Apple Valley High School in Minnesota was forced to cancel all of its scheduled night games due to nesting Ospreys. The birds are protected by federal law so they cannot turn on the high school football stadium lights.
This situation hopes to be resolved in a few weeks, at which point Friday night lights can return.
In the meantime, Apple Valley had to move two of its home high school football games to different times and relocated soccer matches to a different field. That trend may or may not continue depending on how the birds progress in terms of growth.
Where is Apple Valley High School?
Apple Valley, a Blue Ribbon school is located in Apple Valley, Minnesota approximately 20 miles south of Minneapolis. It is considered on one of the top 140 high schools in the United States with around 2,000 students in grades nine through 12.
The Eagles compete in the South Suburban Conference of the Minnesota State High School League. They have won the second most state championships of any high school in the state since opening in 1976.
What is an osprey?
Ospreys, historically known as sea hawks, river hawks and fish hawks, are a fish-eating bird of prey. They are considered part of the raptor family, reaching more than 24 inches in length with a wingspan up to 71 inches.
An osprey can be comfortable in a wide variety of habitats so long as they are near water with an adequate food supply. Minnesota is known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes so that is not an issue.
They like to build their nests up high with clear views. In the wild, that typically means dead trees. In suburbia, like Apple Valley, that could mean anything that closely resembles a dead tree — like utility poles or cellphone towers.
They will return to their same nests every year to build them back up with new materials. That can obviously create fire and/or safety hazards.
As a result, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources issues a strict number of nest removal permits each year. Otherwise, their nests are protected by state and federal law. More specifically, they are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
High school football is not exempt to the law.
A family of ospreys decided to build a huge nest to raise their chicks on top of a light pole at the Apple Valley High School football field at the beginning of June. The campus is located right next to three (if not four) pretty sizable lakes so it makes sense.
However, if the Eagles were to turn on their stadium lights, the birds would fry.
As a result, Apple Valley was forced to move its first two home football games. It also had to relocate its home soccer matches to a different on-campus field instead of the main stadium.
Week 2 was supposed to be a Friday night game against Waconia. It has been moved to noon on Saturday.
Week 4 was supposed to be a Friday night game against Hastings. It has been moved to 4:00 p.m.
So long as the Eagles do not have to turn on the lights, they can play whenever they want. Athletic director Cory Hanson has been grateful for the understanding of his opponents despite their initial disbelief.
“You know, it’s ‘Friday Night Lights’ for a reason,” he told the Minnesota Star Tribune. “And the soccer teams as well. Not to be able to play in your stadium, especially those seniors. But we’re trying to remain positive and trying to be creative so we can find ways to create a varsity experience for them nonetheless.”
Fortunately, this may not be an all-season thing. Apple Valley sends up a drone twice a week to monitor the chicks because crews can legally remove the nest from the light pole once the young ospreys are old enough to fly off. The nest will be relocated to a new platform on the school grounds.