Ruffled Feathers Some Biologists Worry Eagle Cruises Will Disrupt Feeding On Lake Cda

As business ventures go, the one at Wolf Lodge Bay is a soaring success.

Interest in last winter’s eagle-watching cruises exceeded the expectations of skipper Dennis Walton. So the owner of the Spokane River Queen is back again, offering even more chances for people to gawk in comfort and learn about the mighty birds that feed on Lake Coeur d’Alene’s kokanee salmon.

From an environmental point of view, however, the cruises are a mixed blessing.

Biologists are glad to see increased public awareness of the bald eagle, which has made a strong comeback from near-extinction in many places. But some biologists argue that the presence of the cruise boat can stress the birds or interrupt their feeding.

Scott Robinson, biologist with the federal Bureau of Land Management, recommended against the cruises when he was queried last year by two tour operators. Coeur d’Alene Cruises subsequently decided against offering the cruises.

“One cruise company said, ‘We’ll respect your judgment and not do it,”’ Robinson recalled. “The other guy said, ‘Full steam ahead.”’

Walton acknowledges he rejected Robinson’s advice. But, he said, he checked with three other agencies and none opposed his venture.

“The last thing I want to do is upset the ecology. We didn’t bother the birds,” he said. “People thoroughly enjoyed themselves in a comfortable, well-informed environment.”

Last year, Walton hired Wallace Keck of the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation to provide commentary about the eagles. To ease department concerns about possible harassment of the birds, Keck invited wildlife biologist David Spicer to tag along.

He took one trip.

“I didn’t see any major problems,” said Spicer, who works for the Idaho Fish and Game Department. “It didn’t seem to be any more disturbing to the birds than the people on shore.”

Many people stop along state Highway 97 to watch and photograph the eagles.

The birds might be bothered if more cruises or private boaters start visiting the bay, Spicer said. “It’s something we’ll definitely continue to monitor.”

Suzanne Audet, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, said her agency suggested Walton limit tours to one per day.

Instead, he offered two cruises each Saturday and Sunday. This year, the Nov. 25-Jan. 21 schedule will include weekday cruises from Dec. 18 to Jan. 1.

Walton turned down a Fish and Wildlife Service offer to review his operating plan, Audet said. She called the tours “real positive” from an educational point of view, but said they have the potential to interrupt the eagles’ feeding.

She noted the U.S. Forest Service last winter put part of Washington’s Skagit River off limits to people each morning to protect the birds.

The Bureau of Land Management’s own eagle-viewing program also could pose a problem, Audet said. The BLM provides a telescope and naturalist at its Mineral Ridge boat ramp.

Eagles are bothered if people get too close. But, researchers have found, they’re more easily disturbed if they’re approached from the water.

Boat traffic is more sporadic than car traffic so the birds are less likely to get used to it, explained the BLM’s Robinson. Eagles can fly to an opposite shore if they’re disturbed by people on land.

“The boats have the maneuverability to travel wherever the eagles are perched,” he said.

If a bird is forced to perch far from the kokanee’s shoreline spawning areas, Robinson said, it may decide the commute to the “lunch counter” isn’t worth the energy of getting there.

He recommended Walton keep his boat away from the shoreline.

“There were times when I saw him do it, and times when he didn’t,” said Robinson, who has counted Wolf Lodge Bay eagles for 22 years.

Walton still has a contract with Idaho Parks and Recreation, which provides commentators. Cynthia Langlitz, an AmeriCorps worker at Farragut State Park, is going along on some of this year’s cruises. She said Walton “does a pretty good job of giving all of the wildlife its distance.”

Langlitz has found the tour boat crowd to be enthusiastic.

“Everybody was really interested in the eagles,” she said. “They were curious to know if they nest here, how big they are, what they eat.”

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This sidebar appeared with the story: MORE INFORMATION For information about the eagle-watching cruises, call (208) 765-2367.