VNP Staff Report

Four of the park’s 239 developed visitor use camping and houseboat sites and one undeveloped area that were affected by temporary closures in May to protect bald eagle nesting pairs are now reopened for public use.

The areas were marked with closure signs and buoys.

The four reopened developed areas are:

• Rainy Lake — Sand Bay South (R25) houseboat site and Skipper Rock Island (R45) houseboat site.

 • Kabetogama Lake — Happy Landing Campsite (K11) and Yoder Island (K37) houseboat sites.

The one reopened undeveloped areas is:

• Kabetogama Lake — West Sphunge Island Inlet.

The park is obligated to follow the conservation management actions of the Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle Management Act. Each year since 1992, the park has temporarily closed the land and water areas around active bald eagle nests to visitor use during their critical nesting periods.

“We appreciate the public’s assistance in protecting your bald eagles of Voyageurs National Park,” Superintendent Mike Ward said. “Reducing the potential adverse impacts at eagle nesting areas ensures that we are successful at sustaining the VNP eagle population. Come out and enjoy the park’s eagles.”

Eagle status

This season, 33 young fledged from 25 park nests: 24 at Kabetogama, three at Namakan, five at Rainy, and one at Sand Point. Seventy-three per cent of all fledged young in the park in 2012 originated from 16 nests at Kabetogama Lake. Nesting failures occurred at 10 territories: three of eight areas on Rainy, three of six areas on Namakan, one of 17 areas on Kabetogama, one of two areas on Sand Point, and one of one area on Crane Lake.

The number of young produced per occupied breeding area for the 2012 breeding population in Voyageurs National Park was 0.89. Sixty-eight percent of breeding pairs occupying a breeding area successfully raised at least one fledgling. Breeding success of 70 percent and productivity of 1.0 are considered characteristics of a healthy bald eagle breeding populations; long-term averages for Voyageurs National Park approach these threshholds.

In April, Voyageurs National Park biologists found 72 nests within the park boundary this breeding season, the 40th consecutive aerial eagle survey at the park.

Since the start of the 2011 breeding season, six new nests have been found inside Voyageurs National Park while seven nests have been lost when nests blew out of nest trees or nest trees fell over.  Adults were observed incubating at 34 nests compared to 36 in 2011; 33 in 2010; 38 in 2009; 30 in 2006; 26 in 2004 and 2005; and 20 pairs in 1999. Incubation occurred at one park nest on Crane Lake, two on Sandpoint Lake, 16 on Kabetogama Lake, six on Namakan Lake, and nine on Rainy Lake.