Bald Eagle Leaves Endangered Species List

For Release on August 8, 2007
Contact: Valerie Fellows (202) 208-3008 

Today is one for the history books – it’s the day the bald eagle officially
soars off the list of threatened and endangered species under the
Endangered Species Act (ESA). After plummeting to nearly 400 pairs in the
lower 48 states in 1963, the population has rebounded to more than 10,000
pairs today.  Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced the
remarkable recovery of our national symbol in Washington , D.C. on June 28,
2007 .

The legal protections afforded by the ESA, along with the crucial decision
by the Environmental Protection Agency to ban the general use of the
pesticide DDT in 1972, provided the springboard for recovery. Other efforts
by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners included captive
breeding programs, reintroductions, law enforcement measures, protection of
habitat around nest sites and land purchase and preservation activities.

The Service will work with state wildlife agencies to monitor bald eagles
for at least five years. If it appears that eagles again need the
protection of the ESA, the Service can propose to relist the species.

The bald eagle will continue to be protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle
Protection Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

For more information on bald eagles, please visit our webpage at
http://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/BaldEagle.htm

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency
responsible for conserving the nature of America . For more on the Service
and its commitment to scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and
natural resources, cooperative conservation and public service, visit
www.fws.gov