On Mon, 22 Feb 1999, Jacki Bricker wrote:

> I thought it was against federal regulations to disturb any natural
> setting within 100 yards of an eagle nesting site?

It's against federal law to harm the birds or destroy their nest but
there is no 100 yard threshold written into either federal or state
law. Washington State's Bald Eagle Protection Rules provide for
site-specific management plans for Bald Eagle nest site protection.
These plans are the product of negotiation between Washington State
Fish and Wildlife and the landowner or project proponent.

> Can't you not knock down trees and/or build anywhere close to an
> established nesting site??

Yes, exactly. You can't not knock down trees or build anywhere close to
an established nesting site.

With the impending delisting of the Bald Eagle, draconian "hands off"
zones will likely fade to a distant memory. Given the high tolerance of
some Bald Eagles to the bustle of city life (Green Lake a good example),
the "one size fits all" approach to regulating human activities can
make inflexible regulations laughable.

So like an urban eagle to act counter to their well-crafted image and,
rather than run and hide when the trees start to fall, simply fly in
for a good branch to shore up the sagging side of the nest. The same bird
would probably think nothing of swooping in front of a child with a
Wonder Bread bag to pick off a white-splotched Mallard with a length of
crust still protruding from its bill. It's the city.

Kelly McAllister