Sisters' eagle shot

Linda Cotter of Sisters was hiking in Dry Canyon adjacent to the Redmond highway with friends on February 10, and as they were leaving the canyon, she spotted a big eagle standing on a rock alongside the road.

"I could see that the bird was injured and couldn't fly," she said, "and approached it for a closer look."

Before she and her friends could attempt to catch the bird, it floundered off into the juniper and sagebrush. She returned later and with additional help captured the eagle, placed it in a large dog carrier and delivered it to a veterinary clinic in Bend.

"It was my birthday," Linda said, reliving the moment, "and that eagle was the best birthday present I could ever get."

As it turned out, Linda was also a virtual lifesaver for the eagle; one more day in the wilds and it would have died of starvation.

Dr. Jeff Cooney, COCC biology professor and veterinarian with extensive raptor medical training, was first to examine the eagle and found the right wing bones shattered by lead shotgun pellets. After removing the pellets, Cooney and Gary Landers of Sisters set the wing and placed the bird in Lander's raptor rehabilitation facility.

With the severe fractures in the eagle's wing, it is questionable whether it will ever be able to fly again or live normally in the wild.

"Time will tell... but we're hoping for the best," Landers said.

The Federal Bald and Golden Protection Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Endangered Species Act - as well as state wildlife statutes - protect eagles and other raptors. The federal eagle protection act carries an automatic reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of eagle-shooters, while violation of these statutes carries maximum criminal penalties of up to $100,000 and/or one year in federal prison.

Sgt. Pond of the Oregon State Police (OSP) Wildlife Division in Bend said there are no leads yet as to the perpetrator(s) of the shooting, but an investigation is underway.

According to OSP Wildlife Division data, in 2006 Troopers spent over 388 hours investigating 185 people for a variety of raptor offenses, of which 28 were found "not in compliance" and received warnings or citations.

According to The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) office in Wilsonville there have been other eagle shootings reported so far this year in Oregon.

The problem is widespread in the United States.

USFWS and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are offering a reward of $1,000 for any witnesses to the shooting of a juvenile bald eagle found in western Palm Beach County.

In New Jersey, The Humane Society of the United States is offering two rewards of $2,500 each for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for shooting bald eagles in two separate incidents in New York this year. It is thought one of only three eagles hatched in the Adirondacks this year was one of the eagles that was shot.

USFWS and the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources are investigating the shooting of a bald eagle east of Madisonville, in Hopkins County, Kentucky. A reward of up to $1,000 is being offered for information that leads to the conviction of the person responsible.

In Tennessee, USFWS and State Wildlife Resources Agency are investigating the shooting of a bald eagle that was discovered near the U.S. Forest Service land in Cocke County. A reward of up to $3,500 is being offered for information that leads to the conviction of the person who shot the eagle.

The reporter has received numerous inquries from Sisters residents asking what happened to the juvenile bald eagle observed so often in the skies around Sisters. Evidently, someone shot the bird.