Eagle Watch Week canceled
BRIAN WALKER/Press Eagles keep an eye on Beauty Bay on Lake Coeur d’Alene on Saturday. The annual Eagle Watch Week, orginally slated to start today, has been canceled due to the federal government shutdown.
An eagle soars over Beauty Bay on Lake Coeur d'Alene on Saturday. The Bureau of Land Management's annual Eagle Watch Week activities originally slated to start today have been cancelled due to the federal government shutdown. (BRIAN WALKER/Press)
By BRIAN WALKER
Staff Writer
COEUR d'ALENE —The federal government's shutdown has grounded the annual Eagle Watch Week event.
The federal Bureau of Land Management, in partnership with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, had planned the watch from today through Monday at the Mineral Ridge boat launch parking area and trailhead parking lot on the east side of Lake Coeur d'Alene.
However, Suzanne Endsley, public affairs officer with BLM's Coeur d'Alene office, said in an email on Wednesday that the event has been canceled "due to the lapse in funding of the federal government budget."
"The public is welcome to visit these sites," she wrote. "However, no interpretive information or spotting scopes will be available during this time."
Kurt Pavlat, the manager of the local BLM office, said the event was canceled due to uncertainty at the federal level. The office was also closed on Wednesday.
"We are closed for business until further notice until the president signs a bill authorizing appropriations for the Department of Interior," Pavlat said.
The five-day eagle watch event staffed by the agencies is intended to be a family activity during the holidays.
Each week throughout the eagle migration season, BLM biologists have traditionally conducted a weekly count on the lake. The eagles feed on spawning kokanee salmon in that area.
A total of 229 eagles were counted on Dec. 21 and 367 on Dec. 14. The numbers typically taper in January.
In 2017, a record 383 eagles were counted the week of Dec. 20. The weekly counts, along with other eagle facts, can be found at www.blm.gov/idaho/eaglewatch.
If you plan to visit either of the eagle watch locations on Lake Coeur d'Alene, use the designated parking areas for safety purposes and do not park on the shoulder of Highway 97.
Normal vehicle travel is not restricted on the highway. Both drivers and pedestrians should be respectful of traffic by not walking in the travel way or utilizing the shoulder to scout for eagles.