The Bald Eagle - Off the Endagered List

There were many decades in which the U.S. national symbol was believed to be headed for extinction, but the species has since made a remarkable comeback. The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act was passed in 1940 to keep the bird from being hunted after the bald eagle was found to be endangered. DDT offered another threat to the survival of the bald eagle, and continued to feed the decline in numbers after the birds were no longer hunted. When the number reached just 417 breeding pairs in 1963, action was called for and in 1973 the species was put on the newly created endangered species list.

Far from the expected extinction of the treasured national symbol, the bald eagle has since made a dramatic recovery. There are almost 10,000 breeding pairs today- enough for the species to be removed from the endangered species list. Wildlife experts, however, will not be abandoning the bald eagle. The bald eagle's numbers will be monitored for a few years to make sure they do not begin to decline again. The monitoring assures that if the number of bald eagles falls again that there will be a quick response to place the birds back on the list of endangered species.

Even off the endangered species list, there are other protections in place, such as the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. The eagles also have the protection of the1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act. A few other countries, as well as the U.S., were obligated to protect the bald eagle and other migratory birds from being hunted thanks to the act. Buying and selling the eggs, feathers or nests of bald eagles are all made illegal under the act, keeping the birds safe from those who would hunt them for profit in Canada and Mexico as well as the U.S.

The 1972 ban on the use of DDT has also done much to protect bald eagles. DDT caused a serious decline in bald eagle numbers, becoming a major contributor to the species near extinction. Waterways became contaminated with the chemical, which then spread to the eagles. The fish in these waterways became contaminated and were then eaten by bald eagles. DDT kept bald eagles from being able to create eggshells with enough calcium to keep them strong enough to support the embryos. The havoc wreaked by DDT made it difficult for the species to reproduce as mother eagles cracked their own thin eggs in an attempt to incubate them. Today, with DDT largely gone from natural bodies of water, bald eagles have every chance to reproduce and grow in numbers.