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Bald Eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
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Threats
Loss of habitat,
killed as pests
STATUS:
ESA -- THREATENED
SIZE:
Length
32Ð40 inches (80Ð100 cm)
Weight
6Ð16 lb (2.7Ð7.3 kg)
Wingspan:
7.5 feet (2.3 m)
HABITAT:
Mature, secluded forest
with flowing streams
and abundant fish
POPULATION:
80,000Ð110,000
CURRENT RANGE:
Contiguous United States and Canada
CONSERVATION:
reintroduction efforts;
banning of dangerous pesticides (DDT);
CITES trade restrictions;
land acquisition to protect habitat; research on
population dynamics
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Symbol of Freedom...
Nostalgia...and Hope
Congress made the bald eagle our national
symbol in 1782. The majestic bird seemed to embody the spirit of liberty that infused the young nation. Today, the eagle inspires other emotions as well, especially nostalgia for open spaces, pristine rivers, and wetlands long gone. It is also a symbol of hope, for the eagle has come back from the brink of extinction -- thanks to heroic efforts by concerned citizens and institutions.
Bald eagles once ranged in great numbers across the North American continent. As America's human population grew through the 19th and 20th centuries, bald eagles increasingly fell victim to a familiar litany of perils: they were shot as pests or threats to livestock; as America's wilderness disappeared, so did their habitat; and as the numbers of their prey species (fish, waterfowl, and shorebirds) declined, there was less and less for them to eat. A bounty on eagles in Alaska was maintained as late as 1953, in the mistaken belief that they were having
an adverse effect on salmon fisheries. In fact, eagles and other birds of prey seldom have a long-term effect on their prey populations. Indiscriminate spraying of DDT in the years after World War II
further devastated eagle populations (see range, especially in the South, they had disappeared completely.
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Eagles
build nests varying from a few sticks to massive structures;
it is not uncommon
for successive pairs of eagles to use a single nest for 35 years
or more.
Naturalist Charles Broley, a retired banker from Canada, was the first
to call attention to
the drastic decline in eagle populations after World War II -- the result
of DDT spraying. His conservation efforts
and research in Florida
led to the protection
of eagle eyries and put an end to eagle egg collecting.
The 1995 downlisting
of the bald eagle from Endangered to Threatened does not remove the protections afforded by the ESA. It is still illegal to kill bald eagles. They are also protected by the Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, as well as by various
state laws.
Eagles court in midair, often locking talons and somersaulting down from great heights.
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In 1967, eagles became a protected species under the Endangered Species Preservation Act -- a forerunner of the ESA. In 1972, most uses of
DDT were banned. This was
followed by efforts to protect
habitats and reintroduce the birds throughout their former range. By
1981, the nesting population in the lower 48 had doubled, and a1993 census counted more than 4,500 nesting pairs, with a healthy sized next generation of 5,000 to 6,000 juveniles.
In July of 1995, the bald eagle was officially downlisted from Endangered to Threatened status throughout the nation. The late Mollie Beattie, former Fish and Wildlife Service Director, said at the time of the downsizing, "While banning DDT was vital, the eagle could not have recovered had there not been strong laws such as the Endangered Species Act to protect its habitat and promote recovery."
The Future: More Than a Symbol
We are still the greatest threat to the bald eagle's survival. Particularly in the southern part of the bird's range, human encroachment poses a significant problem, and eagles are still hunted, despite laws to the contrary. But the fact that bald eagles once again nest near our nation's capital on the Potomac River, and have reestablished themselves in many other regions, is far more than just a symbol of hope. It is proof positive that conservation efforts work and that we truly can save species, habitats, and ecosystems if we have the will./
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