The incident came to light when a private citizen reported in April 1992 that timbering in the vicinity of an eagle nest on Tainter Lake appeared to be disturbing nesting bald eagles. Tainter Lake is located near Colfax, Wisconsin, approximately 25 miles northwest of Eau Claire. The incident was investigated by the Service and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
According to the settlement agreement, Koehler admitted that he knew both the location of the tree containing the eagle nest and that logging should not have occurred within a quarter mile of the nest between February 15 and August 15. He further admitted that, on April 15, he was advised by a Wisconsin DNR agent that he was within a quarter mile of the nest and that his logging activities appeared to be disturbing the nesting eagles.
The agreement also provided that Koehler will contact the DNR before future logging projects begin to be certain of the location of eagle nests and avoid repeating the offense.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 530 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies. For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://midwest.fws.gov
