What's happening with Alaska's largest bald eagle congregation? It's hard to say

Most weeks between September and December, Stacie Evans drives up the Haines highway, counting bald eagles through a high-powered scope.

Her drives are part of a longstanding annual survey that aims to provide insight into the valley’s annual gathering of eagles, which is one of the world’s largest. Last week, she saw more than 1,400.

“It’s the highest count that’s been documented since the year 2000,” said Evans, who is the science director of the Takshanuk Watershed Council, a local conservation nonprofit.

The annual gathering in the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve is central to the area’s identity – and it serves as an economic boost for the town of Haines at the start of the winter.

Evans emphasized that the road surveys do not amount to a comprehensive population count, so ther