Bald Eagle Recovery Tribute to Rachel Carson

WASHINGTON, DC (ENS) — –> There are more breeding bald eagles in the United States right now than at any time since World War II, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today.Bald eagles in the lower 48 states have climbed from an all-time low of 417 nesting pairs in 1963 to an estimated new high of 9,789 breeding pairs today, the agency said.

The updated estimate is based on information gathered by the states in 2004 or later.

Minnesota tops the list with 1,312 pairs of eagles, followed by Florida with 1,133 pairs and Wisconsin with 1,065 pairs.

There are also eagles now breeding in the District of Columbia and the state of Vermont, which was the only state in the lower 48 which lacked eagles until the first eaglets hatched successfully in 2006.

The bald eagle, which is protected as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act, once was on the edge of extinction due to the widespread use of the pesticide DDT that thinned the shells of eagle eggs so they could not hatch.

For years after World War II, dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane, DDT, was used to control mosquitoes and agricultural pests. When it rained, the DDT would wash off the soil and into the waterways where it was absorbed by aquatic plants and animals. Fish ate the plants and animals, and eagles ate the fish.

When ingested, the chemical compound would build up in the fatty tissues of female eagles and prevent the formulation of calcium necessary to produce strong eggshells. Widespread reproductive failure and a steep decline in numbers followed.

Rachel Carson, a biologist and writer for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, became aware of the dangers of chemical pesticides including DDT, but was also aware of the controversy within the agricultural community which needed pesticides to support crop production.

Carson made the decision to write her controversial book “Silent Spring” documenting the dangers of DDT after years of research across the United States and Europe.

As a result of her research and the publication of Silent Spring in 1962, the federal government banned the use of DDT in 1972.

May 27, 2007 marks the 100th anniversary of Carson’s birth. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says its proposed removal of the bald eagle from the federal list of threatened and endangered species is a fitting tribute.

In order to ensure the eagle will be protected upon delisting, the Service is working to finalize the definition of “disturb” and the bald eagle management guidelines under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

Under terms of a court settlement agreement, the Service is to make a decision on delisting the bald eagle by June 29, 2007.