petite eeu bOiNe ee BaUele bel TN 13 
The Loss of the Eagles in Wyoming: 
HOW ONE FEDERAL AGENCY REPLIED 
TO THE PROTESTS 
Editor’s Note: If you wrote a letter to Washington earlier this 
year about the now-infamous discovery of the Wyoming eagle 
slaughterhouse, you probably received a communication from 
the Fish & Wildlife Service. That agency’s response and explan- 
ation are worth noting here as an illumination of its stance in 
the matter, and of the information on which it was based. 
fi ft = 1 
To All Concerned Citizens: 
I regret that it is necessary to reply to your recent letter concerning the 
loss of eagles in Wyoming with a form letter. However, the volume of 
mail relative to this important matter has been so great that an individual 
reply to each of you is not possible. 
You may be assured that we are as concerned as you are and that we are 
taking aggressive measures to correct the situation. 
—M. A. Marston 
Assistant to the Director 
Fish & Wildlife Service 
U.S. Department of the Interior 
Washington, D. C. 20240 
(ATTACHMENT) 
LOSS OF EAGLES IN WYOMING 
‘During the first week in May 1971 the National Audubon Society notified 
Assistant Secretary of the Interior Nathaniel P. Reed of the discovery of 
several dead eagles in a remote canyon near Casper, Wyoming. Following 
an intensive investigation by the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife, it 
was determined that the eagles had died from thallium poisoning. Further 
evidence indicated that the eagles probably fed on antelope which had 
been unlawfully killed and poisoned for the purpose of killing coyotes. 
“The eagles had been roosting and subsequently died in a remote canyon 
in the Casper mountains. The canyon is on private land and was virtually 
inaccessible to humans during the winter and early spring. Few people 
knew that the eagles wintered in the canyon, and no one could be found 
who had observed them feeding on the poisoned antelope, which was 
located 12 air miles from the canyon, also on private land to which the 
public was denied access. The preponderance of the evidence indicated 
that the eagles were killed unintentionally. Since they had regurgitated 
every particle of food they had eaten, conclusive proof that they had eaten 
poisoned antelope meat could not be obtained. Consequently, there was 
insufficient evidence to secure a conviction in Federal court. To prosecute 
