Annual Bald Eagle Survey Yields Important Results

PIEDMONT, Mo., Jan. 23 -- The natural resource branch at Clearwater Lake recently completed its annual midwinter bald eagle survey. This year we observed 3 immature bald eagles and 4 mature bald eagles on the project. That is one more than last year. This survey is conducted by four-wheel-drive vehicle in specific primitive areas and by boat inside the perimeter of Clearwater Lake. Results are submitted to the state coordinator.

This year marked the 30th annual midwinter bald eagle survey, which is conducted in many of the lower 48 states where eagles are known to winter. This survey has been a key event in the recovery of bald eagle populations. Every year hundreds of observers from federal, state and local agencies, as well as conservation groups and private citizens, participate in the survey by counting eagles along standard routes.

By 1995, the once near-extinct population recovered enough for eagles to be upgraded from “endangered” to “threatened.” But make no mistake; this national symbol is still protected by law.

The midwinter survey has gone through changes over the years. The National Wildlife Federation began the survey in 1979, and the US Geological Survey began organizing and coordinating it in 1997. In 2007, the USGS established a partnership with the US Army Corps of Engineers to maintain the long-term national coordination of the survey, data analysis and reporting. This is the first time the Corps coordinated the survey.

Survey results are available on an updated website at http://ocid.nacse.org/nbii/eagles/. The site was developed by the Northwest Alliance for Computational Science & Engineering at Oregon State University. Users can retrieve count data as well as summary information for individual survey routes. They also can obtain estimates of count trends for different regions and states.

The Corps plays a significant role in recovery efforts of the bald eagle by supporting eagle conservation, including breeding season and midwinter surveys, management of habitat, education, and outreach. Corps lakes have been vital to bald eagle populations. The Corps manages more than 450 man-made lakes like Clearwater project and has jurisdiction over about 24,000 miles of inland navigation rivers. Corps lake projects encompass about 11.6 million acres of land and open water habitat, with the total shoreline length exceeding the entire coastline of the United States.

As always, the staff at Clearwater Lake encourages visitors to come enjoy our project lands.
For more information or a map of the Clearwater Lake Project, write the Corps at RR 3 Box 3559-D, Piedmont, MO 63957, call 573-223-7777 or visit the lake’s web site at http://www.swl.usace.army.mil/parks/clearwater/index.htm.

To ensure a developed campsite will be available upon your arrival, call the National Recreation Reservation Service at 1-877-444-6777 or visit the Website at http://www.recreation.gov and make your reservations in advance. Other general lake and agency information can be retrieved from the Internet at http://www.swl.usace.army.mil/parks.

For lake levels, releases and forecasted Black River conditions, links to the Lower Mississippi River Forecast Center and the Corps of Engineers Water Management websites are now located on the Clearwater Dam and Info Webpage at http://www.swl.usace.army.mil/parks/clearwater/damandlake.htm.