| Radio programs for the week of 27 March 2000 (fe00327 - fe00331) | For more
information: Bald Eagle - Region 3 - USFWS -- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Bald Eagle information. Bald Eagle Species Account -- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service description of Bald Eagle population history. Eagle Watch 2000 -- Orlando Sentinel project with views of a Bald Eagle nest. ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT OF 1973, Endangered Species; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |
||
Human love of the outdoors threatens Bald Eagles I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment. Over the past 40 years, the Bald Eagle has made a comeback and is soon to be taken off the endangered species list. But human effects on the birds are still under scrutiny. New research shows even recreational activity near nesting eagles can have a negative effect. Researcher Robert Anthony finds that from an experiment at Alaska's Galkana river (Robert Anthony, Ph.D., U.S. Geological Survey/Oregon State University, Cooperative Wildlife Research Program)... "It's a river that has quite a bit of use by humans during the middle part of the summer, primarily for camping and particularly for fishing for King Salmon." Fellow scientist Bob Steidl watched for the effect that human recreation had on nesting Bald Eagles (Bob Steidl, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Wildlife Ecology, University of Arizona)... "We compared the activity of Eagles at nest when people were camped in the vicinity -- which was basically about a hundred meters from the nest, and we compared that with the behavior of eagles when we were at a controlled distance, which was half a kilometer away." Their findings demonstrate eagles under stress -- more protective behavior and less feeding of their young, prompting a concern about this human impact (Steidl)... "What we recommended to the folks in Alaska where we did this was that they monitor visitor use, and it reaches what we might consider a critical threshold, then they establish some spatial restrictions. Essentially that would just preclude people from spending long periods of time within 500 meters of an Eagle nest." For more information, visit floridaenvironment.com. With help from its Environmental Studies Program, we're produced at the Whitaker Center at Florida Gulf Coast University and funded by the Southwest Florida Council for Environment Education. |
|||
 fe00328Bald Eagles stressed by human recreation I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment. The Bald Eagle's inclusion in 1973 on the Endangered Species list has offered it tremendous protection over recent years, and has perhaps helped direct public interest to the birds. But if that interest has prompted recreational activity near nesting eagles, it may've had dangerous impact on the birds and their young. Researcher Bob Steidl studies the effects (Bob Steidl, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Wildlife Ecology, University of Arizona)... "They reduced what we called... more maintenance type behaviors including feeding their young, feeding themselves, maintaining their nest, sleeping -- all those sort of reduced. What they did was increase their most protective behavior." In addition to the reduction in Eagles feeding their young, human proximity prompted Eagles to vocalize more (Steidl) ... "Some of the reasons they vocalize is as a stress response. And we found basically a 300 percent increase in the number of vocalizations they had per day when people were camped near nests. And that probably indicates a fair level of stress that they were undergoing by just having people camped near their nests." Fellow researcher Robert Anthony says human recreation and its proximity to nesting eagles could bode poorly for the species (Robert Anthony, Ph.D., U.S. Geological Survey/Oregon State University, Cooperative Wildlife Research Program)... "We were quite concerned when we found these patterns because if the young don't get quite enough food, it could affect their growth and eventually their survival throughout the next fall and their first fall and winter." For more information, visit floridaenvironment.com. With help from its Environmental Studies Program, we're produced at the Whitaker Center at Florida Gulf Coast University and funded by the Southwest Florida Council for Environment Education. |
|||
| fe00329 Changing protection for the Bald Eagle I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment. After years as an endangered species -- becoming virtually extinct in the 60s -- Bald Eagles in the U.S. are about to be removed from the endangered species list. While that change comes as a reflection of the Bald Eagle's increased population, Birds of Prey expert Reese Collins says future protection will still be needed (Reese Collins, Director, Audubon of Florida Center for Birds of Prey)... "The Eagle has two other laws: The Migratory Bird Treaty Act and also the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act that protect it and its habitat. So they will continue to be protected as will their nest tree." But even with protection of the birds and their nests, that removal from the endangered species list -- de-listing -- causes concern for eagle researchers like Robert Anthony (Robert Anthony, Ph.D., U.S. Geological Survey/Oregon State University, Cooperative Wildlife Research Program)... "Once a species goes off the Endangered Species List, unless there's some sort of mandate along with the delisting, then protection of their habitat is something that isn't quite as strong in any of the other statutes or laws that we have." And based on research that shows even human recreation having a negative impact on eagles, researchers urge a watchful eye (Anthony)... "I think we still need to be concerned about what kind of effects human activities may have on their breeding behavior and breeding success in various parts of the country." For more information, visit floridaenvironment.com. With help from its Environmental Studies Program, we're produced at the Whitaker Center at Florida Gulf Coast University and funded by the Southwest Florida Council for Environment Education. |
|||
| fe00330 An Uncertain Future for Florida's Bald Eagles I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment. While Bald Eagle populations across the U.S. have only recently returned, Florida has remained a stronghold for the still-endangered species. But Florida's biggest challenge with the birds may be its future. Reese Collins directs Audubon of Florida's Center for Birds of Prey (Reese Collins, Director, Audubon of Florida Center for Birds of Prey)... "Bald Eagles are doing very well in Florida. There's currently over a thousand active nesting pairs. However, there's also an estimated 900 people a day moving into the state and our habitat is disappearing at a rate that it's never done in the past." What's kept the Bald Eagle strong and attracted to Florida? (Collins) "What's right about Florida for Eagles is the same for a lot of people, what attracts them here: there's a lot of lakes, there's really good fishing and there's some really nice habitat areas." Collins finds irony in the Bald Eagle story, first revered, then endangered, and now headed toward an uncertain future (Collins)... "We caused it to become an endangered species: We poisoned the land, we poisoned their food source, there were also some birds that were lost due to loss of territory as well. We're empowered now with that knowledge. We've caused them to come back from the brink of extinction Let's use that knowledge to continue to see the eagle thrive in the country that it stands for." For more information, visit floridaenvironment.com. With help from its Environmental Studies Program, we're produced at the Whitaker Center at Florida Gulf Coast University and funded by the Southwest Florida Council for Environment Education. |
|||
| fe00331 The city eagle and the country eagle... I'm Kevin Pierce with the Florida Environment. Florida's Bald Eagle population has been strong even during the bird's most troubled time on the endangered species list. That has happened alongside tremendous human population growth in the state (Reese Collins, Director, Audubon of Florida Center for Birds of Prey)... "Some people term what we have as both suburban and urban eagles. Eagles that have chosen to continue to live around areas where there's higher human activity around their nest tree..." Birds of Prey expert Reese Collins says that coexistence has only happened as a result of some Eagles' ability to adapt (Collins)... "Eagles prefer to nest in open live pine or cypress trees, but have also been known of late to adapt and use manmade structures such as cell towers and utility transmission towers. So they've shown us over the past ten years that they're adapting to us and in turn we kind of owe it to them to continue to adapt to what they need." One thing eagles need -- says researcher Bob Stiedl -- is space. After his study showed that even humans at play caused Eagles to feed less, he recommends keeping human recreation at least 500 meters from nesting eagles (Bob Steidl, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Wildlife Ecology, University of Arizona) ... "That's not such a big area to give up for a bird that's as important as Bald Eagles. So I think there's a balance there. There's ways to set up some spatial restrictions that would allow people to recreate and eagles to coexist as well." For more information, visit floridaenvironment.com. With help from its Environmental Studies Program, we're produced at the Whitaker Center at Florida Gulf Coast University and funded by the Southwest Florida Council for Environment Education. |
