LEHI, Utah (KUTV) — Residents accused the City of Lehi of ignoring evidence of bald eagle nests as more trees came down.
Several people claimed to have frequently spotted bald eagles perched and nesting in trees next to Dry Creek Elementary. The city cut down a row of trees known for their sightings to prepare the area for the Mellor Rhodes Sports Park.
The City of Lehi released a statement on Tuesday saying, in part, that an environmental consultant investigated the area and confirmed there was no evidence of an eagle’s nest in those trees.
“I feel a little bit like they’re gaslighting us, because we’ve obviously seen the eagles there, we’ve seen the nests, we have photos, we have videos,” said resident Lora Stephens.
MORE | Backlash grows after Lehi clears trees known for bald eagle sightings
Lehi City released this statement.
Crews were back to cut down more trees on Wednesday.
“It doesn’t look like they’ve talked to residents,” Kenneth Glade, another resident, said. “It doesn’t look like they’ve evaluated all the hundreds of photos that people have taken. It doesn’t look like they’ve evaluated the nests that people have taken photos of with bald eagles in them.”
“It’s a little bit concerning that they say, ‘Hey, we’ve evaluated it. We hired the company. They tell us we’re in the clear, we’re all good. We’re going to resume cutting and clearing,'” he continued.
“They hired an independent consultant, I guess. Did the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services come out and investigate? Like, we don’t know who even investigated this,” Stephens said. “Feels like we can’t trust what they’ve given us.”
2News asked the city the following questions:
The city says an environmental consultant authorized by both state and federal agencies confirmed no evidence of an eagle’s nest or nesting activity in the trees. We’ve seen photographs taken of the trees in question with evidence of eagles in them and what looks to be evidence of nests. Does this not count as evidence for the environmental consultant?How did the consultant inspect the trees after they were already cut down?If, as in the city’s statement, eagles had been seen to be perching in the area, would this not fall under a ‘disturbance’ of eagles, which, according to the ‘Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act,’ could substantially interfere with sheltering behavior of eagles?In the city’s statement, it says the consultant saw evidence of smaller nests, and they were not protected. According to the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, “The following are all considered eagle nests and are protected (unless the nests are determined by a Federal, Tribal, or State eagle biologist to no longer be usable): Any nest constructed by an eagle, even if the nest is never finished or used. A nest built by another bird that is subsequently used by an eagle for reproduction. A nest constructed by an eagle that is subsequently used by another species, such as owls or osprey.” For clarification for the public, would those nests not fall under these protections?How much was BIO-West paid to do these inspections?When did they do their first inspection? Was it before or after the trees were cut down?Has the city given any thought to trying to support Bald Eagle habitat in this area, now that the trees have been cut down?Do you have any further message for concerned citizens in Lehi?
We did not receive any response, despite reaching out to multiple city staff members.
2News asked Glade if they trust that the city didn’t find any nests.
“I find it hard to believe that they didn’t find any nests, considering all of the documentation, all of the photos, and my personal experience,” Glade said.
“I would like to see Lehi City follow the environmental laws that everybody else has to follow,” Stephens said. “Obtain permits, do studies, make sure that our wildlife is protected, especially our eagles.”
Glade said he believes the nests that were there would have been in the trees they had already chopped down.
“The ones that are on the ground now that are being cleaned up and quickly leaving the site, that’s where they were spending their time,” he said.
“It’s something that it’s kind of disappointing that it’s just been overlooked. It’s been something that we feel the city had to have known about. These are not a secret. The birds have been here for a long, long time. Many, many years, and so, it feels like it should have been communicated at least throughout the community that changes were coming and we’re going to take down these trees,” Glade said. “I know the city is trying to tell everybody now, ‘Hey, these were sick trees. These were dying trees. We had to remove them no matter what.’ But, that tree line’s been there for longer than I’ve been in Lehi for 20 plus years, and they didn’t look sick to me, and the birds, the bald eagles, definitely didn’t think they were sick.”
“They’re so beautiful and we just don’t want to see our wildlife hurt in any way,” Stephens said. “Lots of development, lots of building. We’ve already done lots of damage to our state’s wildlife, and I don’t think we should continue it.”
“To have a national bird, a national treasure like that, leaving our community is something we’ll all be disappointed to see,” Glade said.
2News reached out to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources about this.
They responded with the following statement:
“The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources was recently contacted by Lehi City when concerns were raised regarding bald eagles near Utah Lake. We advised Lehi City to work with its city planners and developers to ensure no nests were removed and to further coordinate with an environmental consulting company and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
We do not have records of nesting bald eagles specific to the location in question. However, bald eagles are known to nest around Utah Lake, favoring mature trees with leaves. Under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, eagle nests are protected year-round even when eagles are not present. Bald eagles may forgo using a nest site for multiple years, as some pairs alternate between multiple nesting locations.”
2News also reached out to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, but did not hear back.
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