Navajo hope new plan will protect raptors
Improved pole designs would reduce electrocution

By Kathy Helms
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — Navajo Nation Fish and Wildlife and Navajo Tribal Utility Authority are working to draft a joint policy to reduce the likelihood, and hopefully eliminate the electrocution of golden eagles and other raptors by enforcing raptor-safe power pole designs for all new power line construction.

David Mikesic, a zoologist with Fish and Wildlife, said the proposed policy is the result of a 10-year study of golden eagles by the department. He recently presented the plan to the Resources Committee, where it will be followed up with proposed legislation in the near future.

“As part of that study, we found a number of items that our department could improve upon in terms of helping the golden eagle survive on Navajo Nation.  Aside from dying because of poor prey conditions, being hit by vehicles, and sometimes even being shot,” he said, “We found that golden eagles will accidentally fly into power lines.

“The problem is that raptors really like these power lines,”  he said. “They like to use them for perching, for resting, they’ll use them to sit on and look for prey. Some raptors will use them for roosting, they’ll spend the night on them  and some will actually use them for nesting.”

Part of the issue is that the breadth of the wingspan of the bird is larger than the breadth of span between two lines,  Mikesic said.

If a bird was to contact two conductors, or a conductor and a neutral, they’re going to get electrocuted. That is the situation that we’re trying to prevent with this policy,  he said.

Resources Chairman George Arthur suggested that the middle line on a three-phase power line be dropped lower than the two outside lines, because most logically, when a bird wants to sit, it would come in at that angle, and if the line is below, it would alleviate it. Take that middle line and drop it down below the two lines. 

Mikesic said there is a governing body that determines how power poles can be constructed and where lines can be run.

They have issues with the height of these lines. They have to be a certain distance above the ground. 

Three-phase power lines are the bigger issue, he said, but modifications can be done. Because there are birds that can span the distance between two lines, under the proposed policy, rather than using an 8 foot cross-arm, NTUA would use a 10 foot cross-arm within raptor-sensitive areas.

What that does is it spreads the distance between the center and the outer phases to a length that’s larger than the golden eagle’s wingspan, and also for bald eagles and ferruginous hawks,  Mikesic said.

Resources’ Harriett Becenti asked how often they found electrocuted raptors, and what do you do with the sacred birds? Becenti said the feathers are very valuable and highly desired for traditional religious practices.

Mikesic said he has been on Navajo Nation for about 13 years.

“I think about five years ago we kind of got what we found was our maximum for electrocutions. It wasn’t that large, but we did have three or four golden eagles in one year. Since then we’ve had maybe one or two.

“But during that time we found a couple of other raptors, redtail hawks, ferruginous hawks. There’s a very good chance that we may not know of all the electrocutions that may happen out there,  he said, adding that every bird is worth saving. The success of the population depends on maximum sustainability of the adults.”

Mikesic said all tribal agencies across the United States are required to send any golden eagles and bald eagles they find dead to a federal repository. For this area, the repository is located in Denver.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife in most recent months has been trying to develop measures where tribes may be accredited to distribute feathers. Whether that includes gold or bald eagle feathers, Mikesic was not sure.

Navajo Fish and Wildlife’s Gloria Tom told the committee, “There is a process in place where if you want to obtain feathers from a repository, you do have to go through an application process, and you can work from our office to do that. The only downfall is the waiting time. From the time that you submit an application until you actually get anything back is probably about five years.”

Mikesic said his department recognizes the traditional importance of raptors, the golden eagle in particular. Equally important is the responsibility of our department to protect those raptors.

“What we’re doing is kind of meshing knowledge of Department of Fish and Wildlife, which is where do eagles, ferruginous hawks and bald eagles nest with where is NTUA going to be building its power lines, especially those one- and three-phase power lines that can cause electrocution problems.”

His department also is identifying raptor-sensitive areas, a circular area around each nest that represents the average home range size. 

For example, he said, a ferruginous hawk out in the badlands of New Mexico generally stays within 2.4 square miles when nesting. They know that if they are able to protect and make the power lines within that 2.4 square miles raptor-safe, those birds nests will be protected. A golden eagle requires about 12.7 square miles.