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During the peak of the eagle season, the frozen river supported no • waterfowl so I suspect that carrion constituted the majority of the diet. Large numbers of deer and elk wintered in the North Fork Valley, and the harshness of the winter of 1979 produced both road and winter- kills. Because of the mildness, winter kills were not abundant in 1980. Low eagle numbers in the Nork Fork could perhaps be explained by this lack of food, After the ice broke, there were a few waterfowl using the banks of the river. The number of ducks was hard to determine with fixed-wing flights because the emergent vegetation hid them from view. Rodents and rabbits may have also been constituents of the wintering bald eagle diet. Same fish may have been caught after the ice broke. The value of this resource, according to data collected by the Colorado DOW in 1978, is below average to poor, primarily due to the effects of irrigation. Two fish hatcheries along the river may contribute some to the diet of the wintering bald eagle, although personnel at the Federal hatchery did not seem to think that their loss to hunting eagles was large. An adult bald eagle was observed feeding on a coyote carcass on Paonia Reservoir, suggesting that eagles are opportunists and will exploit any available carrion. Disturbances in the North Fork Valley are numerous. There is a sub- • stantial amount of mining activity due to ongoing coal excavations. Disturbances from other activities are suspected to be high because of the proximity of wintering bald eagle habitat to the human environment. Powerlines are a problem in the North Fork. They are numerous, and cross the river frequently. It is suspected that at least part of them are not raptor-safe and should be checked further. This hazardous area should be flown with caution. IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES The opportunities for improvement of bald eagle habitat along the North Fork are minimal because of land ownership patterns. Education, with an emphasis on preserving the existing riparian habitat, is quite possibly the only method available for the conservation of existing wintering bald eagle areas. Any opportunities to improve water quality and the fishery would un- doubtedly benefit wintering bald eagles. Although food appears to be abundant, Besting that bald eagles in the North because of continual development of r project probably has little impact on lative effects of several actions may • to move to other areas. numbers of birds are low, sug- Fork Valley may be in trouble iparian areas. Each isolated the population, but the cumu- be forcing wintering bald eagles