SHERIDAN, Ore. (AP) - A Sheridan teenager has been charged with killing a bald eagle along the Willamette River.

The Oregon State Police said 19-year-old Dustin Millsap was accused of unlawfully taking a protected species.

Troopers said Millsap was duck hunting on Friday with two companions south of Independence when the eagle flew overhead. He shot it down and hid it behind a tree, the troopers said.

Bald eagles enjoy protection under federal laws, including the Endangered Species Act.

The most recent survey turned up 528 breeding pairs of bald eagles in Oregon and Southwest Washington, up about 500 from the first census in 1978, said Frank Isaacs, an OSU biologist who conducts the survey.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)