Statement from Center for Native Ecosystems' Conservation Director Josh Pollock:

“All Americans can be proud that the bald eagle has been restored.  Its recovery is a tribute to our wisdom in protecting the eagle and to our nation’s deep belief in sound stewardship of our environment and our most precious wildlife.  Most importantly, its recovery is a tribute to the success of the Endangered Species Act at bringing our most at-risk wildlife back from the brink.  Today we can be thankful both that the eagle is still with us and for the law that made it possible.

            “The bald eagle’s recovery is a wonderful Endangered Species Act success story.  Across the country, eagles have returned to the habitats they once occupied.  From a historic low point of only 417 pairs in the lower 48 states in 1963, the bald eagle has bounced back to more than 11,040 pairs today.  In Colorado, we have gone from only a handful of nesting pairs a few decades ago to more than fifty.  Our state’s annual midwinter count shows a stable population of around 800 birds. 

            “The bald eagle was first protected under the Bald Eagle Protection Act, passed in 1940, and was officially declared an endangered species in 1967 under a precursor to the Endangered Species Act of 1973.  The banning of the pesticide DDT for most uses in 1972 began the major turnaround for the bald eagle, but it was the protections of the Endangered Species Act that helped the bald eagle recover so successfully over the past few decades.

            “The Endangered Species Act is the critical safety net for species on the brink of extinction, and it can provide the framework and the roadmap for recovery.  Thanks to this safety net, Americans in all 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia can enjoy the magnificent sight of an eagle soaring overhead.

            “Ironically, other wildlife that still face the risk of extinction will not benefit from the protections of this safety net if we don’t keep the law strong.  Recent Bush administration policies would change the application of the Endangered Species Act so much that, if these policies had been in effect when the law was first passed, the bald eagle would never have been protected in the first place.  In March, the Interior Department’s lead solicitor issued an interpretation of law that would have prevented the bald eagle from being protected in the lower 48 states because there was a healthy population in Alaska at the time.  This same opinion about how to apply the law is likely to show up in a new set of Interior Department regulations expected in the coming weeks.  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dale Hall said that a draft of such regulatory changes is being forwarded to the Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne.  If the Bush administration dismantles the protections that helped the bald eagle back from the brink at the very moment we celebrate its recovery, then we can expect the eagle to be the last Endangered Species Act success story our nation celebrates.

            “Indeed, the Bush administration’s record on protection of endangered species is terrible.  Despite the fact that more than 275 wildlife and plant species await protection on the official Candidate list, the Bush administration has failed to protect any species under the Endangered Species Act in more than a year.  During the entire Bush presidency, fewer species have been protected than under any other administration since the passage of the Act.  Here in Colorado, this has meant the denial of protection to several wildlife species at risk of extinction, including the greater sage grouse, Gunnison sage grouse, and white-tailed prairie dog.  As the story of the bald eagle demonstrates, the Endangered Species Act can work, if we apply it to help the species most at risk and do so without unnecessary delays.

            “The Endangered Species Act has been remarkably effective at preventing extinction.  More than 99 percent of the species protected as Threatened or Endangered have been kept from going extinct while listed under the Act.  The law has also been effective at putting those species on the road to recovery, though as in the case of the bald eagle, recovery often takes decades, especially after long-term and severe declines.  Almost half of the species protected under the Act for more than seven years are stable or improving.  We continue to need the Endangered Species Act as more native species face serious threats like habitat loss every day.  Experts estimate that one third of our native species in the United States are at risk of extinction.

            “If we want the American bald eagle’s populations to remain healthy and strong, we must continue to protect them from habitat destruction, poisoning, and shooting.  The bald eagle will continue to be protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, both which will continue to prohibit the intentional killing of eagles and the disturbance of their nesting sites.  We are hopeful that the ongoing protection of these laws will ensure that eagles continue to thrive throughout the country.

            “Meanwhile, the Endangered Species Act is continuing to work to help us preserve our most at-risk wildlife and native plants.  Here in Colorado, the Endangered Species Act has helped us restore the lynx to our mountains and forests, and it is helping us keep thirty other critically imperiled native plants, fish, and animals from being lost forever.  The greatest legacy we can leave our children and grandchildren is a region rich with our native species, a nation where eagles fly free over the entire landscape, and an Endangered Species Act which remains a strong tool to help us achieve this vision.”

###