ACADIA NATIONAL PARK, Maine (AP) - Officials at Acadia National Park have closed hiking trails on and around the Precipice Cliff to protect peregrine falcons that have been showing pre-nesting behavior.

The closure of the popular Precipice Trail on the side of Champlain Mountain is expected to last until late July or early August. That's about five weeks after the newborn peregrine chicks are expected to take their first flights.

If the birds' nesting attempt fails, the trail could open sooner.

Acadia National Park was selected in the 1980s to be one of the reintroduction sites for a peregrine falcon recovery program. Since 1991, more than 80 chicks have fledged on Mount Desert Island.

The bird is listed as a Maine endangered species.

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