Golden Eagles are among the most frequently killed birds on power lines due to their size and the vantage that utility poles offer them for hunting. Photo: © ClipArt.com

In two separate cases, oil giant ExxonMobil and PacificCorp, a major electric utility, recently pleaded guilty to killing eagles and other migratory birds, and will pay fines that will be used to support a wildlife rehabilitation center in Colorado, and to fund raptor research and conservation projects in Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, and Montana.

ExxonMobil was convicted under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) of failing to protect 85 birds from entering and dying in open oil tanks and pits at oil production fields in five states between 2004 and 2009. The company will have to pay $600,000 in fines and spend $2.5 million modifying the oil facilities to prevent future injury to birds. They will also donate $40,000 to the Pauline S. Schneegas Wildlife Foundation near Silt, Colorado, which received some of the oiled birds.

PacificCorp similarly pleaded guilty under the MBTA to electrocuting 232 Golden Eagles and other migratory birds on its power lines in Wyoming between 2007 and 2009. The company has agreed to pay $1,410,000 in fines and restitution, and spend an additional $9.1 million to repair or replace equipment to protect migratory birds from future electrocution. The agreement with PacificCorp follows years of failure by the utility to use readily available techniques to prevent raptor electrocutions.

Funds from the fine will be distributed to conservation organizations, including HawkWatch International, Wildlife Heritage Foundation of Wyoming, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the Murie Audubon Society of Casper, Wyoming, and the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society for projects to conserve raptors and eagles.

“Both of these cases represent a welcome and significant change in attitude by the Department of Justice, which has often been reluctant to prosecute wildlife kills under the MBTA in the past,” said Michael Fry, ABC's Director of Conservation Advocacy. “ABC hopes that these cases will bring about a marked change in the behavior of utility and oil companies operating in the West, where neglect has frequently killed protected birds.”