City Lawmakers Move To Protect Nesting Eagles In Pennypack Park
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- As Andy Reid tries to find better ways to protect Michael Vick, Philadelphia City Council on Tuesday took steps to better protect some other eagles -- bald eagles that have a large nest on city parkland.
A City Council committee has approved a bill that closes off a portion of Pennypack Park in the far Northeast.
A bald eagle's nest was discovered in a tree on that parcel two years ago. The area has been cordoned off ever since, but this measure makes the restrictions around the nest permanent.
"It's a threatened species," he notes, "and obviously as a symbol of our country we want to take every single necessary precaution to make sure it's protected," said Barry Bessler, chief of staff for the park system.
Bressler says he cannot recall any other instances of bald eagle nests in Fairmount Park. He says this is particularly important in the winter months, when the adult female eagles lay their eggs, which hatch in the spring.
Reported by KYW City Hall Bureau Chief Mike Dunn.
