Dead bald eagle found on Dingmans Creek

DINGMANS FERRY – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a reward for information about the November shooting of a bald eagle found near Dingmans Falls Visitor Center in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, according to Service Special Agent Barry Jordan of Philadelphia. On Nov. 25, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, a hiker found the dead eagle about 100 yards upstream from the north side of Doodle Hollow Road on the bank of Dingmans Creek in the recreation area near Milford, Jordan said. A necropsy on the eagle at the Service’s National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Ore., determined the cause of death to be a gunshot. The eagle was an immature female about 2 years old. Jordan said someone likely shot the eagle a few days before it was found. The Service, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the National Park Service are investigating the shooting. Anyone with information should contact one of these three agencies: • The Service’s Office of Law Enforcement 215-492-5850 • Pennsylvania Game Commission, Northeast Regional Office 570-675-1143 • National Park Service 570-426-2457 “Because the eagle’s body was found in a highly traveled area, someone likely saw or heard something that will help in our investigation,” Jordan said. “We are offering up to $2,500 under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act for information leading to the conviction of the individual or individuals responsible.” Bald eagles are protected by the Endangered Species Act as a threatened species. The act prohibits killing, harming or harassing bald eagles and other threatened and endangered wildlife. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act also protect bald eagles.