Iowa logger cited for destroying eagle nest

KEOKUK, Iowa (AP) — A logger has been fined for destroying an American bald eagle nest when he cut down a tree along the Des Moines River in southeast Iowa.

The Daily Gate City in Keokuk (http://bit.ly/zHD4fi ) says Iowa Conservation Officer Joe Fourdyce says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service cited Orvin Yoder of Bonaparte for disturbing the nest and fined him $2,500. Cutting down a tree containing a bald eagle nest is illegal.

Eagle watchers noticed the tree and nest were missing last September and reported it.

Fourdyce says Yoder got permission from the property owner to cut the cottonwood trees. Yoder claims the leaves obscured the nest, which can weigh up to 2 tons.

Fourdyce says the pair of eagles that lost their nest has “re-nested” in a nearby tree.

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Information from: Daily Gate City, http://www.dailygate.com

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.