We will make all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety. Persons wishing to review the application, HCP, draft Implementing Agreement, and draft EA may obtain a copy by writing the Service's Southeast Regional Office in Atlanta, Georgia. Written data or comments concerning the application, or HCP should be submitted to the Regional Office. TE034491-0 in requests of the documents discussed herein. The bald eagle is a large, brown North American fish eagle that ranges from 27 to 35 inches in length, weighs from 7 to 14 pounds, and has a wingspan of up to 7 feet.
Adults have a pure white head and tail while juveniles have mottled plumage.
The species can be found throughout much of North America, generally in association with mature coniferous forests close to large water bodies such as rivers, lakes, estuaries, or coastlines where it feeds primarily on fish but may also hunt or scavenge other prey items. By the mid 1990s, efforts to reduce these threats were successful, and bald eagle populations rebounded to the point that bald eagles were reclassified as threatened in July 1995. The species is currently being considered for delisting under the Act. By 1962, bald eagle populations in North Carolina had dwindled to only one nesting territory. The nest associated with the proposed project on Lake James is one of two known nests west of Stanly County, and this nest was initiated in February 1999, although successful fledging has not yet occurred at the site.