Toss a paper bag full of trash out your car window and you could be fined up to $900 by the state of Pennsylvania. Kill a bald eagle, and you'll pay just $200.

That measly penalty would not deter most poachers, so the Pennsylvania Game Commission proposes to increase the fine to $2,500.That, combined with the punishment set out in the federal Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, is a penalty that commands attention and one that will ensure eagles in the commonwealth will continue to thrive.The bald eagle, once decimated by hunting, deforestation and pesticide use, was removed from the national endangered and threatened species list in 2007 as its numbers rebounded after more than three decades of federal protection.There are now an estimated 300 nests in Pennsylvania, at least three in Allegheny County.With the installation of cameras, like one in Hays, that allow people to watch eagles nesting up close, they're arguably Pennsylvania's most popular reality stars.Since it's illegal not only to kill a bald eagle in the United States, but also to possess even so much as a feather unless you are a Native American with a special permit, people aren't killing the raptors in large numbers.Two or three eagles are killed each year in Pennsylvania, the game commission says, and it's not just the occasional hunter or farmer protecting livestock who do the killing.Wind turbines kill, too, and last month the oldest known bald eagle in the United States died in New York when it was hit by a car.Federal law already sets a maximum fine of $5,000 or a year in prison for a person who kills an eagle, but states can establish their own supplemental penalties.Raising Pennsylvania's, which the game commission could do in September, will send a message that this state loves its eagles. If you kill one, either on purpose or accidentally, be prepared to dig deep in your wallet.Pittsburgh Post-Gazette