Department of the Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne presented the Cooperative Conservation Award to members of the Southwest Bald Eagle Management Committee (SWBEMC) on April 22nd, for its implementation of the Arizona bald eagle nestwatch program at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.
The SWBEMC is a broad coalition consisting of 23 government agencies, private organizations & Native American tribes that oversees the comprehensive management plan that help's to ensure the continued success of the bald eagle population in Arizona. This plan includes regular monitoring & survey flights; banding & visual identification; contaminants analysis; cooperative partnerships with the other committee partners; & the nestwatch program to protect breeding activities.