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ELECTRIC UTILITY SENTENCED FOR KILLING EAGLES AND HAWKS

An electric utility company today was sentenced for federal wildlife violations involving the electrocution of protected eagles and hawks on the company's power lines and poles in northwest Colorado, the Justice Department and the United States Attorney for the District of Colorado announced. Pursuant to a plea agreement, Moon Lake Electric Association, Inc., will serve three years probation, pay $100,000 in penalties, and retrofit its utility lines to prevent electrocutions in the future.

This case marks the first time that a court has said the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act could form the basis for criminal prosecution of a utility whose equipment electrocutes federally protected birds.

Moon Lake, based in Roosevelt, UT, provides electric power to residential and commercial customers in Utah and Colorado. The government charged that from 1995 through 1997, 17 hawks and eagles were electrocuted after landing on the company's equipment at an oilfield in Rangely, CO. Large birds, including eagles, hawks and owls, frequently use power poles for roosting and hunting, and they can be electrocuted instantly if their wingtips complete an electric circuit by touching unprotected electrical contacts during landing or take-off. Smaller species of protected birds are also at risk. These electrocutions can be prevented by installing insulating material and devices to keep the birds from perching near exposed conductors.

"Electric poles and equipment pose a serious threat to eagles, hawks and other avian species," said Lois J. Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General for Environment and Natural Resources at the Department of Justice. "This case sends a strong message to the entire electric utility industry: Use existing technology to protect our nation's birds from being electrocuted on power lines."

In June 1998, Moon Lake was charged with a total of 13 misdemeanor violations of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, laws that together prohibit killing almost every bird species found in the United States. The company pleaded guilty in April 1999 to three Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act charges and three Migratory Bird Treaty Act charges.

"This case demonstrates the commitment of this office to the creative and common-sense enforcement of our nation's environmental laws," said Thomas L. Strickland, U.S. Attorney for the District of Colorado. "I take very seriously our obligation as federal prosecutors to help protect our country's precious natural resources, including its wildlife."

During the three-year probation period imposed today, Moon Lake must implement an avian-protection plan aimed at mitigating the danger to raptors and other migratory birds posed by its thousands of electric poles, lines and equipment in Colorado and Utah. Moon Lake will be assisted in implementing the plan by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

"We look forward to working cooperatively with Moon Lake from this point forward in an effort to protect the many bird species which use the habitat near the company's electrical equipment," said Ralph Morgenweck, Regional Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Mountain-Prairie Region. "The electric power industry in this country has been aware of the problem of bird electrocutions for many years and has taken some steps to address the problem. Though we are willing to work cooperatively with power providers wherever possible, we will continue to refer cases for prosecution when that becomes necessary."

Moon Lake had earlier asked the Court to dismiss the charges, arguing that the laws it was accused of violating were intended to prohibit only illegal hunting activity, not the relatively passive conduct of a company whose equipment may occasionally electrocute a protected bird. In a lengthy opinion issued in January 1999, U.S. District Judge Lewis T. Babcock denied Moon Lake's motion, finding that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act could form the basis for prosecuting the company.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Colorado Division of Wildlife, and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. The state agencies have independent enforcement authority for certain species of migratory birds. The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado and the Wildlife and Marine Resources Section of the U.S. Department of Justice.

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