New conservation plan aims to protect golden eagles in eastern North America

A recently released document assesses the status of eastern golden eagles and lays out a host of recommendations for better protecting these apex predators. It could be particularly useful to conservationists, wildlife officials, and others in Kentucky, where golden eagles are known to migrate over winter.

The golden eagle population in eastern North America isn't very well known, according to Todd Katzner, a research wildlife biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and one of the author's of the plan put forward by the Eastern Golden Eagle Working Group. He says this document aggregates what is known in one place "so that it can be a source of information for people who may want to take action on behalf of golden eagles, or may want to understand the situation in eastern North America."

The report notes the western golden eagle is genetically distinct from the eastern golden eagle. The golden eagle population in western North America is thought to be stable or slightly declining. In the U.S., it's about 30,000 to 35,000 birds. That number is estimated to be much smaller for eastern golden eagles — just 5,000 to 10,000 individuals, though Katzner says that number likely used to be smaller.