Active Bald Eagle nest
In addition to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, eagles are afforded protection through the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. When an eagle nest is identified, the state or federal agency governing eagle activity will be contacted to determine next steps. Once our Environmental team is notified of an active eagle nest, all customers installed on the tower will be informed that no maintenance or installation work may be performed on the tower until the nest is confirmed inactive.
At the end of the nesting season, American Tower will order a biologist evaluation to determine if the nest is inactive and the site access restrictions can be removed. Once confirmed, the Bird Watch team will send a hold release email to be distributed to customers to notify them of this change and issue Eagle Site Conditional Work Approvals for all work requests that were placed on hold during the nesting season. Ground work will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis; in some instances work will require a biologist monitor or agency consultation.
Emergency Work
If the need for emergency work at the tower facility arises, American Tower will work with the governing state and federal agencies to determine how to resolve the emergency situation. With guidance from the appropriate agencies, American Tower makes all final decisions regarding the treatment protocol for a specific nest site. Our Environmental team has a strong working relationship with these agencies, and we will work to obtain approval for any intrusive pending ground work or emergency tower work. For more detail regarding eagle site treatment protocol, see Bird Site Treatment Protocol page.