Imperiled American Bald Eagle Claws Its Way Back From Brink of Extinction

The American bald eagle, the national symbol for two centuries, is making a comeback strong enough that soon it will be taken off the endangered species list, a Fish and Wildlife Service official said Friday.

Because of the bird’s strong recovery in the last three decades, “We’re moving quite close” to removing it from the endangered category, the director of the service, Mollie Beattie, said Friday.

Fish and Wildlife officials said the change will not mean the bird is completely removed from protection under the Endangered Species Act but that it will be listed in the less dire category of “threatened” in most parts of the country.

The population of bald eagles, found in all states except Hawaii, had dwindled in 1974 to 791 nesting pairs. A 1992 survey found its numbers had risen to 3,014.

Researchers credit the comeback in large part to the banning of the pesticide DDT, which had interfered with the reproductive capacity of the eagle and other birds. In addition, the government launched an effort to acquire nesting habitat for the eagle, to relocate it in areas where it had died out, and to use captive breeding programs.