Conserving Lake Ontario & Upper St. Lawrence River Bald Eagle Habitats

8/20/2019 Conserving Lake Ontario & Upper St. Lawrence River Bald Eagle Habitats

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Conserving Lake Ontario and Upper St. Lawrence River

Bald Eagle Habitats

January 2006

Prepared by:

St. Lawrence Bald Eagle Working Group

In cooperation with:

U.S. – Canada Lake Ontario Lakewide Management Plan

Janet Anderson, Ontario Ministry of the Environment

Bud Andress, Parks CanadaDebbie Badzinski, Bird Studies Canada

Brandt Brown, Tetra Tech EM Inc.

Jack Brunner, Tetra Tech EM Inc.

Chris Burns, Ontario Ministry of Natural ResourcesRoss Cholomdeley, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources

Amber Conforti, Tetra Tech EM Inc.

Dawn Laing, Bird Studies Canada (now with Canadian Wildlife Service)Fred Luckey, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Pam Martin, Environment Canada

Peter Nye, New York State Dept. of Environmental ConservationGreg Saunders, Parks Canada

Blanche Town, New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation

Leila Veenstra, Carleton University

Cover photographs provided by Bird Studies Canada and Douglas Rawlinson


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CONTENTS

Section Page

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS..........................................................................................................................ii

GLOSSARY ............................................................................................................................................. G-1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................... ES-1

1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 1

1.1 PROJECT SCOPE .............................................................................................................. 2

1.2 PROJECT PARTNERS ...................................................................................................... 2

1.3 STATUS OF LAKE ONTARIO AND UPPER ST. LAWRENCE RIVER BALD

EAGLES............................................................................................................................. 3

1.4 REGIONAL BALD EAGLE CONSERVATION STRATEGIES ..................................... 4

2.0 BALD EAGLE GIS HABITAT MODEL DESIGN........................................................................ 6

2.1 PREVIOUS BALD EAGLE HABITAT EVALUATIONS ............................................... 6

2.2 LAKE ERIE BALD EAGLE RECOVERY LESSONS LEARNED.................................. 6

2.3 SELECTION OF HABITAT MODEL PARAMETERS.................................................... 7

3.0 IDENTIFIED BALD EAGLE HABITAT PRIORITY SITES...................................................... 103.1 NEW YORK PRIORITY SITES...................................................................................... 10

3.2 ONTARIO PRIORITY SITES ......................................................................................... 13

3.3 NEXT STEPS – FIELD VERIFICATION OF MODELING RESULTS ........................ 17

4.0 BALD EAGLE RESTORATION OBJECTIVES ......................................................................... 18

5.0 THE PUBLIC’S ROLE IN BALD EAGLE HABITAT CONSERVATION................................ 19

5.1 LANDOWNER STEWARDSHIP AND PUBLIC AWARENESS.................................. 19

5.2 CONSERVATION EASEMENTS................................................................................... 19

6.0 RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................................................... 20

REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................... 21

Appendix

A FIGURES SHOWING PRIORITY SITES IN THE UNITED STATES

B FIGURES SHOWING PRIORITY SITES IN CANADA

C NOTES FROM U.S. – ST. LAWRENCE RIVER CANADA BALD EAGLE

WORKING GROUP WORKSHOPS

D FIGURES FROM THE BINATIONAL 1992 CESSNA HABITAT ASSESSMENT

E U.S. – CANADA ST. LAWRENCE RIVER BALD EAGLE WORKING GROUP FACT SHEET

TABLESTable Page

1 GIS LAYERS USED TO DEVELOP THE BALD EAGLE HABITAT MODEL ......................... 8

2 NEW YORK RESULTS FOR EACH PHASE OF THE GIS BALD EAGLE

HABITAT MODEL....................................................................................................................... 10

3 IDENTIFIED NEW YORK BALD EAGLE HABITAT PRIORITY SITES................................ 11

4 ONTARIO RESULTS FOR EACH PHASE OF THE GIS BALD EAGLE

HABITAT MODEL....................................................................................................................... 13

5 IDENTIFIED ONTARIO BALD EAGLE HABITAT PRIORITY SITES................................... 14


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This project was made possible thanks to the financial support provided by the Ontario Ministry of

Natural Resources, through the Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem

(COA) Program, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Great Lakes National Program Office.

The overall project concept was inspired by Al Bath, Michigan State University, who flew the first

binational aerial survey of potential Lake Ontario shoreline bald eagle nesting sites in 1992.

William Bowerman, Clemson University; Teryl Grubb, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service;

and Mark Shieldcastle, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, provided assistance in developing the

project plan and modeling approach. Special thanks to the staff of New York State Office of Parks,

Recreation and Historic Preservation’s Minna Anthony Common Nature Center, Wellesley Island State

Park, who have graciously hosted St. Lawrence Bald Eagle Working Group for many years."


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GLOSSARY

Addled: Rotten, spoiled.

Bathymetry: Measurement of the depth of oceans or lakes.

Bioaccumulation: The accumulation of environmental contaminants in organisms through ingestion orcontact with skin or respiratory tissue.

Conservation easement: A legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust or government agency

that permanently restricts certain uses of the land to protect its conservation values.

Gap Analysis Project (GAP): A process that identifies where additional conservation efforts are needed

to protect areas with valuable habitat and biodiversity.

Geographic information system (GIS): A computerized data management system that captures, stores,

retrieves, analyzes, and reports geographic information.

Hacking: The practice of raising nestling raptors in captivity, acclimating them to natural conditions, andthen releasing them into the wild.

Hectare: Metric system measure of surface area equaling 2.47 acres.

Indicator species: An organism or community of organisms that is considered representative of the

ecosystem as a whole; by monitoring indicator species, natural resource managers can assess the relative

health of an ecosystem.

Superdominant tree: A classification used to describe a tree that towers above the surrounding tree

canopy.

Telemetry: The practice of gathering data about remote objects and electronically measuring andtransmitting the data to receiving stations for analysis.

Wetland: Transitional lands between terrestrial and aquatic systems where the water table is usually at or

near the ground surface or the land is covered by shallow water. Wetlands must have a predominance of

hydric soils and be inundated or saturated by surface water at a frequency and duration sufficient to

support a prevalence of hydrophytic vegetation.


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The continued recovery of Lake Ontario and Upper St. Lawrence River bald eagle ( Haliaeetusleucocephalus) populations will depend on the availability and protection of nesting, foraging, andoverwintering habitat. The restoration of shoreline bald eagle nesting territories would be one important

sign of ecosystem recovery. The binational Lake Ontario Lakewide Management Plan (LaMP) requested

the St. Lawrence Bald Eagle Working Group (SLBEWG) to develop a habitat conservation strategy that

would (1) identify and prioritize valuable bald eagle habitat in the Lake Ontario and upper St. Lawrence

River Basin and (2) develop improved LaMP bald eagle restoration goals and objectives.

The geographic scope of this effort was limited to the eastern Lake Ontario basin and the Upper St.

Lawrence River where the highest quality habitat and the greatest amount of bald eagle activity are

currently found. A review of available bald eagle research identified three major predictors of quality

bald eagle nesting and foraging sites: (1) more than 260 contiguous hectares of forest; (2) sites located

less than 1.5 kilometers (km) from wetlands, rivers, or lakes; and (3) sites close to wetlands, lakes, or

rivers covering more than 30 hectares. A GIS habitat computer model was used to identify where these

habitat features or parameters occur together. The model identified 40 shoreline sites (19 in New York

and 21 in Ontario) that meet these criteria and have a high potential to support bald eagle nesting and

foraging. These sites will be field checked beginning in 2007 to confirm the modeling results.

The SLBEWG developed the following initial conservation goals to measure progress in restoring eagle

habitat in the combined Lake Ontario-Upper St. Lawrence River ecosystem:

By 2016, at least 10 shoreline nesting territories are established.

By 2016, at least five Canadian and five U.S. priority sites totaling more than 5,000 hectares

are protected.

80 percent of bald eagle nesting pairs should fledge one or more eaglets per year .

Continued implementation of bald eagle monitoring and public awareness programs, combined with

effective local habitat conservation efforts, will ensure the success of U.S. – Canadian bald eagle

restoration efforts.


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1.0 INTRODUCTION

In 2004, the St. Lawrence Bald Eagle Working Group (SLBEWG) was asked by the Lake Ontario Lake

Ontario Lakewide Management Plan (LaMP) to develop an approach to further the LaMP’s long-term

goal of restoring bald eagle ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus) populations through the conservation of nesting,

foraging, and over-wintering habitat along the Lake Ontario and Upper St. Lawrence River shorelines.

The Lake Ontario LaMP is the primary planning process used to address regional-scale Lake Ontario

environmental issues that require coordinated U.S. and Canadian actions.

The SLBEWG is comprised of U.S. and Canadian government and non-government agencies, groups,

and individuals working together to promote conservation of the region's bald eagles since the mid-1980s.

The LaMP and the SLBEWG are working together to develop a long-term strategy to conserve and

restore Lake Ontario and Upper St. Lawrence River bald eagle populations.

Bald eagles are making an impressive recovery throughout the Great Lakes but have failed to return in

large numbers to historic nesting locations along the shores of Lake Ontario. Recovery of eagles

throughout their range may be threatened if key nesting and foraging habitat are lost to logging and land

development. Human disturbance that accompanies land development can also cause reproductive

failures and nest site abandonment. Conserving bald eagle habitat benefits a wide range of other species

that rely on similar habitat assemblages thereby promoting biodiversity throughout the basin.

This project used geographic information system (GIS) habitat computer modeling as a first step in

identifying habitats with the greatest potential to support successful bald eagle nesting territories. These

identified “priority sites” will be field checked beginning in 2007 to confirm the model’s predictions,

followed by an aggressive effort to protect the best of these habitats in perpetuity.

The remainder of this introduction discusses the project scope, project partners, regional conservation

strategies, and the current status of bald eagles in the region. Section 2.0 briefly summarizes the bald eagle

GIS habitat model design, Section 3.0 identifies bald eagle habitat priority sites, and Section 4.0 presents

bald eagle restoration objectives. Section 5.0 discusses the public’s role in the recovery of bald eagle

populations, and Section 5.0 presents recommendations for future work. Appendices A and B present

maps of priority sites identified in the United States and Canada, respectively. Appendix C provides

meetings notes from SLBEWG workshops. Appendix D presents figures from the habitat assessment

conducted in 1992. Appendix E provides a copy of the SLEWBG fact sheet.


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1.1 PROJECT SCOPE

Because of the importance of Upper St. Lawrence River overwintering and foraging habitat to Lake

Ontario eagles, the original geographic scope of this project was expanded beyond Lake Ontario to

include the Upper St. Lawrence River, extending east to Chippewa Bay, New York, and Brown’s Bay,

Ontario (see Figures A-1 and B-1). The concentrated number of eagles that overwinter along the Upper

St. Lawrence River will likely serve as a source of future Lake Ontario shoreline nesting pairs. This

evaluation focused on identifying “shoreline” bald eagle nesting and foraging habitats. Nests located

within 7 kilometers of the lake or river are considered “shoreline” nesting pairs because adult eagles will

forage on the lake or river while raising young. Specific goals of this effort are to (1) identify priority

sites for bald eagle habitat conservation efforts; (2) develop improved LaMP bald eagle restoration goals

and objectives, and (3) garner protection for the best identified eagle habitats.

1.2 PROJECT PARTNERS

The SLBEWG provided the technical expertise and knowledge needed to design the habitat computer

models and develop the set of initial bald eagle population and habitat restoration objectives. Debbie

Badzinzki and Dawn Laing of Bird Studies Canada (BSC) and Peter Nye of the New York State

Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) provided overall project guidance and direction.

The Lake Ontario LaMP member agencies assisted with project coordination and financial support.

Computer modeling was performed by Tetra Tech EM Inc. (for New York area), under contract to

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Great Lakes National Program Office and by BSC (for

Ontario area) under contract to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR). Tetra Tech EM Inc.

also served as the lead in compiling and distributing the final report.

Lake Ontario LaMP member agencies include Environment Canada, EPA, Ontario Ministry of the

Environment, OMNR, NYSDEC, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and Canada Department of

Fisheries and Oceans.

Active participants of the SLBEWG include BSC, Canadian Wildlife Service, NYSDEC, OMNR, Parks

Canada – St. Lawrence Islands National Park, as well as individuals interested in bald eagles.

Appendix E provides additional information on SLBEWG projects and achievements. When developing

the habitat assessment models, the SLBEWG also consulted Mark Shieldcastle of the Ohio Department of

Natural Resources, Bill Bowerman of Clemson University, and Teryl Grubb of the U.S. Department of

Agriculture Forest Service.


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1.3 STATUS OF LAKE ONTARIO AND UPPER ST. LAWRENCE RIVER BALD EAGLES

Bald eagle populations declined across North America in the late 1800s and early 1900s because of

shootings and loss of habitat (EPA 2004). In the 1920s, bald eagles and their eggs were heavily exploited

for ornithological collections throughout the Lake Ontario region, exacerbating what would be a long-term, population-level decline and ever-increasing constraints on their previous range (Buehler 2000). In

the 1950s and 1960s, reproductive impairment from heavy metals and pesticides (especially dichloro-

diphenyl-trichloroethane [DDT]) resulted in the extirpation of the few bald eagles remaining in the Lake

Ontario basin (Donaldson and others 1999). In 1967, the USFWS officially listed the bald eagle as an

endangered species (USFWS 2004), and 6 years later, Ontario listed bald eagles as provincially

endangered (Laing and Badzinski 2005). In the years that followed, North American bald eagles began

their slow recovery following the implementation of regulations and programs that provided eagles

greater protection, controlled the use of certain bioaccumulative pesticides such as DDT, and supported

aggressive restoration programs.

NYSDEC and the Canadian Wildlife Service helped accelerate the return of bald eagles to Lake Ontario

and Lake Erie by capturing eagles from healthy eagle populations in North America and releasing them

through a process known as hacking. Eagles were released in New York and Southern Ontario during the

1970s and 1980s. When hacking ended in 1989, more than 200 eagles had been successfully reintroduced

into the New York- Southern Ontario region. By 1990, more than 10 inland breeding pairs were

established, and U.S. and Canadian wildlife experts shifted their attention to monitoring bald eagle

productivity, protecting nest sites, locating new nests, and monitoring eagle contaminant levels

(NYSDEC 2003).

NYSDEC and BSC currently coordinate annual monitoring of bald eagle population status and

productivity near Lake Ontario and the Upper St. Lawrence River. In addition, the cooperation of nest

tree property owners and volunteers, who report nesting activity to wildlife experts, play a vital role in the

success of these monitoring programs. Landowners and volunteers are also involved in protecting nest

sites from human disturbance and educating the general public on proper “eagle etiquette.” Typically,

wildlife experts visit nests annually to assess productivity and to weigh, measure, and band eaglets.

Blood, feathers, prey, and addled egg samples are periodically collected for contaminant analysis.

Aerial and ground surveys are conducted in January to collect information on wintering eagles that

concentrate along the Upper St. Lawrence River. These surveys can include capturing eagles for banding,

contaminant analyses, and radio-tracking. Satellite telemetry radio-tracking allows scientists to chart the


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eagle’s annual movement patterns and track local foraging and nesting activities; such efforts have

dramatically improved our understanding of eagle behavior (Workshop 2004).

By 1995, North American bald eagle populations had recovered to the point that the USFWS changed its

status from “endangered” to “threatened” (EPA 2004). Lake Erie now has dozens of established shoreline

bald eagles nesting territories. Although bald eagle populations have been slow to return and nest along

the shores of Lake Ontario and the Upper St. Lawrence River, inland populations have continued to grow.

By 2004, eagles had established inland nesting territories within the Lake Ontario Basin (greater than 7

kilometers from the shore) at 5 sites in Ontario and 14 sites in New York, as well as 2 shoreline nesting

territories, 1 on Lake Ontario and 1 on the St. Lawrence River (Laing and Badzinski 2005, Nye 2004).

Inland and shoreline nesting pairs have been successfully producing an average of one or more eaglets per

year. As their population continues to recover, eagles are expected to establish more shoreline nesting

territories – provided that suitable nesting and foraging habitat is available.

Current bald eagle research topics include (1) genetic analysis of feathers and blood collected from

nesting adults to identify specific individuals and determine mate turnover, (2) determining characteristics

of nest trees selected by returning eagles, and (3) measuring concentrations of mercury and newly

recognized chemicals, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE).

1.4 REGIONAL BALD EAGLE CONSERVATION STRATEGIES

The Lake Ontario LaMP bald eagle conservation strategy provides opportunities to work with other

regional environmental plans that have similar goals, such as the following:

Great Lakes Strategy. The Great Lakes Strategy’s objective for bald eagles is to restore and

protect coastal bald eagle habitat. More specifically, by 2007, the recovery goal for eagle

populations is to achieve a 10 percent increase, relative to the year 2000, in the number of

occupied territories that produce at least one young per year in coastal habitat. For more

information, see http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/gls/.

U.S. Northern States Bald Eagle Recovery Plan. The primary objective of this plan is toreestablish self-sustaining populations of bald eagles throughout the northern United States.

The initial goal of 1,200 occupied breeding areas distributed over a minimum of 16 states by

2000, with an average annual productivity of at least 1.0 young per occupied nest, has been

met (USFWS 1983). Nesting and winter surveys of the location and number of occupied breeding and wintering areas were critical to monitor changes in population status and

progress toward the goal. Once identified, these essential habitats would require additional

monitoring through site-specific management plans. The plan recommended that statistical

information be coordinated, standardized, and stored in a centralized location to maximize


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efficiency and cooperation and to reduce redundant efforts by various agencies. For more

information, see http://endangered.fws.gov/i/b/msab0h.html.

Canada - Ontario Agreement. In 2002, the federal and provincial governments of Canada

and Ontario signed the Canada - Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin

Ecosystem. The agreement outlined how the two governments will cooperate and coordinateefforts to restore, protect, and conserve the Great Lakes basin ecosystem. The agreement was

built on previous actions and agreements, and its purpose was to focus priorities for future

actions (EC 2004). For more information, see http://www.on.ec.gc.ca/coa/.


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2.0 BALD EAGLE GIS HABITAT MODEL DESIGN

2.1 PREVIOUS BALD EAGLE HABITAT EVALUATIONS

Binational 1992 Aerial Habitat AssessmentIn January 1992, a Cessna aircraft was used to survey all of the mainland and insular shoreline of Lake

Ontario, the St. Lawrence River, Lake Erie, and the Niagara River to classify potential bald eagle nesting

habitat. Wooded areas up to 1 mile from the shoreline were rated for (1) suitable nesting trees,

(2) suitable foraging areas, and (3) level of potential human disturbances. Habitat was rated as poor, fair,

good, or excellent by the observers. On Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River, more than 50 percent

of the areas were rated poor, while 18 percent were rated as good or excellent (Bowerman and others

2005). Most of the good or excellent areas occurred in Cape Vincent or Oswego in New York and in the

Colborne to Kingston area in Ontario, including the Canadian islands off Prince Edward County (see

Figure D-1). The Canadian and U.S. portions of the St. Lawrence River had six and seven areas,

respectively, that rated good or excellent. Only one good or excellent area was identified west of

Oswego, New York.

GIS Habitat Assessment of the Thousand Islands Region

In 2004, a GIS model was developed to identify potential bald eagle nesting sites in the Canadian

Thousand Islands region of the St. Lawrence River. ArcView GIS 3.2 was used to determine the

percentage of potential habitat in the Thousand Islands region that met certain criteria, including areas

that were near water bodies larger than 30 hectares and that were more than 200 meters from buildings

and major roads (Veenstra 2004). Modeling results revealed that 29 percent of the study area met the

criteria used to define suitable, potential, bald eagle nesting habitat. The report recommended that these

specific habitat areas be preserved and that site visits be conducted to determine if suitable nest trees are

available (Veenstra 2004).

2.2 LAKE ERIE BALD EAGLE RECOVERY LESSONS LEARNED

Lake Erie bald eagles have made a dramatic recovery and have established numerous shoreline nesting

pairs over the last 25 years. Ohio's Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) has assisted in developing

over 100 nests, many of which are on or near the Lake Erie shoreline. In Ontario, there are now more

than 25 nests along the northern shore of Lake Erie. The SLBEWG consulted with Mark Shieldcastle,

ODNR, to gain some insights on the types of nesting habitat selected by bald eagles returning to Lake

Erie’s shoreline areas. These insights included the following:


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Eagle habitat requirements are changing but large nest trees near wetlands or water remain anecessity.

Nests are often correlated with wetlands rather than forest.

Eagles may be developing a higher tolerance for human activity, but many breeding failures

continue to be associated with human disturbance.

Eagles will fly over shoreline developments located between nest trees and foraging areas.

Farm vehicles do not disturb bald eagles as long as operators remain in or on their vehicles.

Boats do not disturb bald eagles as long as boaters do not land near the nest tree or approach it

directly.

It is difficult to predict where bald eagles will nest because they have exploited goose barrels,

utility towers, and radio control towers.

Bald eagle pairs have returned to historical nesting trees that had been abandoned for decades.

2.3 SELECTION OF HABITAT MODEL PARAMETERS

A review of available bald eagle habitat research identified three major predictors of quality bald eagle

nesting and foraging habitat:

Areal Extent of Forest – Forested areas surrounding nest trees should be greater than 260

contiguous hectares (about 640 acres) to provide sufficient nesting and foraging habitat

(USFWS 1983 and 2002). Bald eagles prefer to construct nests in superdominant trees with an

unobstructed view of the surrounding area.

Distance to Wetland or Open Water – Bald eagles typically forage in open waters and wetlands

within 1.5 kilometers (km) or about 0.9 mile from their nest site (USFWS 2002).

Areal Extent of Wetland or Open Water – Bald eagles typically nest near larger areas of open

water or wetlands (greater than 30 hectares or about 74 acres) that are more likely to support

diverse and abundant fish populations (USFWS 2002).

These parameters were incorporated into a GIS computer model to identify where this combination of

habitat features occurs in the study area. Locations that met all of these criteria and are located close to

open water and wetlands are considered “priority sites” with the greatest potential to support a nesting

pair of bald eagles.


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For logistical reasons, separate U.S. and Canadian modeling efforts were conducted. Tetra Tech EM

Inc., under contract to EPA, modeled the U.S. study area using ArcGIS Desktop version 8.3. BSC, under

contract to OMNR, modeled the Canadian study area using ArcView version 3.2. The U.S. and Canadian

efforts used the same GIS modeling approach except for how the term “adjacent” was defined. The U.S.

model considered areas to be “adjacent” if they were directly touching. The Canadian model considered

areas to be “adjacent” if they were within 200 meters of each other. Table 1 summarizes the habitat data

layers used in the models.

TABLE 1

GIS LAYERS USED TO DEVELOP THE BALD EAGLE HABITAT MODEL

Parameter GIS Layer Source Year

The National Land CoverDataset

New York State GIS Clearinghousehttp://www.nysgis.state.ny.us/inventories/usgs.htm

1993ForestedAreas Ontario Land Cover

Databasehttp://www2.lib.uoguelph.ca/resources/gis/PLC/index.cfm

1986 to

1997

New York State RegulatoryFreshwater Wetlands

http://cugir.mannlib.cornell.edu/index.jsp 1999

U.S. National WetlandsInventory Data by

Quadrangle

USFWS National Wetlands Inventoryhttp://wetlandsfws.er.usgs.gov/download.html

1977 to2004

WetlandAreas

Canada Wetlands and WaterBodies

Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands Inventoryhttp://www.glc.org/wetlands/inventory.html

1981 to2003

U.S. National Hydrography

Dataset (New York Water

Areas)

Developed by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) with EPA;

published by ESRI http://www.esri.com1999

Open Water

Areas

Canada Water BodiesESRI. 2003. Canada Water Bodies: Data and Maps

http://www.esri.com2002

Note: GIS layers used the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projection North American Datum of 1983.

The models used a four-phase screening approach (see Tables 2 and 4) to identify priority sites. Each

subsequent run of the model included stricter site-selection habitat requirements. The term “site” as used

here refers to a specific location defined by a polygon in a GIS layer that met all of the criteria for each

phase of the models’ screening process.


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Where available, maps of priority site locations also include the following qualitative information that can

help evaluate the likelihood that eagles will use the sites:

Locations of recent wintering bald eagle activity (determined via satellite and VHF) provided by NYSDEC and BSC

NYSDEC data on historic nest locations in New York and observations from 1955 to 2004

Records of historical bald eagle nests in Ontario from 1886 to 2004 provided by the Ontario Nest

Records Scheme, Ontario Breeding Bird Atlases, and OMNR records

Bathymetry of Lake Ontario in New York to evaluate the relationship between bald eagle activity

and the amount of shallow water at the shoreline

New York lands protected by public or private conservation entities as determined by the

NYSDEC Gap Analysis Program (USGS 2004)

Roads, towns, and airports located within or adjacent to potential sites.


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3.0 IDENTIFIED BALD EAGLE HABITAT PRIORITY SITES

GIS habitat modeling identified a total of 40 priority sites in New York and Ontario. Appendix A

includes figures that show the 19 priority sites identified in the New York study area (see Figure A-1) and

subareas A, B, and C (see Figures A-2, A-3, and A-4, respectively). Appendix B provides similar figures

for the 21 sites identified in the Ontario study area. Specific modeling results are summarized below for

New York and Ontario.

3.1 NEW YORK PRIORITY SITES

Nineteen shoreline priority sites were identified in New York; 15 sites are located along Lake Ontario’s

eastern shoreline, and 4 sites are located on the St. Lawrence River. Table 2 shows the number of sites

identified by each of the four successive screening phases of the model. New York sites on Lake Ontario

are located between Sodus Bay, west of Oswego, and Chaumont Bay, north of Dexter. Two of the St.

Lawrence River priority sites are located on Wellesley Island, and two sites are located near Alexandria

Bay. Table 3 provides the location and characteristics of each priority site.

TABLE 2

NEW YORK RESULTS FOR EACH PHASE OF THE GIS BALD EAGLE HABITAT MODEL

Phase ParametersNumber

of Sites

1Forested areas > 260 hectares and < 1.5 km from a wetland or openwater

66

2Forested areas > 260 hectares and < 1.5 km from a wetland or open

water > 30 hectares60

3Forested areas > 260 hectares directly in contact with a wetland or

open water that is > 30 hectares47

4Forested areas > 260 hectares directly in contact with a wetland and

open water that are each > 30 hectares19


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C o n s e r v i n g L a k e O n t a r i o a n d U p p e r S t . L a w r e n c e R i v e r

B a l d E a g l e H a b i t a t s

1 1

J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6

T A B L E 3

I D E N T I F I E D N E W

Y O R K B A L D E A G L E H A B I T A T P R

I O R I T Y S I T E S

S i t e N o .

F o r e s t e d A r e a

( H e c t a r e )

W

e t l a n d A r e a

( H e c t a r e )

O p e n W a t e r A r e a

C o u n t y

C o m m e n t s

1

3 7 7

8 5

L a k e O n t a r i o ,

S o d u s B a y

W a y n e

A h i s t o r i c a l b a l d e a g l e n e s t w a s l o c a t e d a b o u t 3 k m f r o m t h e s i t e .

A b o u t 5 0 p e r c e n t i s p

a r t o f a G A P - p r o t e c t e d a r e a ( s a m e a s

S i t e 2 ) .

S t a t e H i g h w a y 1 0 4 r u

n s t h r o u g h t h e s i t e .

2

3 5 7

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L a k e O n t a r i o

W a y n e

A h i s t o r i c a l b a l d e a g l e n e s t w a s l o c a t e d a b o u t 2 k m f r o m t h e s i t e .

A b o u t 5 0 p e r c e n t i s p

a r t o f a G A P - p r o t e c t e d a r e a ( s a m e a s S i t e 1 ) .

3

4 , 3 3 7

5 4 9


P o r t B a y

W a y n e

A b o u t 2 0 p e r c e n t o f t h e s i t e i s p r o t e c t e d .

T h e s i t e i s b o r d e r e d b

y t w o t o w n s , W o l c o t t a n d R e d C r e e k .

S t a t e H i g h w a y 1 0 4 r u

n s t h r o u g h t h e s i t e .

4

5 , 5 9 9

7 4 6


L i t t l e S o d u s B a y

W a y n e

A b o u t 1 0 p e r c e n t o f t h e s i t e i s p r o t e c t e d .

T h e t o w n o f F a i r H a v

e n i s p a r t i a l l y p r o t e c t e d a n d l i e s w i t h i n t h e s i t e .

T h e s i t e i s c r o s s e d b y

S t a t e H i g h w a y 1 0 4 a a n d S t a t e H i g h w

a y 3 8 .

P a r t o f t h e s i t e i s i n C

a y u g a C o u n t y .

5

9 , 1 0 9

2 1 9


O s w e g o R i v e r

O s w e g o


y f o u r t o w n s : H a n n i b a l , F u l t o n , M i n e t t e , a n d O s w e g o .


S t a t e H i g h w a y 1 0 4 a a n d S t a t e H i g h w

a y 3 .

T h e O s w e g o R i v e r s e

p a r a t e s t h e s i t e f r o m S i t e N o . 6 .

6

1 7 , 3 4 7

7 6 3


O s w e g o R i v e r

O s w e g o

O n e h i s t o r i c a l b a l d e a g l e n e s t w a s l o c a t e d w i t h i n t h e s i t e , a n d o n e w a s l o c a t e d 1 . 5 k m

f r o m t h i s s i t e .


y f i v e t o w n s : F u l t o n , M e x i c o , M i n e t t e

, O s w e g o , a n d P a r i s h .


S t a t e H i g h w a y 1 0 4 a n d S t a t e H i g h w a

y 2 6 4 .

T h e O s w e g o R i v e r s e

p a r a t e s t h e s i t e f r o m S i t e N o . 5 .

7

3 7 6

1 3 5


S a l m o n R i v e r

O s w e g o

T w o h i s t o r i c a l b a l d e a g l e n e s t s w e r e l o c a t e d 2 . 8 k m a n d 3 . 3

k m f r o m t h e s i t e .

A b o u t 5 0 p e r c e n t o f t h e s i t e i s G A P - p r o t e c t e d .

S t a t e H i g h w a y 3 c r o s

s e s t h e s i t e , a n d I n t e r s t a t e 8 1 a n d D r y

B r i d g e R o a d c r o s s t h e S a l m o n

R i v e r .

8

8 2 2

5 0 5


S o u t h P o n d ,

S a l m o n R i v e r

O s w e g o

A h i s t o r i c a l b a l d e a g l e n e s t w a s l o c a t e d w i t h i n t h e s i t e .


S t a t e H i g h w a y 3 r u n s

t h r o u g h t h e s i t e .

9

5 6 3

1 0 5


N o r t h P o n d

O s w e g o

B a l d e a g l e s w e r e o b s e r v e d n e a r b y ( b e f o r e 1 9 9 2 ) .




A p o r t i o n o f t h e s i t e i s l o c a t e d i n J e f f e r s o n C o u n t y .


19/62



T A B L E 3 ( C o n t i n u e d )

I D E N T I F I E D N E W

Y O R K B A L D E A G L E H A B I T A T P R


1 2

J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6

S i t e N o .

F o r e s t e d A r e a

( H e c t a r e )

W

e t l a n d A r e a

( H e c t a r e )

O p e n W a t e r A r e a

C o u n t y

C o m m e n t s

1 0

4 8 5

9 2 2


J e f f e r s o n


B a l d e a g l e s o b s e r v e d

n e a r b y ( b e f o r e 1 9 9 2 ) .




1 1

4 0 3

4 8


J e f f e r s o n



1 2

2 9 3

3 4 1


H e n d e r s o n B a y

J e f f e r s o n


A b o u t 5 p e r c e n t o f t h e s i t e i s G A P - p r o t e c t e d .

S t a t e H i g h w a y 3 a n d

C o u n t y R o a d 7 1 r u n t h r o u g h t h e s i t e .

1 3

3 3 6

4 5 5


B l a c k R i v e r B a y

J e f f e r s o n


T h e s i t e i s b i s e c t e d b y W a t e r t o w n I n t e r n a t i o n a l A i r p o r t .

1 4 a

6 7 8

N o n e


C h a u m o n t B a y

J e f f e r s o n

A h i s t o r i c a l b a l d e a g l e n e s t w a s l o c a t e d 1 . 5 k m f r o m t h e s i t e .

B a l d e a g l e s w e r e o b s e r v e d n e a r b y b e f o r e a n d a f t e r 1 9 9 2 .

N o r t h S h o r e R o a d r u n s t h r o u g h t h e s i t e

1 4 b

1 0 9 4

5 4


C h a u m o n t B a y

J e f f e r s o n


y t h e T o w n o f C h a u m o n t .

C o u n t y R d 1 7 9 r u n s t h r o u g h t h e s i t e .

1 5

5 1 3

1 8 4

S t . L a w r e n c e

R i v e r ,

W e l l e s l e y I s l a n d

J e f f e r s o n

B a l d e a g l e s w e r e o b s e r v e d b e f o r e a n d a f t e r 1 9 9 2 .

A b o u t 5 p e r c e n t o f t h e s i t e i s G A P - p r o t e c t e d a n d t h e s i t e i s s u r r o u n d e d b y G A P - p r o t e c t e d

a r e a .

1 6

1 1 3 0

1 4 1


R i v e r ,

W e l l e s l e y I s l a n d

J e f f e r s o n

B a l d e a g l e a c t i v i t y ( t r a c k e d b y V H F a n d s a t e l l i t e ) o c c u r r e d

w i t h i n t h e s i t e .


A b o u t 5 0 p e r c e n t o f t h e s i t e i s G A P - p r o t e c t e d a n d i s s u r r o u n d e d b y G A P - p r o t e c t e d a r e a .

I n t e r s t a t e H i g h w a y 8 1 r u n s t h r o u g h t h e s i t e .

1 7

6 4 1

1 9 0


R i v e r ,

A l e x a n d r i a B a y ,

G o o s e B a y

J e f f e r s o n

A h i s t o r i c a l b a l d e a g l e n e s t w a s l o c a t e d a b o u t 1 . 5 k m f r o m t h e s i t e .


A l e x a n d r i a B a y i s G A

P - p r o t e c t e d .

S t a t e H i g h w a y 1 2 r u n

s t h r o u g h t h e s i t e .

1 8

9 0 0

2 6 3


R i v e r ,

G o o s e B a y

J e f f e r s o n



S t a t e H i g h w a y 1 2 r u n

s t h r o u g h t h e s i t e .

P a r t o f t h e s i t e i s l o c a

t e d i n S t . L a w r e n c e C o u n t y .

N o t e s :

G A P - N a t i o n a l B i o l o g i c a l S e r v

i c e G a p A n a l y s i s P r o g r a m

V H F - V e r y h i g h f r e q u e n c y


20/62


Bald Eagle Habitats

13 January 2006

3.2 ONTARIO PRIORITY SITES

Twenty-one priority sites were identified in Ontario between Lakeport, on Lake Ontario, and

Mallorytown, on the St. Lawrence River. Sixteen of the priority sites are located on Lake Ontario, and

five are located along the St. Lawrence River. Table 4 shows the number of sites identified by each of the

four successive screening phases of the model. The fourth screening phase of the model was repeated

(Phase 4b) using 100 meters rather than 200 meters as the distance required for the site to be considered

“adjacent.” Phase 4b screening was conducted to determine how this change in the distance requirement

might affect the results. This change in the model reduced the number of priority sites by about 50

percent. SLBEWG concluded that the results of the original Phase 4a model should be used to define

Ontario priority sites. Bathymetry was not included on priority site maps as an additional qualitative

measurement because most of Ontario nearshore waters are shallow. Table 5 provides the location and

characteristics of each priority site.

TABLE 4

ONTARIO RESULTS FOR EACH PHASE OF THE GIS BALD EAGLE HABITAT MODEL

Phase ParametersNumber

of Sites

1Forested areas > 260 hectares and < 1.5 km from a

wetland or open water67

2Forested areas > 260 hectares and < 1.5 km from a

wetland or open water > 30 hectares 63

3Forested areas > 260 hectares directly in contact with a

wetland or open water that is > 30 hectares54

4aForested areas > 260 hectares and < 200 meters from awetland and open water, each covering > 30 hectares

21

4bForested areas > 260 hectares and < 100 meters from awetland and open water that each cover > 30 hectares

12


21/62



1 4

J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6

T A B L E 5

I D E N T I F I E D O N T A R I O B A L D E A G L E H A B I T A T P R


S i t e

N o .

F o r e s t e d

A r e a

( H e c t a r e )

W e t l a n d

A r e a

( H e c t a r e )

O p e n W a t e r

A r e a

C o u n t y

C o m m e n t s

1 a

2 1 2 5

3 0 + ,

S h e r w o o d

S p r i n g s


R i v e r

L e e d s -

G r e n v i l l e

T h e s i t e i s a d j a c e n t t o H W Y 4 0 1 a n d T h o u s a n d I s l a n d s P a r k w a y .

T h e s i t e i s l o c a t e d i n t h e J o n e s

C r e e k r e g i o n a n d i s s c h e d u l e d t o b e t r a n s f e r r e d t o S t .

L a w r e n c e P a r k s C o m m i s s i o n i n J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6 .

1 b

3 3 8

1 7 6


R i v e r ,

G r e n a d i e r

I s l a n d

L e e d s -

G r e n v i l l e

T h e s i t e i n c l u d e s a l l o f G r e n a d

i e r I s l a n d .

I s l a n d i s l e s s t h a n 2 k m f r o m t h e n o r t h s i d e o f t h e S t . L a w r e n c e R i v e

r .

R e c r e a t i o n a l u s e r s a r e p r e s e n t

o n t h e i s l a n d d u r i n g t h e s u m m e r m o n t

h s .

1 c

1 3 4 0

3 4 8


R i v e r

L e e d s -

G r e n v i l l e

T h e s i t e i s a f o r e s t e d a r e a 2 4 k

m l o n g o n t h e S t . L a w r e n c e R i v e r .

T h e s i t e i s b o u n d e d b y H W Y 4 0 1 a n d i n t e r s e c t e d b y T h o u s a n d I s l a n d B r i d g e a n d H W Y

1 3 7 o n H i l l I s l a n d .

2

1 3 4 0

( 1 ) 1 5 1 ( 2 )

2 8 2 ( 3 ) 1 0 4


R i v e r

L e e d s -

G r e n v i l l e

T h e s i t e i s a l a r g e f o r e s t e d a r e a l o c a t e d j u s t n o r t h o f H W Y 4 0 1 .

T h e s i t e i s b o u n d e d b y H W Y 4 0 1 a n d H W Y 1 5 .

T h r e e l a k e s o r w e t l a n d s i n t e r s e c t t h i s f o r e s t e d s i t e .

3

2 1 6 0

2 7 5


R i v e r ,

G a n a n o q u e

R i v e r

L e e d s -

G r e n v i l l e

T h e s i t e i s b i s e c t e d b y t h e G a n

a n o q u e R i v e r a n d i n c l u d e s M a r b l e R o

c k C o n s e r v a t i o n

A r e a .

T h e s i t e i s p a r t o f t h e G a n a n o q

u e P r o v i n c i a l W i l d l i f e A r e a a n d i s b o u n d e d b y R R 3 2 a n d

H W Y 4 0 1 .

T h e s i t e i s l o c a t e d i n s o u t h e r n

L e e d s - G r e n v i l l e C o u n t y .

H i s t o r i c a l n e s t s i t e s l o c a t e d n e

a r t h i s s i t e .

4

1 0 2 2

1 1 3



R i v e r , J o h n s o n

B a y

F r o n t e n a c

T h e s i t e i s l o c a t e d l e s s t h a n 0 . 5 k m f r o m W o l f e I s l a n d I B A .

B a t e a u C h a n n e l s e p a r a t e s t h e s i t e f r o m t h e m a i n l a n d .

J o h n s o n B a y c u t s t h r o u g h t h e m i d d l e o f t h e s i t e .

5

1 8 3 4

1 3 5


F r o n t e n a c

T h e s i t e i s l o c a t e d l e s s t h a n 1 k m s o u t h o f H W Y 4 0 1 a n d i s b o u n d e d

b y R R 2 a n d R R 1 5 .

T h e s i t e i s l o c a t e d l e s s t h a n 3 k m f r o m R i d e a u C a n a l .

T h e s i t e i s a d j a c e n t t o C a n a d i a

n F o r c e s B a s e K i n g s t o n .

6

4 3 6

3 6 4


F r o n t e n a c

T h e s i t e i s a n u n d e v e l o p e d a r e a i n t h e W o l f e I s l a n d I B A .

T h r e e s m a l l t o w n r o a d s p a s s t h r o u g h t h e s i t e .

B i g S a n d y B a y i s l o c a t e d a d j a c e n t t o t h e s i t e .

H i s t o r i c a l n e s t s i t e s w e r e r e c o r d e d n o r t h o f t h i s f o r e s t e d a r e a .


22/62



T A B L E 5 ( C o n t i n u e d )

I D E N T I F I E D O N T A R I O B A L D E A G L E H A B I T A T P R


1 5

J a n u a r y 2 0 0 6

S i t e

N o .

F o r e s t e d

A r e a

( H e c t a r e )

W e t l a n d

A r e a

( H e c t a r e )

O p e n W a t e r

A r e a

C o u n t y

C o m m e n t s

7

6 4 9

1 2 8


L e n n o x a n d

A d d i n g t o n

T h e s i t e i s l o c a t e d a d j a c e n t t o H W Y 4 0 1 a n d a t t h e s o u t h e r n e n d o f M

i l l h a v e n R e s e r v o i r .

T h e s i t e i s b i s e c t e d b y M i l l h a v

e n C r e e k .

T h e s i t e i s b o r d e r e d b y t w o t o w n s : O d e s s a a n d A s s e l s t i n e .

8 a

3 0 6

2 6 3


L e n n o x a n d

A d d i n g t o n

T h e s i t e i s l o c a t e d i n t h e A m h e r s t I s l a n d I B A .

T h e s i t e i s b i s e c t e d b y a m a r s h

a n d a s m a l l s t r e a m .

H i s t o r i c a l n e s t i n g i n f o r m a t i o n

i s a v a i l a b l e f r o m 1 8 9 7 t o 1 9 4 1 .

8 b

( p a r t o f

8 a )

( p a r t o f 8 a )


L e n n o x a n d

A d d i n g t o n

T h e s i t e i s l o c a t e d i n t h e A m h e r s t I s l a n d I B A .

T h e s i t e i s b o u n d e d b y t w o c o u n t y r o a d s .

H i s t o r i c a l n e s t i n g i n f o r m a t i o n

i s a v a i l a b l e f r o m 1 8 9 7 t o 1 9 4 1 .

9

1 4 1 4

1 3 3


P r i n c e

E d w a r d

T w e n t y p e r c e n t o f t h e s i t e i s w

i t h i n L a k e o n t h e M o u n t a i n P r o v i n c i a l P a r k

T h e s i t e i s b o u n d e d b y R R 8 , R

R 7 , a n d H W Y 3 3 .

T h e s i t e i s b o r d e r e d b y t h r e e m

a j o r t o w n s : P i c t o n , L a k e o n t h e M o u n

t a i n , a n d G l e n o r a .

1 0

5 3 6

1 5 6


P r i n c e

E d w a r d

T h e s i t e i s a d j a c e n t t o S m i t h B

a y a n d R R 1 3 a n d i s b i s e c t e d b y a t o w

n r o a d ( M i c h e l l s

C r o s s r o a d ) .

L e s s t h a n 1 0 p e r c e n t o f t h e s i t e i s c o n t a i n e d i n R u t h e r f o r d S t e v e n s L o o k o u t .

T h e s i t e i s a d j a c e n t t o S i t e N o . 9 .

1 1

4 2 6

1 5 6


P r i n c e

E d w a r d

T h e s i t e i s l o c a t e d i n t h e R u t h e r f o r d S t e v e n s L o o k o u t C o n s e r v a t i o n A r e a a n d i s b o u n d e d

b y R R 8 , R R 1 3 , a n d R R 1 7 .

T h e s i t e i s l o c a t e d s o u t h e a s t o f S i t e N o . 8 .

1 2

3 5 2

1 0 7


P r i n c e

E d w a r d

T h e s i t e i s a d j a c e n t t o P r i n c e E

d w a r d P o i n t I B A .

T h e s i t e i s p a r t o f a l a r g e r u n d e v e l o p e d a r e a u n b o u n d e d b y r o a d s ; s i t e i s 7 0 p e r c e n t

s u r r o u n d e d b y o p e n w a t e r .

T w o h i s t o r i c a l n e s t s i t e s a r e l o

c a t e d n o r t h o f t h i s r e g i o n .

1 3

3 4 3

4 5


S o u t h B a y

P r i n c e

E d w a r d

T h e n o r t h e r n b o u n d a r y o f t h e s i t e i s t h e t o w n o f S o u t h B a y .

A s m a l l t r i b u t a r y c r o s s e s t h e s i t e .

1 4

2 7 2

4 0


P r i n c e

E d w a r d

T h e s i t e i s a n u n d i s t u r b e d a r e a

a d j a c e n t t o P o i n t P e t r e P r o v i n c i a l W i l d l i f e A r e a .

T h e s i t e i s b o u n d e d b y s m a l l t o w n r o a d s .

A s m a l l u n n a m e d t r i b u t a r y c r o

s s e s t h r o u g h t h e s i t e .

1 5

2 9 3

1 1 3


P r i n c e

E d w a r d

T h e s i t

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Conserving Lake Ontario & Upper St. Lawrence River Bald Eagle Habitats

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