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U.S. 301 Widening Must Accommodate Eagles' Nest

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By CHRISTOPHER O'DONNELL

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: July 12, 2008

PARRISH - A soundtrack of mechanical diggers and road-grading machines is hardly what comes to mind when planning a romantic encounter - even for eagles.

So, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has ordered that when work starts on the much-anticipated widening of U.S. 301 in Parrish, a wide berth be given to a pair of bald eagles who have nested for nine years close to the construction site.

That means no work can be done along a 300-foot stretch of the four-mile project between Oct. 1 and May 15, the length of the typical eagle mating season.

Officials say the restriction will stretch completion of the $33 million project to two years. Officials cannot say exactly how long the eagle issue will slow the project because the delay was worked into their plan from the start.

"One of the reasons it is so long is because of the requirement to work around this eagle zone," said Mitch McKnight, a vice president with WilsonMiller, the design firm on the project. "We have utilities and pipes that have to go through that area. The contractor will have to phase it so he doesn't have construction activity during that time."

Local bird enthusiasts fear that the work could prevent the pair from mating or could distress their eaglets. Workers would not be permitted to do any work within 330 feet of the birds during the mating season.

"When those babies hatch and get close to that first flight, if they're disturbed by a lot of noise and take a premature flight, that could be pretty bad," said Dale Nauman, a volunteer with Audubon of Florida's Eaglewatch program.
Bald eagles have flourished in recent years, leading to their removal from the list of protected species.

Florida is home to about 12 percent of all eagles in the lower 48 states. A 2006 study by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission estimated that there were about 1,150 nesting pairs in Florida.

Parrish locals say the pair of eagles has nested on top of a cell phone tower on the north side of U.S. 301 for nine years.

The birds migrate north in May or June and return in September or October, around the time construction is tentatively scheduled to begin this year.

U.S. 301, the main highway into Parrish, will be widened from two to four lanes from Old Tampa Road to County Road 675. The county is also planning to take advantage of the road being dug up to extend sewer and water lines toward Parrish.

Until the slowdown in the real estate market, the project was seen as the most crucial road improvement project in North Manatee. County commissioners delayed several development projects because of fears U.S. 301 would become overburdened.

The restriction around the eagle nest is not the only concession the project will have to make for local wildlife.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District is asking that workers install a small-animal crossing under the road.

The 24-inch pipe would connect two wetlands areas and allow animals to safely cross back and forth.

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