WASHINGTON, DC - After nearly disappearing from most of the U.S., the bald eagle is now flourishing and no longer needs the protection of the Endangered Species Act. The nation’s symbol has recovered from an all-time low of 417 nesting pairs in 1963 to an estimated high of 9,789 breeding pairs today, and will be removed from the list of threatened and endangered species.

To ensure that eagles continue to thrive, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will work with state wildlife agencies to monitor eagles for at least five years. If it appears that bald eagles again need the protection of the Endangered Species Act, the Service can propose to relist the species. The Service is also making the draft post-delisting monitoring plan available and is soliciting public comment for 90 days.

The bald eagle first gained federal protection in 1940, under what was later named the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. The law curbed illegal hunting and shooting of eagles for their feathers, but they soon fell victim to another threat: DDT. The widespread use of the pesticide DDT after World War II caused eagle populations to plummet towards extinction. When DDT washed off into waterways, it was absorbed by aquatic plants and animals. When eagles ate contaminated fish, they would then be poisoned. DDT prevented the proper formulation of calcium necessary to produce strong eggshells. Consequently, the thinned eggshells cracked when an adult bird tired to incubate them. Widespread reproductive failure and a precipitous decline in numbers followed. As a result, the bald eagle was protected in 1967 under the precursor to the Endangered Species Act. The eagle continued to be protected when the Endangered Species Act of 1973 was enacted.

The legal protections given the species by these statutes, along with a crucial decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to ban the general use of DDT in 1972, provided the springboard for the Service and its partners to accelerate recovery through captive breeding programs, reintroductions, law enforcement efforts, protection of habitat around nest sites and land purchase and preservation activities.

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