NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/417216
Knowing the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission offices were closed, and not knowing who to call, Karla finally reached Commission Conservation Officer Mike Thome and Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District biologist Mark Peyton, who freed the eagle, a mature male. They then contacted Fontenelle Forest Raptor Recovery, which took the bird to its rehab facility in Elmwood for treatment. Not two weeks later, hunters reported finding a similar sight – an immature female bald eagle caught in a trap set next to a deer carcass – on a Platte River Recovery and Implementation Program site southwest of Elm Creek. Biologists Ryan Chramosta and Nic Fryda freed the immature male and also sent it to Raptor Recovery. It didn't take Conservation Officer Dale Johnson long to find out only one person had permission to trap on the property. When he asked the suspect, a 47-year-old Kearney man, if the traps were his, he said they were. Johnson then told the man he'd caught an eagle. Commission conservation officers issue five or six citations each year for exposed bait and investigate two or three times as many cases. This wasn't the first time Johnson had worked this kind of case. "Every one that I've ever done, in my opinion, they did it knowingly," Johnson said. "It was an intentional violation. "I think the majority of the trappers understand why we have that regulation. And even though they would maybe like to trap on bait, most of them are not willing to take that DECEMBER 2014• NEBRASKAland 37 Betsy Finch (let) and Janet Stander treat the beak of a bald eagle at the Fontenelle Forest Raptor Recovery rehabilitation center near Elmwood before the bird, which was caught in an illegal trap near Cozad last December, was returned to the wild in April. PHOTO BY ERIC FOLWER The remarkable recovery of the bald eagle since DDT and other organochlorine insecticides linked to its demise were banned in 1972 reached its pinnacle when an ever-increasing number of the birds allowed it to be removed from the federal list of threatened and endangered species in 2007. While it no longer has the protection of the Endangered Species Act, bald eagles are still protected by several state and federal laws, most notably the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. Individuals who "take" an eagle can be prosecuted in state or federal court, be ordered to pay civil or liquidated damages of up to $5,000 and be sentenced to up to one year in jail. This is on top of any fines related to criminal charges for violation of game laws. "Take" does not simply mean kill. It also includes pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, capture, trap, collect, molest or disturb. The Law on Bait and Traps "It is unlawful to use any bait in plain sight within 30 feet of foothold traps set on dry land. Bait is defined as fish, animal flesh, fur, hide, entrails or feathers." – 2014 Nebraska Hunting Guide