A local man photographed a Bald Eagle just outside the Smithville city limits on Short Mountain Highway Thursday morning.

The Bald Eagle, absent for 22 years from the hills of Tennessee, was brought back to the state by a method known as “hacking,” in which eaglets were placed in artificial nests. The birds were released at 12 to 13 weeks old, when their first flight was assured. Captive bred birds, as well as eagles obtained from Alaska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Florida, Minnesota and Canada were used in the process.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, although the Bald Eagle is no longer listed under the Endangered Species Act, the bird is still protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. This law, originally passed in 1940, provides for the protection of the bald eagle and the golden eagle (as amended in 1962) by prohibiting the take, possession, sale, purchase, barter, offer to sell, purchase or barter, transport, export or import, of any bald or golden eagle, alive or dead, including any part, nest, or egg, unless allowed by permit Bald Eagle sitting in tree  (16 U.S.C. 668(a); 50 CFR 22). "Take" includes pursue, shoot, shoot at, poison, wound, kill, capture, trap, collect, molest or disturb (16 U.S.C. 668c; 50 CFR 22.3).

The 1972 amendments increased civil penalties for violating provisions of the Act to a maximum fine of $5,000 or one year imprisonment with $10,000 or not more than two years in prison for a second conviction. Felony convictions carry a maximum fine of $250,000 or two years of imprisonment. The fine doubles for an organization.

Rewards are provided for information leading to arrest and conviction for violation of the Act.