Corps wants to take 500 cormorant eggs to support salmon

ASTORIA, Ore. (AP) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wants to take 500 eggs from double-crested cormorant nests to protect juvenile salmon in the Columbia River.

The Daily Astorian reports Friday that The Audubon Society of Portland wants the agency to halt its efforts to reduce the number of birds on East Sand Island until the Corps and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service can investigate why so many abandoned the island in 2016 and 2017.

The Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing the Corps’ request to take the eggs.

The Corps has shot more than 5,000 adult birds and destroyed more than 6,000 nests since 2015.

The cormorants eat the fish — some of which are listed under the Endangered Species Act — as they swim the Columbia.

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Information from: The Daily Astorian, http://www.dailyastorian.com