NewS & EVENTS
Bernheim Forest, Kentucky meeting, 2023
EGEWG met in March 2023 at Bernheim Forest, near Louisville Kentucky. The focus of the meeting was our draft conservation plan for eastern golden eagles, but we also heard from members about a variety of topics, including developing lead abatement as a mitigation measure, and Duke Energy's work to reduce eagle collisions through a real-time flight identification and curtailment system. We also enjoyed a tour of the nearby Jim Beam distillery. Big thanks to Andrew Berry and Evan Patrick of Bernheim for hosting the meeting and for their excellent hospitality.
Members of EGEWG submit comments on USFWS proposed Eagle Rule
In December 2022, a group of EGEWG members submitted comments regarding the proposed revised Eagle Rule. The USFWS proposes to "increase the efficiency and effectiveness of permitting, facilitate and improve compliance, and increase the conservation benefit for eagles". Part of the proposed ruling would create a general permit option for sites that meet certain criteria (green area on the map at right). See comments below
PAST meetings
2019 - Michigan
The sixth meeting of EGEWG was held in April 2018 in Mackinaw City, MI, in conjunction with the Mackinaw Raptor Fest; several EGEWG members spoke at the Raptor Fest. This meeting focused more on regulatory issues, with updates from several state and federal partners who work to manage eastern golden eagles. At this meeting we first discussed the concept of a conservation plan for golden eagles in the east.
2017 - Tennessee/North Carolina
The fifth meeting of EGEWG was held at the end of January 2017 at the Choo-choo hotel in Chattanooga, TN, and hosted jointly by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Meeting at this site allowed us to see wintering golden eagle habitat at the southern end of the Appalachians. A highlight was the controlled burn we were able to visit and the many presentations on camera trapping and winter ecology of the species.
2015 - Maine
The fourth meeting of EGEWG, in July 2015, was held at Loon Lodge in Rangeley, Maine, and was hosted by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. In addition to updates from at least 10 states, there were updates on at least 8 different scientific projects. Maine is a great spot for an EGEWG meeting because it holds the most recently occupied eagle territories in the eastern USA, several of which we were able to visit.
2014 - West Virginia
The third meeting of EGEWG, in January 2014, was hosted by West Virginia Division of Natural Resources and held at Blackwater Falls State Park. The meeting was notable both because it was one of the best attended EGEWG meetings (>50 people, representing >20 organizations, from two countries), because it was the first meeting where a number of scientific results were developed enough for presentation, and because we were able to telemeter a bird during the course of the meeting. The picture is from the inside of a wind turbine at a wind facility we visited.
2012 - Quebec
The second meeting of EGEWG, in July 2012, was hosted by the government of Québec and held at Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, Québec. The meeting included representatives from across eastern North America, from Florida to Québec. The meeting included presentations by researchers, managers and industry, focused on golden eagles, their biology, management and the risk they face from development of their habitats. Finally, we visited several occupied golden eagle territories (see pic), observed eagle chicks, and had a closing banquet on the beach.
2010 - Pennsylvania
The first EGEWG meeting was held in October 2010 at the Acopian Center at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. A small meeting, it included representatives of at least five states, one Canadian province, and several federal agencies. At this first meeting we laid out a mission and vision for EGEWG, an organizational structure that we follow to this day. Another product from this meeting was the first peer-reviewed status assessment for this population published in The Auk (see Publications page).