinct population segment, it feels the successful management efforts already in place provide protection for the species. In addition, existing laws, such as the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act, help abate any threats to the population.
The USFWS will compile comments to decide whether the Sonoran desert population of bald eagles warrants listing under the Endangered Species Act. Federal endangered species protection for bald eagles in the U.S. was removed in July 2007.
“Regardless of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision on listing this population segment under the Endangered Species Act, the Arizona Game and Fish Department is fully committed to continuing the management and protective measures that have resulted in the amazing population growth that has occurred to date,” says Arizona Game and Fish Department Director Larry Voyles. “The department, in cooperation with the Southwest Bald Eagle Management Committee, will continue the intensive management of this species in the state.”
The USFWS review was conducted in response to a 2004 petition from advocacy groups that the USFWS list bald eagles in the Sonoran Desert Area (including Arizona) as a distinct population segment, list them as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and designate critical habitat.
Game and Fish developed its comments and recommendations based on data collected on breeding bald eagles in Arizona over the last 17 years. Studies indicate the bald eagle population in central Arizona has been growing at a rate of 1.3 breeding areas per year since 1978. The department believes bald eagles in the state have reached population levels where existing threats do not endanger it with imminent extinction.
Article courtesy of Arizona Game and Fish Department.
Posted July 21, 2008.
