Cedar City • Angered by the senseless shooting of a bald eagle in southern Utah, a national conservation organization is willing to pay to make the perpetrator pay.
The Center for Biological Diversity, a nonprofit based in Tucson, Ariz., is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person responsible for the illegal shooting of a bald eagle in Cedar City in late February.
“It’s a tragedy that this majestic bald eagle was senselessly gunned down, and the perpetrator needs to be brought to justice,” said Patrick Donnelly, the center’s Great Basin director. “I hope someone does the right thing and comes forward with information.”
Residents found the bald eagle on Feb. 29 near 4500 West, in a residential area west of downtown Cedar City, according to Officer Jeremy Butler of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR). Conservation officers responding to the scene found the eagle had been shot through one of its wings with a rifle and was severely injured.
One of DWR’s wildlife rehabilitators picked up the injured eagle and later determined, in consultation with the division, that the raptor’s injuries could not be mended.
“So we made the decision, because of the severity of its injuries, to euthanize the eagle,” Butler said.
Unable to find the perpetrator over the past month, DWR issued a press release this month asking anyone who might have information about the shooting to contact the division. That prompted the Center for Biological Diversity to spring into action.
“Our mission is to save life on Earth, so we fight for all creatures, great and small …,” Donnelly said about the 1.7 million-member organization. “These creatures are incredibly important for our environment. … It is part of our human DNA to be fascinated by eagles, and there are a lot of people out there who could be perturbed by something like this happening.”
Eagles a protected species
Enacted in 1940, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act made it illegal to kill bald and golden eagles, including taking their feathers or removing their nests and eggs. After the number of nesting pairs of bald eagles dropped precipitously in the 1960s, the federal government banned the use of the pesticide DDT in 1972 and listed the national bird as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Bald eagle numbers have rebounded since then, prompting their removal from Endangered Species lists in 2008.
Utah has been particularly hospitable to bald eagles. More than 1,200 bald eagles have been counted wintering in Utah during recent years. Between 3,000 and 4,000 of the 13,000 bald eagles that winter in the lower 48 states do so in states west of the Rocky Mountains. About 25% to 30% of those western eagles winter in Utah, according to DWR officials.
Butler said DWR often responds to reports of deer poaching or illegal fishing but rarely encounters problems with people targeting eagles.
“They are protected wildlife and our nation’s mascot, and there is no [hunting] season for them,” he said. “There’s no way to legally kill a bald eagle.”
In 2023, state wildlife officers confirmed a total of 1,056 wild animals and fish — valued at nearly $620,000 — were illegally killed in Utah. Butler was unaware of the Arizona nonprofit’s $10,000 reward but welcomes anything that might help them make an arrest.
For his part, Donnelly said his nonprofit has not contacted DWR to talk about the reward.
“We have referred people to DWR but we don’t want to get in the middle of an investigation,” Donnelly said. “Should there be any useful information revealed, we will follow up with DWR.”
Donnelly said the nonprofit issued two rewards for the killing of bald eagles last year, one of them involving an incident in Arkansas. He is unaware if the rewards have led to any convictions. Most of the rewards the national organization offers involve malicious harm done to wolves and bald eagles, he added.
Doing the right thing
Butler said DWR officers are following up on a few leads in connection with the eagle.
“At the end of the day we have to rely on people to make the right choice and let us know when they have information on things like this,” he added.
Killing eagles or other protected wildlife is a third-degree felony in Utah. Anyone with information regarding this particular case can contact Officer Butler at 435-310-0238.
