[Announce] As bald eagle soars, new protection laws could impact developers

Mon Jul 16 10:23:42 MDT 2007

I've emboldened certain type to draw your attention to it. 

  The whole slant of this article, as you may have concluded from its title and because it's been published in a business periodical, authored by an attorney, seems to me to cry out "Call me, I'll help you circumvent the law and don't you worry yourself about that ol' eagle's nest or the eaglets in it."

  I'm astounded by the logic espoused, that if the parent bird is accustomed to nearby construction, it wouldn't affect the new born eaglets development.

  I suppose we should take our babies to shooting ranges and show our toddlers horror movies.

  Take action!

  Jim Travers

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  Natural Habitats 

  As bald eagle soars, new protection laws could impact developers

  Baltimore Business Journal - July 13, 2007 
  by Margaret Witherup Tindall

  Almost eight years after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service first declared that the bald eagle had recovered to the point that it could be removed from the list of endangered and threatened species, the bald eagle is finally being delisted. 

  On June 28, the U.S. announced that the bald eagle is being removed from the list of endangered and threatened species. Even after the delisting becomes effective, however, the bald eagle will remain protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) and other laws. Developers and landowners should be aware of continued restrictions on activities that could adversely impact bald eagles. 

  On the verge of extinction less than 40 years ago, the bald eagle has made such a dramatic comeback that it has been celebrated as a true American success story. When the bald eagle was adopted as our national symbol in 1782, there were as many as 100,000 nesting bald eagles in the lower 48 states. 

  By 1963, there were less than 500 active nests. The bald eagle's decline was caused by a variety of factors, including illegal shooting for feathers and trophies, the destruction of its habitat, and most significantly, the widespread use of DDT and other pesticides after World War II. 

  DDT entered the bald eagle's food chain and caused its shells to be so thin that they often cracked or failed to hatch. In 1967, under a predecessor law to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the bald eagle was officially declared to be an endangered species in areas south of the 40th parallel. 

  Since 1972 when DDT was banned for most uses, bald eagle populations have steadily increased. In 1995, the bald eagle's status was upgraded in the lower 48 states from "endangered" (in danger of extinction) to "threatened" (not immediately in danger of extinction, but likely to become endangered). 

  Today, there are estimated to be more than 10,000 active nests.

  Although the bald eagle will no longer be protected under the Endangered Species Act, it will continue to be protected under the federal act and the new regulations promulgated by the Fish and Wildlife Service. Originally enacted in 1940, the federal protection act prohibits the unauthorized "taking" of bald eagles or their parts, eggs, or nests. 

  The government has now defined the term "take" in a regulation as "to agitate or bother" an eagle to a degree that "causes, or is likely to cause" injury, a decrease in productivity by substantially interfering with normal breeding, feeding, or sheltering habits, or nest abandonment by substantially interfering with normal breeding, feeding, and sheltering habits. 

  On June 5, in anticipation of the delisting, the Fish and Wildlife Service also proposed new permit regulations to authorize the take (taking) of bald eagles in certain circumstances. 

  Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting comments on the proposed regulations until Sept. 4. 

  The government also recently issued National Bald Eagle Management guidelines. The guidelines themselves are not law, but are intended as a tool to provide information to landowners and developers regarding how to avoid adverse impacts to eagles. 

  The guidelines generally recommend maintaining a buffer zone around an eagle's nest and restricting certain activities during the nesting period when the eagles are most sensitive to human activity. 

  The amount of buffer recommended depends on the type of activity, visibility from the nest, and time of year. In general, the Fish and Wildlife Service recommends that most building construction not occur within 660 feet of a nest (330 feet if the construction will not be visible from the nest) and not occur during the nesting season. 

  Although the guidelines provide specific recommendations, there may be some flexibility to depart from the guidelines in particular circumstances. Not all eagles react to human activity in the same way and, in fact, some eagles can become accustomed to and learn to tolerate certain activities. 

  For example, bald eagles in the Chesapeake Bay area nest from approximately mid-December to approximately mid-June. However, the Fish and Wildlife Service and state Department of Natural Resources may allow some construction activity to begin as early as mid-April after the eggs hatch and where a particular eagle had previously exhibited tolerance for nearby construction activities. 

  Margaret Witherup Tindall is a member of the Environmental & Energy Group of the law firm of Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander, LLC. She can be reached at mtindall at gfrlaw.com.

  http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2007/07/16/focus3.html?f=et178&b=1184558400^1489967&ana=e_vert

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Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha! 
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