Thirteen active bald eagle nesting sites in Voyageurs National Park (VNP) were reopened to visitor use earlier this month. As part of its compliance with the Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle Management Act, closures have been employed since 1992 based on the recommendations of bald eagle researches across the United States. Closing the sites protects the eagles during a critical nesting period, and the park has seen a marked increase in the number of bald eagles in the park.
When VNP first began monitoring the population 37 years ago, only a few breeding pairs remained in the park. This year, the number of occupied breeding areas, occupied breeding areas with active nesting and the number of fledged young were the highest on record.
Superintendent Mike Ward said, “We appreciate the cooperation of our visitors in helping us manage and protect our bald eagle breeding population. There has been a steady increase in active nesting pairs in VNP during the past 37 breeding seasons. That trend along with an increase in the number of young fledged annually in the park is good news for the eagles.
Overall, we believe that by reducing the adverse potential of human/eagle interactions around our active bald eagle nesting sites we have allowed for greater nesting success. At the same time we have increased the access to more eagles by our visitors. Our specific management goal is to help ensure the continued reproductive success and sustainability of the park’s bald eagle population and that strategy appears to be working well.”
For more information, read the National Park Service article HERE.