Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency / The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Center for Biological Diversity are offering a combined $10,000 reward for information leading to and arrest and conviction in the shooting of this bald eagle near Watts Bar Lake. The eagle is recovering.Information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever shot and wounded a bald eagle near Watts Bar Lake is now worth $10,000 after a nonprofit organization kicked in some additional reward funding.
The Center for Biological Diversity on Monday increased the reward to $10,000, according to a news release from the Tucson, Arizona-based organization. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service offered an initial reward of $2,500, and officials with the center decided to add another $7,500 to the effort.
The eagle was shot near Watts Bar Lake in the Blue Springs Marina area of Kingston, Tennessee. After a fisherman found the wounded eagle and contacted the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the bird was transported to the Memphis Zoo for treatment, according to the release. Agency officials reported that the eagle is recovering, and a bullet was retrieved and sent to a laboratory for ballistics testing.
According to an email from service spokesperson Lanier Clegg, violations of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act act carry maximum criminal penalties of up to $100,000 and/or one year in federal prison. Citing the service's policies on open investigations, spokesperson Vanessa Kauffman declined to answer follow-up questions about the eagle's condition, the time frame of the shooting and what was used to shoot it. An agency photo of the eagle shows it perched on a tree limb inside an enclosure.
"The senseless and illegal shooting of this majestic bird is outrageous, and we want the perpetrator brought to justice," Will Harlan, a senior scientist at the center, said in the release. "This cowardly act against America's national bird can't go unpunished. We hope someone steps forward with information."
Bald eagles nest and live year-round in Tennessee, and many more overwinter in the state, according to center officials. Wintering bald eagles begin arriving in late October and peak in January and February. Tennessee's winter population of bald eagles reaches 300 to 500 each year.
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Anyone with information concerning the eagle killed near Watts Bar Lake is urged to call the federal agency's Office of Law Enforcement in Tennessee at 615-736-5532 or the state wildlife agency office at 931-484-9571, officials said in the email. Alternatively, tipsters can complete the Wildlife Service's tips form at fws.gov/wildlife-crime-tips.
Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.