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CONSERVATION CORNER
For the week of August 13, 2007
Bald Eagle Removed From Endangered List
by James L. Cummins

Recently, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced the removal of the bald eagle from the list of threatened and endangered species at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. After nearly disappearing from most of the United States decades ago, the bald eagle is now flourishing across the nation and no longer needs the protection of the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

"I am proud to announce: the eagle has returned," said Secretary Kempthorne. "In 1963, the lower 48 states were home to barely 400 nesting pairs of bald eagles. Today, after decades of conservation effort, they are home to 10,000 nesting pairs, a 25-fold increase in the last 40 years. Based on its dramatic recovery, it is my honor to announce the decision to remove the American bald eagle from the Endangered Species List."

Kempthorne emphasized the ongoing commitment of the Interior Department and the entire federal government to the eagle's continued success, noting that bald eagles will continue to be protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Both federal laws prohibit "taking," killing, selling or otherwise harming eagles, their nests or eggs.

"After years of careful study, public comment and planning, the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are confident in the future security of the bald eagle," Kempthorne said. "From this point forward, we will work to ensure that the eagle never again needs the protection of the ESA."

The legal protections given the species by these statutes, along with a crucial decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to ban the general use of DDT in 1972, provided the springboard to accelerate recovery through captive breeding programs, reintroductions, law enforcement efforts, protection of habitat around nest sites and land preservation. The eagle responded dramatically to these actions. From an all-time low of 417 breeding pairs in 1963, the population in the lower 48 states has grown to a high of 9,789 pairs today. Fortunately, the bald eagle has never needed the protection of the Endangered Species Act in Alaska, where the population is between 50,000 and 70,000 birds.

"It's fitting that our national symbol has also become a symbol of the great things that happen through cooperative conservation," said Service Director H. Dale Hall. "Eagles could not have recovered without a support network of strong partnerships among government at all levels, tribes, conservation organizations, the business community and individual citizens."

More information about the bald eagle and the post-delisting monitoring plan is available on the Service's bald eagle website at www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/baldeagle.htm.

James L. Cummins is Executive Director of Wildlife Mississippi, a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi. Their web site is www.wildlifemiss.org.