Iowa lawmakers hope to curb eagle shootings with stiffer penalties

More than 40 eagles have been killed in Iowa during the last three years, and lawmakers say a $50 civil penalty isn't doing enough to prevent it.

"This is a way of saying we value our eagles in Iowa," said Rep. Terry Baxter, R-Garner, who authored the bill. "We do value them, and it puts some teeth to this, and it makes a statement to the public."

Baxter led a three-person subcommittee Wednesday, which advanced House File 2037. If approved, the bill would increase the civil penalty for intentionally killing eagles from $50 to $2,500.

In addition to the $50 civil penalty, violators also currently face a $195 criminal penalty as well as potential federal penalties of up to $5,000.

"I’m hoping that this $2,500 would deter people from doing any more harm," said Rep. Phyllis Thede, D-Bettendorf, referencing several recent incidents in which eagles have been killed in Iowa.

In January, a bald eagle was found at a Polk County park with its head and talons removed. A DNR conservation officer reported finding shotgun shrapnel in the bird's bones.

Two more bald eagles were found shot and killed in March in Webster County. The first was an immature bird found by a person hunting shed deer antlers in the Boone Forks Wildlife Area, in southeast Webster County. The second was a mature bird found about 10 miles away, near the sewage lagoons in Lehigh. It had been shot twice and was initially found alive, but it died after being transported to a wildlife rehabilitator.

Jeff Swearngin, the bureau chief for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Bureau, called the numbers "alarming" and said they don't even include the birds who die from flying into things such as power lines.

"Those are the ones that we know have been shot." he said. "But there’s nothing we can do. ... It’s very hard to put that case on someone when all you have is a dead eagle."

Occasionally, someone will post photos with the killed birds, which can help in prosecuting violators, he said. But very often there is no way to identify the shooter after the fact. For that reason, Swearngin said a tougher deterrent, such as a higher monetary penalty, could be helpful.

In April, the Associated Press reported that an Iowa man was indicted by a federal grand jury in South Dakota alongside 14 others for trafficking body parts and feathers of bald eagles. A report from National Geographic said the Fish and Wildlife Service has documented nearly 90 violations for sales of eagles or their parts between 2006 and 2016.

However, a spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service field office in Des Moines said the office is not aware of any commercial black market dealings in eagle feathers in the state of Iowa.