Mackenzie Thomas
Staff Writer
A $2,000 reward is being offered for anyone who has evidence or information which could lead to the conviction of whoever poisoned a Golden Eagle and four ravens four years ago.
This reward, coming from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, has been offered in order to get help from the public regarding the case of the poisoned birds.
In March of 2016, investigators responded to an area just southwest of Wamsutter, Wyoming to find a Golden Eagle and four ravens dead. The birds, all of which are federally protected species, were found dead alongside poison-laced bait.
Poison-laced bait can kill not only wildlife, but domesticated pets and even humans. Illegal poisoning such as this can kill anything that consumes the poison-laced bait, which makes it far more dangerous for the wildlife in the targeted area.
The perpetrator appeared to have been targeting the native predators of Wyoming, such as eagles and coyotes. At the time of the incident, investigators searched the area for dead coyotes but did not find any. This incident appears to be unrelated to the 2018 poisoning of birds, three dogs and an eagle near Dubois.
According to the North American Breeding Bird Survey, the Golden Eagle has been stable since 1966. Golden Eagles are listed in the “least concern” category by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN Red List). This means the Golden Eagle species is not an endangered or threatened species, but they are still monitored to ensure their population remains stable.
Though they are stable and of least concern, the species is still considered to be declining by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The poisoning of the Golden Eagle further puts the species in a detrimental place as the numbers continue to slowly decline.
The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act protects Golden Eagles by making it illegal to sell, trade or possess a Golden Eagle alive or dead. This act, which was amended in 1962 to include Golden Eagles, also makes it illegal to hunt, trap and kill this species according to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
“It’s an interesting piece of legislation because in some ways, it has a higher standard than the Endangered Species Act because it actually covers individual species and ensures that no net loss of eagle populations is maintained,” said Zach Wallace, a biometrician at the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database.
Under this act, it is illegal to poison the Golden Eagles and doing so can result in a fine of anywhere from $5,000 to $100,000.
Ravens, much like the Golden Eagles, are also protected by federal law. Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, ravens are protected in the same way that golden eagles are under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Under these acts, the poisoning of both of these species is illegal.
“Eagles being poisoned maliciously by people is an issue sometimes, but another major issue regarding the poisoning of eagles is lead poisoning by consuming caracasses shot with lead amunition,” Wallace stated.
Wallace, who researches and studies Golden Eagles amongst other species of birds, reptiles, bats and amphibians, said in recent years the unintentional poisoning of Golden Eagles has been one of their biggest threats. Golden Eagles are scavengers, so when a hunter leaves a carcass or part of a carcass out in the open, they will feast off of it. This creates a problem when lead ammunition is used while hunting because it causes lead poisoning for the eagles.
“There were also prominent legal settlements for eagles being killed at wind farms and being electrocuted on power poles within the last ten to fifteen years, both of these issues have really increased concerns about Golden Eagle populations,” Wallace said.
Due to newer developments like wind farms in more recent decades, the Golden Eagle population has slowly been declining. Though labeled as a stable population, Golden Eagles are affected by wind farm deaths more than most other species.
Wind farms, power pole electrocution, unintentional poisoning and intentional
poisoning are all threats that the Golden Eagle population continues to face.
Due to the fact they are a protected species, the maintenance of the net loss
of the Golden Eagle population is monitored closely.
“This isn’t about why it’s important that they find the perpetrator [for the poisoning incident in 2016], but the broader context for all of this recent concern about Golden Eagle mortality,” Wallace said. “To some extent, I expect the scrutiny on all mortality to increase.”
Though the Fish and Wildlife Service is still offering a $2,000 award to anyone with evidence that could lead to a conviction, considering the big picture is also important to the Golden Eagle population. Every loss in the population will add up to the bigger picture, each loss can be detrimental to Golden Eagles.
