Bald Eagles In Alaska - Bruce A. Wright and Phil Schempf

I have in my hands one of the first copies of Bald Eagles in Alaska, fresh off the press. This is one of the first full books that Hancock Wildlife Foundation has co-published, in this case along with the Bald Eagle Research Institute and the American Bald Eagle Foundation.

The book is a collection of papers by several different authors and is aimed at a wide audience, including eagle enthusiasts, birders, students, Alaska travelers and wildlife professionals. 

As a matter of direct interest to Hancock Wildlife Foundation members and visitors, the historic information on the plight of the bald eagle, both in Alaska (and Yukon) as well as in continental US is discussed in several of the papers including "A Review of the Natural History of Reestablished Population of Breeding Bald Eagles in New York" (page 297) which not only brings an entirely new meaning to the word "hacking" but also shows the lengths to which the researchers had to go to get information and observations from nest towers prior to the use of our live streaming video cameras.

Lots more fascinating information on how the bald eagle was devastated by having a bounty placed on it - including insights into why and who did this in the Alaska legislature and how the law was finally trumped by the US federal government.

Well worth the US $29.95 cover price - and remember, Hancock Wildlife Foundation is now the official marketer of this and all the other Hancock House wildlife books. Buy it online from Hancock House or from a retail store and the foundation benefits.

Another of the collected papers that has more than current applicability is the one that deals with the Exxon Valdez oil spill and its effects on the eagle population (Bald Eagle Productivity in Southcentral Alaska in 1989 and 1990 after the Exon Valdez Oil Spill - page 168)

This paper outlines some of the effects and speculations on why some areas had high mortality and some low. In addition it gives some excellent insight into the methods they used in collection of their data from sources and at times that were in effect ad hoc, due to coming from those who were cleaning up after the spill rather than specific observations made by scientists themselves.

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The full table of contents:

Foreword

Marshall Lind 

 

Preface

Bruce A. Wright, James G. King and G. Vernon Byrd 

 

Introduction

Bruce A. Wright and Phil Schempf 

 

The Southeast Alaska Environment:

Bald Eagles and Their Meaning to the Tlingit People of Southeast Alaska

by Paul Marks 

 

The Bald Eagle in American Culture

by James G. King 

 

Geology of Southeast Alaska: With Special Emphasis on the Last 30,000 Years

by Cathy L. Connor 

 

Ecological Characteristics of Temperate Rain Forests: Some Implications for

Management of Bald Eagle Habitat

by Paul B. Alaback 

 

The Importance of Fish to Bald Eagles in Southeast Alaska: A Review

by Robert H. Armstrong 

 

Avian Resources of Southeast Alaska: A Brief Review and Their Importance to Eagles

by M. E. "Pete" Isleib 

 

Bald Eagle Biology                       

Time Budgets and Behavior of Nesting Bald Eagles

by Steven L. Cain 

 

Perspectives on the Breeding Biology of Bald Eagles in Southeast Alaska

by Scott M. Gende 

 

Habitat Relationships of Bald Eagles in Alaska

by Lowell H. Suring 

 

The Population Ecology of Bald Eagles Along the Pacific Northwest Coast

by Andrew Hansen, Ervin L. Boeker and John I. Hodges 

 

Eagles on the Chilkat: Winter Ecology

by Erwin L. Boeker 

 

Causes of Mortality in Alaskan Bald Eagles

by Nancy J. Thomas 

 

Population History and Status                                          

 

The Status of the Bald Eagle in Southeast Alaska

by Michael J. Jacobson 

 

Nesting and Productivity of Bald Eagles in Southeast Alaska-1966

by Fred C. Robards and James G. King 

 

Bald Eagle Productivity in Southcentral Alaska in 1989 and 1990

After the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

by Jeffrey A. Bernatowicz, Philip F. Schempf and Timothy D. Bowman 

 

History and Status of Bald Eagle Nesting and Productivity on the

Kodiak Island Archipelago, Alaska

by Dennis C. Zwiefelhofer 

 

Distribution, Abundance and Status of Bald Eagles in Interior Alaska

by Robert J. Ritchie and Robert E. Ambrose 

 

Nesting and Wintering Bald Eagle Population Parameters on and Adjacent to the Kenai

National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, 1979-1990

by Theodore N. Bailey, Edward E. Bangs, William W Larned Andre J. Loranger,

Mary F. Portner, Thomas V. Schumacher and Elizabeth A. Jozwiak 

 

History and Status of Bald Eagle Population and Productivity Studies

on the Alaska Peninsula, Alaska

by Donna A. Dewhurst 

 

Distribution and Status of Bald Eagles in the Aleutian Islands

by G. Vernon Byrd and Jeffrey C. Williams 

 

Bald Eagles in Western Alaska

by John M. Wright 

 

The Status of Bald Eagles in the Yukon Territory, Canada

by D. H. Mossop 

 

Current Management 

 

Shoot the Damned Things! Alaska's War Against the American Bald Eagle

by R. N. DeArmond 

 

Law Enforcement and the Bald Eagle Protection Act

by Jerry A. Cegelske 

 

Cooperative Management of the Bald Eagle in South Coastal Alaska

by Fred B. Samson 

 

Removal of Alaskan Bald Eagles for Translocation to Other States

by Michael J. Jacobson 

 

A Review of the Natural History of a Reestablished Population

of Breeding Bald Eagles in New York

by Peter E. Nye 

 

Human Disturbance and Bald Eagles

by James D. Fraser and Robert G. Anthony 

 

Bald Eagle Reaction to Construction on Back Island, Alaska

by Jackie Canterbury 

 

Nesting Bald Eagles in Urban Areas of Southeast Alaska

by Nathan P. Johnson 

 

Habitat Structure of Bald Eagle Nest Sites and Management

 

Zones near Juneau, Alaska

by M. Hildegard Reiser and James P. Ward, Jr

 

The Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve: How It All Began

by Raymond R. Menaker 

 

Bald Eagle Banding in Alaska

by Kimberly Titus and Mark R. Fuller 

 

Survey Techniques for Bald Eagles in Alaska

by John I. Hodges 

 

Graphic Depiction of Bald Eagle Habitat Use Patterns

by Richard E. Yates, B. Riley McClelland and Carl H. Key 

 

Behavioral Studies in the Alaska Rain Forest

by Johanna Fagen and Robert Fagen 

 

Photographing Bald Eagles

by Robert H. Armstrong 

 

Raptor Rehabilitation

by Noele Weemes 

 

Bald Eagles in a Changing Land 

 

Bald Eagle Research Needs and Opportunities in Southeast Alaska

by James G. King 

 

The Bald Eagle Bibliography

by Annette Nelson-Wright 

 

Bald Eagles and the Tourist Industry in Alaska

by Judy Shuler 

 

The Haines Story

by David E. Olerud 

 

American Bald Eagles At Home in the World

by Hans C. Fluehler