August 18, 2024 – DALLAS— The Center for Biological Diversity last Thursday increased the reward to $15,000 for information leading to a conviction for the illegal destruction of an active bald eagle nest north of Dallas.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a $1,500 reward last year, and the Center is boosting the amount by $13,500.

“I’m outraged by the destruction of this eagle nest, and the perpetrator needs to be brought to justice for harming America’s national bird,” said Will Harlan, a senior scientist at the Center. “Whoever committed this cowardly act should be held accountable. Wildlife crime is utterly unacceptable, and I hope someone steps forward with information.”

In February 2023 a concerned citizen reported an active bald eagle nest on a private property being developed for a subdivision. While visiting the location, a Texas game warden verified the nest and observed two bald eagles sitting atop it.

During a site visit conducted days later, special agents with the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement confirmed that the nest had been illegally destroyed.

Bald eagles and their nests are federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Killing or disturbing an eagle or its feathers, nests or eggs is a violation of these acts. Violations of these acts carry criminal penalties of up to a $250,000 fine and two years in federal prison.

Bald eagles reside year-round in Texas. Adults mate for life and raise their young together. Pairs of bald eagles typically use the same nests for several years.

Anyone with information about the nest destruction is asked to contact the Service’s Office of Law Enforcement in Fort Worth, Texas (817-334-5202) or the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Operation Game Thief hotline (800-792-GAME). Callers with information may remain anonymous.

Background: Bald eagles are the only eagles unique to North America, and they have been a major success story in American conservation. Chosen by Congress as the nation's symbol in 1782, the bald eagle was subject to widespread extermination efforts for the next two centuries. When the story of bald eagles’ poisoning by the pesticide DDT was popularized in Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, a nascent environmental movement rallied around them. The bald eagle was one of the first species listed under the 1967 precursor to today's Endangered Species Act.

The bald eagle's comeback has been a strong one — a testament to the power of the Endangered Species Act. As a result of habitat protection, the federal government’s banning of DDT, and national conservation efforts, the bald eagle was delisted under the Act in 2007, but other laws still protect them.

Bald eagles have a wingspan of up to eight feet and can live more than 30 years in the wild. They develop their iconic white head around age four. Adults mate for life and raise their young together. Illegal shooting, habitat destruction, and lead poisoning remain the primary threats to bald eagles today.

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus). Credit: Lee Emery, USFWS. 

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

Source: Center for Biological Diversity

Related: Bipartisan Legislation to Designate the Bald Eagle as the National Bird Passes U.S. Senate