Game Commission says growing population and geographical distribution warrant change.

The osprey, which in recent decades has seen an increasing population and distribution in Pennsylvania, soon could be removed from the state's list of threatened species.

The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners met in Harrisburg and gave preliminary approval to an updated management plan for osprey that, among other things, calls for a change in the osprey's status in Pennsylvania, defining it as a protected species rather than a threatened species.

If the plan and status change receive final adoption at a subsequent meeting, the board also will adopt heightened penalties for those who unlawfully kill ospreys. Similar penalties were adopted when the bald eagle was removed from the state's list of threatened species in 2014.

The board preliminarily approved the heightened penalty, as well.

The proposed management plan runs through 2025.

It notes the osprey has achieved objectives outlined in the plan and no longer meets the definition of a threatened species. The plan sets objectives of at least 50 total nesting pairs with a steady or increasing population, including at least 10 nesting pairs in each of four watersheds for the second consecutive comprehensive survey. Those objectives all were achieved in the 2016 nesting season.

Upon becoming a protected species, ospreys would continue to be a protected species under state statutes and the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

The Board of Commissioners also preliminarily approved a heightened, $2,500 replacement cost to be paid by anyone convicted of killing an osprey after the bird's status is changed.

As it is now, the osprey is listed as a state threatened species, the unlawful killing of which results in a $5,000 replacement cost. If the osprey's status changes to protected, the replacement cost would drop to $200, an amount commissioners said falls short of provided the bird the additional protection it still needs.

To the osprey's benefit, Pennsylvania Game Commission staff also will continue to implement the plan and monitor osprey nests to ensure that this species does not regress toward endangerment.