Post by blackcrowheart on Jan 17, 2006 22:19:26 GMT -5
Eagle will wind up at repository Native Americans to have first
chance at eagle, officials say
FRED LOWE
www.baxterbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?
AID=/20060116/NEWS01/601160313/1002
The efforts of a local man to bring the bald eagle he discovered on
his property back to Baxter County have apparently gone for naught.
Over the past two weeks, Donald "D." Herbert has contacted various
officials — including Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln — in an effort
to return the bald eagle to Baxter County following its post-mortem
examination. Herbert hoped the national bird, which he found near the
White River in late December, could be put on display and used as an
educational tool in the Baxter County school system.
However, even if some high official — like a congressman — was to get
involved, Arkansas Game & Fish Commission corporal Chris Majors said
it's very unlikely the eagle would be returned.
And even if it did return to Baxter County, it wouldn't be in the
same shape as before.
Not even close.
"There's no telling what shape it will be in," he said. "It would
probably be in bits and pieces. You probably wouldn't want that eagle
even if you could get it back."
Due to federal laws protecting the bald eagle, the AGFC is required
to send it away immediately — either to a federal lab for an autopsy
or directly to the National Eagle Repository in Denver, Colo.
Either way, the eagle will wind up at the eagle repository, where
under federal law members of the Native American community
have "first shot at it," Majors stated.
And as Kevin Wood, a special agent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, observed, there's a long waiting list to obtain eagle parts
and feathers.
"It's just not possible for an individual to get one anymore," he
said. "You'll see eagles around in schools occasionally, but those
are very old birds. The policy for 10 or 15 years has been Native
Americans get first crack at those birds, and those Native Americans
that make application for those parts have to wait three to five
years sometimes to get their order fulfilled."
For a Native American to obtain a bald eagle, he or she must belong
to a tribe that used the bird's feathers for their religious
ceremonies.
In a letter to various officials, Herbert wrote "the return of this
native bird seems especially important since Arkansas has no Native
American community, and thus has less opportunity to share in this
symbol of freedom."
But as Majors noted, federal law dictates where the eagle will end up.
"There's nothing any AGFC officer can do about it — it's basically
out of the Fish and Wildlife's hands," he said. "If it was a hawk or
an owl we could obtain permission — there'd be a lot of red tape, but
we could obtain permission."
Majors added that whenever an eagle is discovered, it is important to
contact the AGFC immediately "so we can get it to someone who can
ship it out."
To read more about the National Eagle Repository, click on the
Internet link:
www.r6.fws.gov/law/eagle/
chance at eagle, officials say
FRED LOWE
www.baxterbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?
AID=/20060116/NEWS01/601160313/1002
The efforts of a local man to bring the bald eagle he discovered on
his property back to Baxter County have apparently gone for naught.
Over the past two weeks, Donald "D." Herbert has contacted various
officials — including Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln — in an effort
to return the bald eagle to Baxter County following its post-mortem
examination. Herbert hoped the national bird, which he found near the
White River in late December, could be put on display and used as an
educational tool in the Baxter County school system.
However, even if some high official — like a congressman — was to get
involved, Arkansas Game & Fish Commission corporal Chris Majors said
it's very unlikely the eagle would be returned.
And even if it did return to Baxter County, it wouldn't be in the
same shape as before.
Not even close.
"There's no telling what shape it will be in," he said. "It would
probably be in bits and pieces. You probably wouldn't want that eagle
even if you could get it back."
Due to federal laws protecting the bald eagle, the AGFC is required
to send it away immediately — either to a federal lab for an autopsy
or directly to the National Eagle Repository in Denver, Colo.
Either way, the eagle will wind up at the eagle repository, where
under federal law members of the Native American community
have "first shot at it," Majors stated.
And as Kevin Wood, a special agent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, observed, there's a long waiting list to obtain eagle parts
and feathers.
"It's just not possible for an individual to get one anymore," he
said. "You'll see eagles around in schools occasionally, but those
are very old birds. The policy for 10 or 15 years has been Native
Americans get first crack at those birds, and those Native Americans
that make application for those parts have to wait three to five
years sometimes to get their order fulfilled."
For a Native American to obtain a bald eagle, he or she must belong
to a tribe that used the bird's feathers for their religious
ceremonies.
In a letter to various officials, Herbert wrote "the return of this
native bird seems especially important since Arkansas has no Native
American community, and thus has less opportunity to share in this
symbol of freedom."
But as Majors noted, federal law dictates where the eagle will end up.
"There's nothing any AGFC officer can do about it — it's basically
out of the Fish and Wildlife's hands," he said. "If it was a hawk or
an owl we could obtain permission — there'd be a lot of red tape, but
we could obtain permission."
Majors added that whenever an eagle is discovered, it is important to
contact the AGFC immediately "so we can get it to someone who can
ship it out."
To read more about the National Eagle Repository, click on the
Internet link:
www.r6.fws.gov/law/eagle/
