Another Bald Eagle Nest Destroyed Near Long Bar Pointe
Posted
Staff Report
BRADENTON – In 2016, TBT reported onthe strange disappearance, reappearance and second disappearance of bald eagles and their nest near Long Bar Pointe. It seems the eagles returned to the area this year, where they again began nesting. The nesting tree was cut down, however, after the developer obtained a permit from the the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the federally-protected birds have not been seen since.
David Vollrath discovered the eagles in a tree near his home, where they appeared to be nesting. He would often see the birds on a power line pole that was on the direct pathway of two trees they would often visit. He snapped the picture at right on May 24. A few weeks ago, however, Vollrath said he went out of town for a few days and returned to see the tree had been cut down. He hasn't seen the birds since.
Andy Mele of Suncoast Waterkeeper believes the tree may have housed USFWS monitored nest 962. According the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bald and Golden Eagle Act "prohibits anyone from taking, possessing, or transporting a bald eagle or golden eagle, or the parts, nests, or eggs of such birds without prior authorization. This includes inactive nests as well as active nests. Take means to pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, destroy, molest, or disturb. Activities that directly or indirectly lead to take are prohibited without a permit."
Mele eventually obtained a copy of the permit, which was issued to an LLC controlled by Medallion Homes CEO Carlos Beruff. The permit not only allows an "alternate" nest such as 962 to be taken, but appears to require it.
"This whole alternate nest thing seems wrong," said Mele. "The eagles need the nest intermittently, but somehow taking it down benefits the eagles? It makes no sense."
Mele also found fault with information in the permit, which was originally obtained by Kathy Prucnell of The Islander, via a Freedom of Information Act request, and can be read here.
"There are significant differences between the FWS timeline for the nest–presumably augmented by the developer–and the observed, documented timeline from neighbors and eagle-watchers," said Mele. "There is a pattern here. Four eagle trees cut down in five years. It looks to us as if this developer has been systematically ridding himself of a federally-protected species to allow for unfettered development."
Analysis of the permit reveals a familiar set of mitigations offered to the FWS by the developer. They are the same mangrove and upland restoration promises made to FDEP for the mitigation bank, to the county for the Aqua general development plan, and SWFWMD as well.
"It looks like this developer is quadruple-dipping," said Mele. "No surprise there."
Medallion's Aqua by the Bay is a massive development project on the last major undeveloped portion of Sarasota Bay in Manatee County. The site sits behind IMG Academy and is to include 2,894 residential units and 78,000 square feet of commercial space.
Commissioners approved the project last October, amid historic public opposition over concerns about the environmental impacts to wetlands and the Bay, traffic and runoff concerns, as well as the impact its condo towers would have on the seascape and the traffic congestion so much development would cause in an area with inadequate roadways.
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