Give our bald eagles a lift

Do you think eagles are important to our community? They help us and we help them. Let’s take a look at this symbiotic relationship.

According to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the numbers of eagles are quite low, and in 1979, only 11 pairs of eagles were known in all of Idaho! Since then, 234 pairs were sighted from 1979 to 2007. Bald eagles were even on the endangered species list for a while! When we first settled here, there were 2,500 eagles in Idaho, but by 1970, there were only 1,500 breeding pairs nationwide!

How many things have we done for the bald eagles, anyway? Take a moment to really think about that one simple question. What have we done? How can we help? These are really important questions, so I will give some good answers.

We have put up nesting sites in the past, and I think we should continue. You might be asking yourself why we should be putting them up. There aren’t enough nesting sites to go around for all the eagles. If we keep building houses and private properties along the lake, all the sites will disappear. However, providing man-made towers with spots for nests on them would be helpful. You could even disguise them as trees! We have already disguised cellphone towers as large trees. It would help if we kept doing that, too. We can keep a record of fish population. Doing this would help keep a good supply of food for the eagles.

Now that you have heard what we can do for them, what can they do for us? Because the bald eagles naturally migrate here in late November and stay until early January, we have made a cruise here in Coeur d’Alene. Coeur d’Alene Cruises are a fun time to relax with a variety of hot drinks. They sell treats on the cruise, and you can even sit out on the first or second deck. Going on the cruise is a good source of education for you and your friends or loved ones. It is extremely cold and often snowy and windy, so wear at least four or five layers! Also, bring a camera. Whether you take the cruise or rent a boat, the purchase you make will help the economy grow in the area.

Now that you see the local eagles help us and we help them, I challenge you to get involved in this symbiotic masterpiece.

Ashley Grant of Hayden is 11 years old.