Of Eagles, the Law, and Political Favorites

What with all the "scandals" swirling around the Obama Administration these past few days, you'd be forgiven if you missed the local commotion about local raptor expert John David "Dave" Bittner, 68, Executive Director of the Wildlife Research Institute (WRI) based in Ramona, California.  (This WRI appears to be entirely unrelated to the Wildlife Research Institute of Ely, Minnesota which is focused on Black Bear research.)

According to a news release from United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy of the Southern District of California, Julian resident Bittner pleaded guilty to the unlawful "take" of a golden eagle, in violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, on 18 April 2013.  

A "take" under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act means to "pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, molest or disturb."  16 U.S.C. 668c; 50 CFR 22.  In this particular instance, Bittner's offense involved collection of at least one female Golden Eagle for banding without the required permit.  Duffy noted in her conviction announcement that such banding data provides USGS and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with valuable information about the health and distribution of the eagle population in the United States.  

The U.S. Attorney acknowledges that Bittner had possessed a federal bird banding permit, which expired on January 31, 2010.  In February, 2010, Bittner asked the U.S. Geologic Survey (USGS) Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL) to renew his permit.  However, the BBL advised Bittner that he was not in compliance with his expired permit because he had not reported any data for the birds he had banded since October 31, 2006, and that his permit would not be renewed until he submitted the delinquent data.

Dave Bittner (Ramona Sentinel photo)

In entering his guilty plea, Bittner told the judge that he "makes his living" conducting studies of birds and wildlife. His work includes the capture and banding of eagles and other migratory birds, and the tracking of their movements. 

Even though he was refused a succeeding permit by the BBL, the Ramona Sentinel reports that Bittner has admitted that between January 31, 2010, and August 12, 2010, he captured and banded more than 140 migratory birds -- including at least one female Golden Eagle.  Moreover, Bittner admitted that he was fully aware that he had no valid permit to do these things.

Given the popularity of WRI's "Hawk Watch" annual events in Ramona, and in light of Bittner's relatively high political visibility in San Diego County, it seems remarkable that no local media outlet has apparently reported on this story.  Aside from the brief write-up in the Ramona Sentinel, only East County Magazine (a web-only publication) has reported on the story locally.  

Nor did Doug Manchester's San Diego Union-Tribune mention Bittner's recent conviction in a May 17th story about a Bald Eagle hatchling at the Ramona Grasslands.   Although rather than citing Bittner, the story only mentions Chris Meador, WRI's "assistant director."

A check of WRI's website also reveals no comment, nor even a mention, of Bittner's impending sentencing on July 11, 2013, by U.S. Magistrate Judge David H. Bartick.  Instead, WRI continues to sell merchandise, report its good works, and solicit funds from donors.

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So when you add it all up, what have we got here?  

Well, it doesn't take an "expert" to understand that capturing and handling a wild raptor, for any purpose, is going to be stressful for the bird.  It also opens up the very real possibility of injury or even death to the bird.

If an individual like Dave Bittner is subjecting birds to that kind of stress and risk, and if it doesn't lead to any contribution to scientific knowledge or understanding (at least outside of Bittner's own personal database and experience), then it seems fairly clear that he was violating both the spirit and the letter of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

Hawk in a Can

Add to that the fact that Bittner and WRI have collected many thousands of dollars, from donors who have every right to expect that their contributions will be used for a lawful and objectively scientific purpose,  and you've also now identified very real concerns about the continued legitimacy of WRI's 501c(3) charitable tax-exempt status.

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Of course, in these mixed up times, nothing is ever quite that black and white, is it?

While it in no way excuses Bittner's actions,  we need to also think about the fact that while it was zealously prosecuting Dave Bittner for ignoring the permit requirements of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the Obama Administration was being much more lenient with certain other folks.

How so?  

Well, the law which forbids killing, capturing, harassing, etc., eagles, hawks and condors is enforced against oil fields, utility companies and others (like Dave Bittner).  But the Obama administration says those laws will no longer be enforced – if, that is, you happen to own or operate a wind farm.

According to an investigation by Dina Cappiello of the Associated Press, and as reported by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), more than a half-million birds are killed each year by windfarms, including more than 80,000 eagles, falcons and other raptors.  But federal officials have not written a single citation or pursued a single prosecution!

In fact, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is quietly paving the way for more raptor deaths by: 

• Handing out “take" permits that can last for 30 years ... instead of the usual five years 
• Enforcing no penalties for exceeding even these hyper-generous take limits 
• Providing no incentive for wind firms to minimize mortality
• Treating reported bird deaths as confidential business information that will not be made public

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service even went so far as to announce it was issuing "take" permits to wind farms for highly-endangered California Condors.

And unlike the recent allegations regarding selective enforcement of the Tax Code by IRS career employees, AP's investigation reveals that all these actions favoring wind power over raptors were green-lighted by political appointees overriding the objections of USFWS's own scientists.

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Well, that's enough on that subject.  And don't get us wrong.  We're not arguing that Dave Bittner should be let off the hook.  The scientific work he's been doing for years is inextricably bound up with the domestic and international laws and conventions which protect raptors and other species.  Based on the U.S. Attorney's press release, Bittner knew precisely what he was doing when he chose to thumb his nose at the law, and he should most assuredly pay the price.

In addition, when a very public figure like Bittner -- someone who is deeply involved in both the land conservation and wildlife conservation issues that we care deeply about -- takes this kind of very public stumble, it makes it that much tougher for the rest of us doing this important work.

Bittner's serious offense also calls into question the integrity of all the scientific work Bittner has done on projects like the San Diego County Ramona Grassland Preserve, or the Iberdrola Tule Wind Power Project in East San Diego County to name just two.

And that's not even going into the bitter allegations made in several public comments to the Ramona Sentinel story that Bittner "imported" the endangered-wherever-found Stephen's Kangaroo Rat into the Ramona Grasslands.  If that's true, in one fell swoop Bittner enhanced the importance of "his" grasslands, and also killed a Ramona airport expansion project that still rankles among some Ramona residents.

All we're saying is, if one non-lethal raptor "take" negates all the work Dave Bittner has done ... if it merits ending Bittner's career, taking away his livelihood, and jeopardizing the existence of the conservation organization he helped build ... then the very lethal "take" of upwards of 83,000 of these magnificent hunting birds every year by the wind power industry should be met with something other than fat utility deals, government subsidies, and White House insider meet-and-greets. 

And don't even get us re-started on all the federally executed raptor and other bird "takes" in the name of air travel, crop protection ... or even just a bird-free game of golf. 

Fair is fair.