The National Bird

The eagle has landed--back on its feet. After nearly suffering extinction, the bald eagle has recovered to the point that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service soon may reclassify it as a threatened species rather than endangered.

The eagle may become one of the few success stories of the federal Endangered Species Act. Only five species, including the American alligator and the brown pelican, have fully recovered from the endangerd list. In a recent report, the General Accounting Office, Congress’ investigatory agency, criticized the Department of the Interior for failing to develop adequate recovery plans for threatened birds, animals and plant life. Of those species studied, only 16% actually were recovering and 34% were losing ground.

The major reason for the eagle’s limited recovery was the banning of DDT in 1972, although aggressive action against poachers and protection of wetlands has helped. Back in the 1960s, fewer than 800 nesting pairs of bald eagles had survived in the lower 48 states. That has increased to an estimated 2,400 today. In California, the increase has been from 26 in the early 1970s to 83 now. Many eagles also winter in the state, from Klamath Lake in the north to as far south as Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains.

Alaska has more than 30,000 eagles; the species never has been considered threatened there. And the eagle’s status already has improved from endangered to the threatened category in five states: Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin.

The new director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, John Turner of Wyoming, says the “downlisting” of the eagle from endangered to threatened will proceed only if data gathered after the 1990 nesting season continues to look good. “I don’t think we can ever take for granted the long-term survival of eagles,” added Turner, an eagle expert himself who is considered to be one of the Bush Administration’s most capable Interior Department appointees.

As state and federal officials strive to nurture the eagle back to full recovery, one outstanding goal would be to see the bird re-establish its traditional habitat along the California coastline. That would be a sight to make the spirit soar.