U.S. Celebrates Recovery of the American Bald Eagle

The bald eagle, America’s national symbol, was removed from the U.S. threatened and endangered species list this week—just in time for the Independence Day celebration on July 4.

“This is a great day,” said Douglas Inkley, a senior scientist at the National Wildlife Federation, after U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne signed the paperwork “delisting” the bald eagle. "This is a man-on-the-moon moment for wildlife.”
_{Photo courtesy of Matthew Hull}

Bald Eagles Recover in Just 40 Years
Bald eagles were first listed as “endangered” in 1967, after hunting, poisoning and widespread use of DDT reduced the number of bald eagles to 417 breeding pairs in the continental United States. The eagles’ status was changed from “endangered” to “threatened” in 1995. Today, there are bald eagles in Alaska and all of the lower 48 states, and 10,000 breeding pairs nationwide.

Placing bald eagles on the endangered species list protected the birds and their habitat. Bald eagle recovery was also helped by the 1972 ban on DDT. The toxic pesticide causes the shells of bald eagle eggs to thin and reduces the birth rate of young eagles.

Bald Eagles Still Protected by Federal Law
Even though bald eagles are no longer listed as “endangered,” federal laws and policies—specifically, the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act—will continue to prevent people from killing or injuring bald eagles or disturbing their nests. As a result, environmentalists say they believe bald eagle populations will continue to grow.

President George W. Bush was jubilant over the bald eagle’s recovery: “This great conservation achievement means more and more Americans across the nation will enjoy the thrill of seeing bald eagles soar. What a wonderful way to celebrate this Fourth of July.”

Ironically, the bald eagle recovery comes at a time when the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is being challenged by the Bush administration and facing another internal review at the Interior Department. The ESA is also under attack by property rights advocates and some business groups. Conservationists claim saving the bald eagle demonstrates the effectiveness and necessity of the ESA.

"The rescue of the bald eagle ... ranks among the greatest victories of American conservation," said John Flicker, president of the National Audubon Society.

A Dissenting Opinion on Bald Eagles
The only notable person on record who might not think much of the bald eagle recovery is Benjamin Franklin. He thought the turkey, not the eagle, should be the U.S. national symbol. Writing from France on January 26, 1784 to his daughter Sally in Philadelphia, Franklin said: “For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly.”

It was Franklin’s contention that the eagle stole food from other birds, was “generally poor and often very lousy,” and was a “rank coward” besides. “The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the District.”

According to Franklin, “the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America . . . He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on.”

Bald Eagles Suffered Decades of Abuse
Franklin may not have admired bald eagles, but he didn’t advocate killing them. Many others took a harsher stance.

For years, many people considered eagles both a dangerous predator and an aggressive scavenger that should be eliminated whenever possible. Bald eagles were shot from airplanes, poisoned legally in some states, and hunted for their feathers. Alaska placed a 50-cent bounty on the birds.

In 1940, Congress passed a law that made killing a bald eagle illegal, but at about the same time DDT was being widely used to control mosquitoes. The toxic insecticide drained into lakes and streams, contaminating fish, building up in the eagles’ bodies, harming adult eagles and thinning the shells of their eggs to a point where many broke before the baby eagles could be hatched. The damage to the bald eagle population was devastating.

Things began to turn around for the bald eagle after DDT was banned in 1972 and the Endangered Species Act provided additional safeguards, all leading eventually to the current recovery.

Media coverage:

• U.S. Declares Bald Eagles No Longer Threatened (The Washington Post)
• U.S. Bald Eagle Numbers Making Recovery (The Associated Press – Environmental News Network)
• Bald Eagle Flying High for the Fourth of July (Reuters – Globe and Mail)