Two pairs of bald eagles nesting at Fort McCoy 

A pair of young eaglets in a nest waiting for an adult eagle are pictured at the North Flowage Area at Fort McCoy. (Photo by Anita Johnson)

      Wilder, the installation's Endangered Species Biologist, said the Northern Recovery Region, one of five recovery regions nationwide, has reached its goal of 1,200 breeding pairs of eagle over a minimum of 16 states.

      Likewise, Wisconsin set a recovery goal of having 360 nesting pairs of bald eagles by the year 2000. Surveys conducted in 2002 indicated 831 nesting pairs, including two pairs at Fort McCoy on North Post.

      "This is one of the success stories of endangered species," Wilder said. "The eagles were threatened by the pesticide DDT in the early 1970s. Sometimes, people would shoot them."

An adult eagle flies to eaglets waiting in a nest at the North Flowage Area at Fort McCoy. (Photo by Anita Johnson)

      Nowadays, those things aren't happening because of education to make people aware of the measures in place to protect bald eagles, the national bird and symbol, he said.

      At Fort McCoy, the installation has a plan to protect current and future nesting areas and maintain nesting habitat along lakes, flowages and river corridors at the installation.

      Wilder said the program works with the installation Forestry Program to protect habitats. 

      Because eagles usually occupy nests in the spring, prescribed burning to reduce the wildfire risk near these areas is done in the fall, whenever possible, he said. Coordination with the Forestry Program includes keeping a buffer zone in timber sales areas where certain trees along the river corridors and along the flowage are not harvested, he said. Wilder said he also reviews the plans for any proposed projects to keep new disturbances from occurring within 400 meters of the nests.

      "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife's position is that if an eagle builds a nest where a certain activity is taking place that activity can continue to take place," Wilder said. "The reasoning is if they construct a nest in a (specific) location, they must be willing to tolerate the activities going on."

      Bald eagles generally nest in trees near a water source, he said. Fort McCoy's eagles are located near the North Flowage area and in a nest just north of the cantonment area.

      Although bald eagles have shown excellent adaptability in using a variety of habitats from coast to coast, both installation sites are a little unusual compared to usual eagle habitats, Wilder said. One nest is near a machine-gun range. The other currently is on an Osprey platform.

      "The one on the Osprey platform is unusual because it's high up and in the open," Wilder said. "Eagles normally make their nests within the canopy of a tree, not at the very top. The other nest is near a range where the eagles have been co-existing with personnel training and the noise their training makes."

      Both nests appear to be thriving, Wilder said. Eaglets have fledged from the nests at Fort McCoy every year since 2002.

      Bald eagles feed mainly on fish. Wilder said they also will eat waterfowl, small to medium animals and scavenge on dead animals. Fort McCoy has a sufficient food supply to support the eagles, he said.

      The installation monitors the eagles to help determine nesting success so personnel seeing an eagle outside of these North Post locations at Fort McCoy are encouraged to call Wilder at (608) 388-5679.