Idaho State Journal from Pocatello, Idaho • Page 31

GOVERNMENT WANTS ACCURATE RECORDS POCATELLO. IDAHO, SUNDAY. MAY 1974 State Journal Gate City Becomes Repository for Eagles EAGLE MAN Bob Norris, a special agent for the Fish and Wildlife Service, displays one of severa! golden eagles already on hand at the recently created federal eagle repository on Dillon street, eagles from throughout the west will be shipped to Pocatello for eventual distribution Indians who use feathers and other parts in religious ceremonies. See story. (Journal photo by Gary Haden) Two Pocatellans To Attend National LWV Convention By GARY HADEN Journal Krgioitil Kditor Wanted dead or alive, eagles are popular commodity so much so the federal government has sent man to Pocatello to track of the big raptors.

James R. "Bob" iNorris. a special agent of the Fish and Wildlife Service for 18 years, would prefer to see eagles flying freely, but the nature of his new job means he won't set- most birds until they've been hit by cars, electrocuted, poisoned or shot from the sky Intei-est in eagles has developed on several fronts in recent years. News that a sheep rancher had commissioned the killing of hundreds of eagles in Wyoming in W7: incensed environmentalists; at the same time Indians were developing more interest in the use of eagle parts in traditional religious customs. Since federal law makes killing eagles illegal.

Indians now must rely or. birds and parts distributed by the fish and Wildlife Service. Previously, Norris explains, each special agent collected birds himself or accepted them from others who found them. The birds were then distributed to Indians who had to apply first to a FW 4 regional office at Portland. Albuquerque, N.M.

or elsewhere in the U.S. No overall record of eagles found dead or injured was Crookham Squashes Talk of Candidacy The League of Women Voters 1 of the United States wilj hold its 31st national convention May 610 at the San Francisco Hilton in San Francisco, Calif. Those attending from Pocatello will be Sally Gibson and Muriel "During the convention, 1400 delegates from all over the country will select new national officers and determine national issues that the 155,000 member organization will concentrate on in the next two years. In addition to the program debate and other convention business, there will be a of special events," said Mrs. Lucy Wilson Benson, president of the national League.

These events include: --Announcement of the results of a national petition drive to gather more than one and a half million signatures of citizens who favor a comprehensive law on campaign financing. --Discussion and vote on League bylaws to determine whether men will be admitted as full voting members. --A rally in behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment which will feature music, a singing group, speeches, and a "Peanuts for ERA" banner specially created by Charles Schulz. --A panel discussion of "Women in Politics: From the Ward to the White House." Participants will be Barbara Mikulski, Baltimore City Councilwoman and member of the National Democratic Party Compliance Review Commission; Jill Ruckelshaus, former Special Assistant to the Counsellor to the President; Mary B. Newman, Massachusetts State Secretary for Manpower Affairs; and Doris Davis, Mayor of Compton, California.

--A banquet address by eminent historian Henry Steele Commager. CALDWELL (Special to the Journal)--Former Republican state senator Bill Crookham has let friends and political supporters know that he is not inclined to run for Congress this year. Those friends and backers had been urging Crookham to shift over to the Democratic party and make a race against Rep. Steve Symms. Crookham has said he would enjoy the campaign but is not ready to take on the problems of politics now.

Enjoying a good contest, he said, is not a proper motive for running for office. Meanwhile, another Canyon County Republican says he will announce his political plans on Monday. Senate Majority Leader Phil Ball of Wilder is expected to say he won't run for reelection. He "has been urged to try for higher office, and has not indicated whether his Monday statement will announce any plans of that kind. School Offers Class In Caring for Child Wilcox-Hawthorne Community School, in cooperation with the American Red Cross, Campfire Girls, Girl Scouts and YWCA, is offering a free eight- hour course in child care for girls and boys in grades 6-12 at Hawthorne Junior High.

The course will be held from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Thursdays, May 930; and at Franklin Junior High from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Tuesdays May 7-28. The course is designed to help young people to develop skills and knowledge necessary to become competent babysitters. A booklet containing information on child care will be available for each student for $1 but it is not required.

Course contents will include: responsibilities of babysitters and parents; caring for infants; caring for the pre-schooler and older child; preparing simple meals and snacks for children; safety; home nursing; entertaining children; and emergency preparedness. For further information call 232-0742 or 237-6050. LONDON (AP) Officials at the posh Ritz Hotel report that their ban on pipe smoking has been gradually relaxed over the years. The restaurant receptionist says: "Pipe smoking isn't the sort of thing that happens often at the Ritz. What Idaho makes, makes Idaho grow! Since the first pioneers came to Idaho, there has been a constant effort to create and use our own state products.

For one sound reason: When we import out-of-state products, our money leaves Idaho and goes to another area. For good. When we manufacture and use those products, our money stays here. Money that provides income for other Idaho wage earners. It's as simple as that.

In Amcor's industry of manufacturing concrete products, every person we employ provides a job for another 1.78 people (or a total of 2.78 So with the 250 employees we have, you can add another 445 Idaho people who work because we're in business, We think this is a sound reason why you, as a resident of Idaho, should use our concrete block, pipe and related products in your home or industry. Manufacturer of concrete block, pipe, prestressed concrete and related products for home and industry. IDAHO FALLS: South Yellowstone Highway, Ph. 522-6150 POCATELLO: Highway 30 Philbin Road, Ph. 233-2274 BURLEY: 200 South (Farmer's Corner), Ph.

678-2279 TWIN FALLS: Ph. 733-6605 BurMg ot Economic ind Business Research, January 1970 maintained. Indians were frustrated by a bureaucracy which had to authenticate each one's sincerity, and no one knew how many eagles might be obtained from different agents for tunneling into illegal channels. At same time religious Indians wanted more feathers, whites became caught up in buying supposedly authentic Indian artifacts made with feathers. The Interior Department, parent organization of the Fish and Wildlife service, last month announced the arrest of more than two dozen whites and Indians in Oklahoma in connection i illegal selling and possession of feathers.

The sellers, the department reported, were offering fake Indian artifacts made from bald and golden eagles and about 20 other migratory birds. The illegal business, the Interior department says, "sees eagle carcasses selling on the black market for as high as $125 each As many as 10 eagles must be killed to make one war bonnet. One fan made solely from tail feather of the scissor-tailed flycatcher, which sold for $650. required the killing of 38 birds." Despite reassurance by the Interior department, many Indians looked upon the arrests as a threat their right to possess feathers. Indians around the country were reported by the New York Times to be burying (heir ceremonial costumes.

Keith Banning. FWS special agent for the Eastern Idahho district, says the arrests and the creation of a repository is in no way designed to prevent sincere Indians from practicing religious beliefs. "1 have 35 or 40 requests for eagle parts from Indians right now, and 1 gel an occasional reqquest from educational institutions for a whole bird," Banning explained. "Any Indian can apply for parts for religious purposes as long as they arc compatible with the preservation of the number of birds. There can be no bartering, selling or trading of parts, but the headdresses and other symbols may bo handed down from generation to generation in accordance with Indian traditions," the agent explained Norris says he's unsure exactly what his duties or job title will be.

but expects the most important part of his job will be to collect all birds possible, to record the collection and to distribute them promptly to Indians who want them. "We're not sure exactly how many birds we'll get, but we expect to get all of the birds found dead or wounded in the Western states. We may get all birds from the six regions in the U.S., and we should surely get all the goldens found dead," Norris said. "It wouldn't make much sense for our Boston Region," to send bald eagles to the repository," Banning explained, "because Western Indians wouldn't be interested in them and we'd just have to send them back for use by an eastern tribe. As far as Western tribes are concerned, bald eagles don't exist," Banning explained.

The number of birds collected and distributed could be substantial. Banning says he receives from 25 to 70 birds yearly from an area of Idaho roughly east of a line from Salmon south to lilrnn's Kerry, and Ncal Argy, BoiM, fpecial agent for the western portion of the state, says tic wn handling as many as 100 birds five years ago and will probably receive from 3U (o 50 birds this year. (The reduced number, lit explains, is due to the fact fewer birds winter in the stele since a decline in the rabbit population.) Birds received from the 27 agents in the Northwett Hegion and from elsewhere in the country will be examined at the repository on Dillon Street for cause of death, Norrii said. Those which died from no apparent cause will be shipped to the h'WS Research Laboratory in Denver, for necropsy and then sent back for distribution. Eagles may also be tested for pesticide mid poison levels, if a pathologist can be found in this area Injured birds will be rehabilitated at the 1'ocatello center and released on Camas Creek Wildlife Hcfuge near Hamcr, Idaho.

Causes of death and injury vary. Banning says he's seen only seven or eight birds which died of bullet wounds in his five and one-half years in the Pocatello office. Argy estimates that 40 per cent of the birds found in the western portion of the state die from electrocution, and 40 per cent die from shooting and variety of accidents. The remainder die from apparently natural causes. From 80-90 per cent of the birds collected arc golden eagles, and only five per cent collected are alive, the agents estimated.

Argy snys deaths due to hunters are decreasing because of better education, and Argy and Banning both are optimistic that study and subsequent implementation of an Idaho Power program will reduce the number of birds electrocuted when they land on power lines. Stiffer penalties for anyone killing eagles also may reduce the toll. The penalty for a first offense of killing eagles is a maximum of $5,000, or not more than a year in jail or both. In the case of a subsequent violation, the maximum penally can be doubled. There's also a provision in the Eagle Protection Act which says "one half of any fjne, not to exceed $2,500, shall be paid to person or persons giving information which leads tc conviction" of anyone killing eagles.

Finally, there's a provision added (o protect eagles from livestock owners who kill eagles because they believe the birds endanger young animals. The law grants federal agencies which issue grazing leases the poocr to cancel such leases if the lessee is convicted of killing eagles. While Norris is trying to get the feel of his new job, the eagles continue to come in. During an interview with Banning, Lee Holchkiss, manager of Bear Lake National Wildlife Refuge, culled to report finding an eagle carcass, and Norris has been ordered drive to Denver to pick up a load of dead birds at the Research Laboratory. Norris, a native of Longview, who worked six years with the Washington Fish and Game Department prior io going to work with the FWS, has bought a house in the Nnrlhgate Addition where he will live with his family.

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