Press Release
In early May, the park temporarily closed areas around 13 of the park’s 39 active bald eagle nesting sites to campers and other human activities. All of these sites have now been reopened.
Five of the park’s 239 developed visitor use camping, houseboat and day use sites now reopened for visitor use include:
•Kabetogama Lake—Yoder Island (K37) and Ek’s Bay (K47) houseboat sites;
•Namakan Lake—Hamilton Island East (N11) campsite; and
•Rainy Lake—Skipper Rock Island (R45) and Sand Bay South (R25) houseboat sites
Eight reopened undeveloped areas where active breeding pairs nested include:
•Kabetogama Lake—North Wood Duck Island Beach, Pine Island South, Richie Island, West Sphunge Island Inlet, West Zollner Island, West Harris Island Point and West Cemetery Island
•Rainy Lake—North Diamond Island
Voyageurs National Park biologists and research scientists monitored the productivity and breeding success of the park’s bald eagle breeding population for the 37th consecutive year beginning in June through early August.
Earlier in mid April and early May adults were observed incubating at 39 nests compared to 29 in 2008, 24 in 2007, 30 in 2006 and 20 in 1999.
This summer 29 of the 39 active breeding pairs had 38 young fledge from their nests.
Ten active breeding pairs that incubated in spring failed either to hatch eggs or raise one young to fledging age.
One breeding pair occupied a breeding area but did not actively breed.
Adult bald eagles do not always breed annually.
Productivity (young fledged per occupied breeding area) for the breeding population was 0.95 and reproductive success (the percent of the breeding pairs that fledged at least one young) was 73 percent.
These values are indicative of a healthy breeding population’s success (1.0 and 70 percent).
The number of occupied breeding areas, occupied breeding areas with active nesting and the number of young fledged is the highest recorded within the Park for 37 breeding seasons of monitoring.
Today, when visitors come to the park they are very likely to see and hear bald eagles, unlike 37 seasons ago when there were only a few active and successfully breeding pairs.
This year twelve young fledged from nine nests on Rainy Lake (1.09 and 82 percent), 17 young from 11 nests on Kabetogama Lake (0.94 and 61 percent), 6 young from 6 nests on Namakan Lake (0.86 and 86 percent), and three young from four nests on Sand Point and Crane Lakes (0.75 and 75 percent).
There were 18 breeding areas occupied on Kabetogama Lake this season, which has the highest density of breeding areas in the Park’s four major lakes.
Eagles were not observed breeding in any of the 26 smaller interior lakes this year.
While visiting Voyageurs National Park, boating, kayaking or canoeing the four big lake areas will afford the best opportunity for eagle watching.
The greatest nesting failure rate was at Kabetogama Lake with six of the 17 active nesting attempts failing. Even with the high density of breeding pairs present, there were more chicks raised per successful nesting attempt than at the other major lake areas. Many active nests produced two eaglets within the lake area.
Each year since 1992, the park has temporarily closed the land and water areas around active bald eagle nests to visitor use during their critical nesting periods.
The park is obligated to follow the conservation management actions of the Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle Management Act.
The closures have been based on recommendations of bald eagle researchers from across the U.S. within wildlife management agencies.
People play a very important role in protecting nesting eagles and other birds.
“We appreciate the cooperation of our visitors in helping us manage and protect our bald eagle breeding population. There has been a steady increase in active nesting pairs in VNP during the past 37 breeding seasons. That trend along with an increase in the number of young fledged annually in the park is good news for the eagles,” said VNP superintendent Mike Ward.
“Overall, we believe that by reducing the adverse potential of human/eagle interactions around our active bald eagle nesting sites we have allowed for greater nesting success. At the same time we have increased the access to more eagles by our visitors.”
“Our specific management goal is to help ensure the continued reproductive success and sustainability of the park’s bald eagle population and that strategy appears to be working well,” he added.
