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A Gathering of Eagle Fanciers Set in Narrowsburg
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| BY SCOTT DEACLE
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01/12/2003 |
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NARROWSBURG, N.Y. Something happened here in February that couldn't have
happened 20 years ago.
The
local chamber of commerce organized EagleFest, a festival devoted to
bald eagles. It attracted about 1,000 visitors, Narrowsburg Chamber of
Commerce president John Grund said.
But the festival -- this year's event will take place next Saturday --
couldn't have happened if bald eagles hadn't returned to the Upper
Delaware River Valley.
Here, as in much of America, habitat destruction, hunting and the
pesticide DDT had made the bald eagle an endangered species,
Pennsylvania Game Commission wildlife biologist Dan Brauning said.
In 1980, just three pairs were known to nest in all of Pennsylvania,
according to the Game Commission.
The bald eagle's comeback has its roots in the early 1970s, when the
federal government banned DDT and started protecting endangered species.
Wildlife agencies in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey reintroduced
eagles from Canada in the 1980s.
"Now they're dispersing, having solid nesting success and having young,"
Mr. Brauning said.
Pennsylvania's known nesting eagle population rose to 43 pairs in 1999,
according to the Game Commission. One nest is in Wayne County, six are
in Pike County and one is in Monroe County, Mr. Brauning said.
More are on the New York and New Jersey side of the Delaware, he said.
In addition to the nesting eagles, which stay here year-around, many
more migrate south to the Upper Delaware in winter, Mr. Brauning said.
The Upper Delaware has the largest concentration of winter-migrating
bald eagles in Pennsylvania, he said.
The river narrows at Narrowsburg, strengthening the current and
preventing freezing. That means the bald eagles can reach the fish they
need for food.
Game Commission biologists aren't the only ones who have noticed the
bald eagle population growth.
Lori McKean initiated a bald eagle program for the Audubon Society in
Sullivan County, N.Y., in 1990. The society closed the program in the
mid-1990s, Ms. McKean said.
Seeing a need to continue it, she founded the Eagle Institute five years
ago. Now a U.S. Forest Service employee at Grey Towers in Pike County,
Ms. McKean and Eagle Institute volunteers help visitors see bald eagles
from several viewing areas in the Upper Delaware Valley.
Several years ago, Rockaway, N.J., residents John and Yoke DiGiorgio
bought a weekend home near Narrowsburg after they saw bald eagles while
kayaking on the Upper Delaware.
In 2000, the DiGiorgios approached Mr. Grund about starting an eagle
festival, an idea the chamber and community embraced.
A tourist destination in summer, Narrowsburg doesn't get many visitors
in winter, Mr. Grund said. EagleFest helps businesses during a slow
season, he said.
"I think they should be congratulated on way they're handling it, as an
economic resource without exploiting it," Mr. DiGiorgio said. |
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İScranton Times Tribune 2003 |
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