Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Arizona
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Problem statement (1-2 sentences):
The Arizona breeding population of Bald Eagle appears largely demographically isolated from other Bald Eagle breeding populations. It is therefore necessary to understand the viability of this population and how changes to key demographic rates (e.g., nest productivity) may ultimately affect the viability of this population. The Arizona Game and Fish Department has collected an impressive long-term dataset on Bald Eagles in Arizona including band-resight data, nest productivity and occupancy data, telemetry data, and nest parasite data. This provides an excellent collaborative opportunity to combine these data sources within an integrated population modeling framework to project population trends forward in time while fully propagating parameter uncertainty and conduct scenario analyses to determine how changes in demographic rates may affect population viability. This is turn will allow for a more informed decision making process when managing Bald Eagles in Arizona.