A $15,000 reward is being offered for information leading to a conviction for the illegal destruction of a bald eagle nest last year in North Texas.
An active nest was spotted in mid-February 2023 on a private property being developed in a subdivision in Sherman, about an hour drive north of Dallas. A Texas Game warden verified the nest on West Lamberth Road and observed two bald eagles sitting on it.
Days later, on Feb. 20, agents with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found the nest had been illegally destroyed.
Bald eagles have been removed from the federal list of threatened and endangered species, but they are still federally protected. Killing or disturbing an eagle or its feathers, nests or eggs is punishable by up to a $250,000 fine and two years in prison.
Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a $1,500 reward, and the Center for Biological Diversity announced Thursday it would increase the award by $13,500.
“I’m outraged by the destruction of this eagle nest, and the perpetrator needs to be brought to justice for harming America’s national bird,” Will Harlan, a senior scientist at the center, said in a news release. “Whoever committed this cowardly act should be held accountable. Wildlife crime is utterly unacceptable, and I hope someone steps forward with information.”
Bald eagles live year-round in Texas. Adults mate for life and raise their young together, and pairs of bald eagles typically use the same nests for several years.
Anyone with information about the nest destruction is asked to contact Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement at 817-334-5202 or the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Operation Game Thief hotline at 800-792-GAME. Callers may remain anonymous.