DENVER – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is seeking public comments on a draft Environmental Assessment for a Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (Eagle Act) disturbance permit application for a pair of bald eagles in Broomfield County, Colorado. Garrett Construction Company LLC (Garrett) applied for an eagle incidental take permit for disturbance that may occur while constructing an apartment complex from early May 2018 through late 2019. If issued, the permit would require implementation of several avoidance and minimization measures to reduce potential disturbance to the pair of eagles during construction.
Project construction will include heavy equipment and light duty traffic, excavation, building foundation and construction of apartment units, associated infrastructure, and a park. These construction activities could disturb a bald eagle pair whose nest is located about 530 feet from the edge of the construction zone. However, once construction is completed, the nearest building will be 660 feet from the nest. The Service is analyzing the potential impacts to local and regional bald eagle populations if such a permit were to be issued and disturbance take did in fact occur. The Service will make a permit decision in the near future, after receiving public comments on the draft Environmental Assessment.
Garrett, in their application for the eagle incidental take permit, indicated they would implement several minimization measures to minimize disturbance to the nesting pair. These measures range from increasing the distance from the nest to any vertical construction, creating a buffer boundary that is clearly marked and fenced to help contractors avoid the eagle nest and the adjacent area, erecting additional fencing to help minimize sound disturbances, restricting construction to outside of the eagle incubation and early nestling periods, among other efforts. Nest monitoring and reporting is also required during construction and for three additional nesting seasons.
Incidental take of eagles (unintentional disturbance, injury or loss of eagles due to otherwise lawful activities) has been a longstanding issue. An incidental take permit system – first under the Endangered Species Act, then the Eagle Act – has provided a way for companies or individuals to work collaboratively with the Service to lessen their impact and, when required by law, to compensate for any unavoidable loss of eagles while also reducing their risk of being charged with violations of federal law. Today, Americans can enjoy seeing more bald eagles than at any time in the past 50 years. Populations, nearly extinct in the lower 48 states in the 1960s, now number at least 143,000 individuals.
The draft Environmental Assessment and other information about the project can be found on the Service’s website under the Resource Documents heading. The Service is seeking comments through April 29, 2018 via email at FW6BroomfieldEagleEA@fws.gov or via mail at:
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Migratory Birds
Attn: Brian Smith
P.O. Box 25486 DFC
Denver, CO 80225-0486
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