10—Cold Mountain Cold Rivers Complaint
See id. p. VI-7. Clearly, then, the effects of the capture facility on eagles have not been
assessed. The pre-monitoring requirements are essential to adequately assess the effects, as
they provide the yearly baseline from which to determine the effects. Moreover, pre-
monitoring is required by the BO.
On January 3, 2001, the MDOL began installing the bison capture facility. No pre-
monitoring for bald eagles was done. The Plaintiffs sent out their January 5, 2001 NOI in response
to concerns that pre-monitoring had not been done and yet the capture facility was being installed.
On January 30, 2001, only after Plaintiffs sent the January 5 NOI for failure to pre-
monitor bald eagle nests prior to installation of the bison capture facility, the Gallatin National
Forest amended Appendix V of the BA which is the “Visual Monitoring Methods for the Horse
Butte Bald Eagle Nesting and Foraging Area. See 
Appendix V [to BA] (as amended 01/30/01).
The Amended Appendix V was attached to the Forest Supervisor’s response to Plaintiffs’ January
5, 2001 NOI. SeeMarch 6, 2001 NOI response to Reynolds, Motl & Sherwood from Dave
Defendant Forest Service’s amended Appendix V attempts to amend the
bald eagle monitoring requirements after the fact. However, the BO does not discuss, nor
does any document analyze or allow, such post-hoc amendments without further
environmental analysis. Pre-monitoring is required, especially in circumstances such as this
where there has been consistent nest failure at all three eagle nests since the implementation
of the Horse Butte Bison Capture Facility and hazing project.
Pre-monitoring is especially critical in view of the Eagle Management Plan’s
unequivocal statement that the effects of the capture facility on bald eagles has not been
determined, and only monitoring in subsequent years can provide the necessary data to
make such determination. Eliminating the pre-monitoring requirements effectively destroys
the ability to obtain an accurate assessment of the effects of the capture facility on bald
eagles and their nesting and foraging habitat.
