A 60 year old Casa Grande, Arizona, man pled guilty to poisoning bald eagles in Coconino county and has been ordered to pay $45,000 in restitution, serve five years probation and perform 100 hours of community service.
Jose Antonio Manterola, II was charged with one count of violating the Eagle Protection Act and three counts of violating the Endangered Species Act. His company Manterola Sheep Company, Inc., was charged with one violation of the Eagle Protection Act. Sentencing took place Monday in federal court in Flagstaff, Arizona, by U.S. Magistrate Stephen Verkamp. Manterola paid restitution in the amounts of $22,500 to the Arizona Wildlife Theft Prevention Fund and $22,500 to the Arizona Bald Eagle Management Program of the Arizona Game and Fish Department, at the request of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
According to the Service, Manterola admitted to poisoning bald eagles in the Garland Prairie area of Northern Arizona from January through November of 2002. During and shortly after that period of time, twelve dead bald eagles were discovered by concerned citizens, officers of the Arizona Game and Fish Department, and an agent of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The bald eagles died after feeding on sheep carcasses that had been laced with the agricultural pesticide Aldicarb, also known as Temik. Temik is a restricted use pesticide which is only allowed to be used by certified applicators for specific agricultural purposes. Manterola was not a certified applicator.
Richard McDonald, Special Agent in Charge for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in Albuquerque praised the cooperative effort of the all the agencies involved in the investigation. "It is fitting that the restitution will go towards protecting eagles in the wild. All the agencies that worked so hard on this case are pleased to see that the money will benefit eagles," said McDonald. "This settlement creates a deterrent.?
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was assisted in this investigation by the Arizona Game and Fish Department, the Arizona Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Forest Service. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Flagstaff prosecuted this case.
"Money contributed to the Arizona Wildlife Theft Prevention Fund will go toward supporting wildlife law enforcement and our field officers across the state," says Leonard Ordway, Arizona Game and Fish Department's law enforcement branch chief. "The money that goes to the Arizona Bald Eagle Management Program will support the continued conservation of bald eagles through activities like winter surveys of the birds and the monitoring of eagle nests.?
Once classified as ?endangered? under the Endangered Species Act, bald eagles have recovered to healthy population levels and are now listed as ?threatened? under the Act. Bald eagles are also protected by other federal laws such as the Eagle Protection Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Lacey Act.
2The 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 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 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 and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
-http://southwest.fws.gov-
