EASTPORT — Two bald eagle nests have landed Eastport’s Treat Island among a group of 24 sites proposed by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for protection under the state’s Endangered Species Act.

The department held a public hearing on the additions to its list of essential habitat Wednesday in Bangor.

Comments on the essential habitat proposal should be made by Jan. 20 to Gary Donovan at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, 284 State St., Station 41, Augusta 04333; telephone 289-5252.

The designation as essential habitat would bring with it restrictions upon projects requiring state and local permits, unless the department finds that the project would not alter or harm unreasonably the nests. Examples of projects that would require review by the department are subdivisions, construction of new buildings, roads and utilities, conversion of seasonal dwellings to year-round, and the installation of docks, moorings and aquaculture facilities.

Treats Island, about 80 acres in area, is currently unpopulated. Ownership is evenly split between Victor Zilaitis of Florida and Ellen Weiss of Maryland, with a small section owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The island was the hub of the region’s commercial activity in the early 1800s and is the burial site of Col. John Allan, a Revolutionary War hero who operated a trading post on the island.

Jurisdiction over the island has been an off-and-on dispute between Eastport and Lubec, due to conflicting interpretations of the boundary description by various federal and state agencies.

Although the essential-habitat designation could affect the potential development of the island, City Manager Rosemary Kulow said Thursday, “It would have no impact on the rest of the city, or on the aquaculture and shipping activity in the area. The boundaries of the designation are specific to the island itself. Certainly, any new project proposed for the island would need approval from the agency, but we haven’t heard of any definite plans.”

Other sites being considered as essential habitat are in Addison, Beals, Bowdoinham, Brewer, Deer Isle, Edmunds Township, Chester, Dresden, Franklin, Frenchboro, Island Falls, Lubec, Machiasport, Millinocket, Perkins Township, Richmond, Roque Bluffs, Stonington, Swans Island, T3 Indian Purchase, T4R3 WELS, T6R1 NBPP, T7R14 WELS, Veazie and Winn. One previously-designated bald eagle nest site in Machiasport is being dropped from the habitat list.

Bald eagles have been an endangered species since 1978. Just now recovering from a population decline attributed to DDT contamination in the environment, wildlife experts see the increasing development of previously-undisturbed nesting sites as a major threat to further recovery.