Photo Credits:

1) Two Bald Eagles sit on an ice floe in the Connecticut River near Essex. Photo by Mark Yuknat.

2) On February 3, 2007, during one of Connecticut Audubon Society's EcoTravel "Eagle Viewing Boat Trips," a participant took
this photo of two bald Eagles and their nest, near Essex. Photo by Mathias Kohring.

3) Educator and wildlife rehabilitator Tom Ricardi introduces one of his non-releasable Bald Eagles to a standing-room-only audience
at Connecticut Audubon Society's 2007 Eagle Festival™. Photo by Don Crockett, The Virtual Birder®, www.virtualbirder.com

ARTICLE:

Bald Eagle Removed From the Federal Endangered Species List

By Julie Victoria, Wildlife Biologist, Wildlife Diversity Program,

Franklin Swamp Wildlife Management Area,
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection
Published July 26, 2007

On June 9, 2007 the Federal Register announced the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) removal of the Bald Eagle from the federal list of endangered and threatened wildlife, which will become effective August 8, 2007.

The Fall and Rise of the Bald Eagle

When adopted as our national symbol in 1782, an estimated 100,000 pairs of Bald Eagles were breeding in the continental Unites States. The Bald Eagle was a regular nester in Connecticut through the early 1900s, though the numbers of pairs are not known.

Bald Eagles declined throughout the United States due to human disturbance at nest sites; the loss of waterside habitat due to human occupation; the loss of nesting trees; intentional shooting by poachers; illegal trapping; and the contamination of food sources, especially by organochlorine pesticides. By 1963 only 417 nesting pairs were found in the lower 48 states. In 1978, the Bald Eagle was listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act.

In Connecticut, the last documented nesting occurred on the Connecticut River in Middlesex County in the late 1950s. The rapid decline is directly attributed to the effects of pesticides, particularly DDT, on breeding populations. The most significant factor in the recovery of the Bald Eagle was the restriction placed on the use of organochlorine pesticides. The use of DDT was banned in the United States in 1972.

Recovery and Reclassification

As with the Peregrine Falcon, successful re-introduction programs using captive-bred birds have helped restore small breeding populations along the East Coast. Five Bald Eagle Recovery Plans were developed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) in the 1980s covering different geographic areas. Connecticut was included in the Northern States Bald Eagle Recovery Plan – which recommended habitat protection, public education, and stepped-up enforcement of shooting violations and nest disturbance, among other things -- with a goal of reaching 10 nesting pairs annually in Connecticut by the year 2000.

On July 12, 1995 the Bald Eagle was re-classified by the USFWS from an “endangered” species to a “threatened” species throughout the lower 48 States. On July 6, 1999 the USFWS proposed the Bald Eagle for de-listing due to population recovery. The recovery goals have either been met or exceeded on a range-wide basis for this species. The USFWS decision concluded that since the species has increased substantially in number, this overcomes any shortfall in meeting local recovery goals. The USFWS believed that the intent of the recovery objectives had been satisfied and that recovery of the Bald Eagle in the United States is sufficiently established.

Status in Connecticut

While Connecticut has not participated in any re-introduction programs, we have benefited from our neighbors’ efforts. In 1992 a Bald Eagle pair successfully nested on private water company land in Litchfield County and produced two chicks. Leg bands revealed that these birds came from a re-introduction project in Massachusetts sponsored by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. This pair produced one chick in 1993, 1995, 1997, 2004 and 2007, and 2 chicks in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2005 and 2006. (The pair was unsuccessful in 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003.) At approximately 6 weeks of age, each chick was fitted with a black aluminum USFWS band on one leg and a black band with silver letters and numbers on the other leg. The letters and numbers on the colored band can be identified through a spotting scope, which helps biologists track the movements of these young Bald Eagles after they leave the area.

It was five years before a second pair of Bald Eagles successfully nested in Connecticut. This time they built a nest on the upper Connecticut River (Hartford County). This pair produced 2 chicks in 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007, and fledged 1 chick in 2000 and produced 1 chick that died before fledging in 2006. (The pair was unsuccessful in 1999 and 2001.)

Other Bald Eagle pairs have been observed “housekeeping” in Connecticut. A pair was observed in 1996 in Hartford; in 2000 two pairs were observed on the upper Connecticut River; and in 2007 one pair was observed in Tolland County.

A third pair chose the Housatonic River (New Haven County) and produced and fledged a chick in 2001 and has not been successful since.

A fourth pair on the upper Connecticut River (Hartford County) produced 2 chicks in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007, and failed in 2002 and 2004.

A fifth pair on the lower Connecticut River (New London County) produced 2 chicks in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006, 3 chicks in 2003, and produced 2 chicks that died before fledging in 2007.

A sixth pair selected another piece of private water company property in Litchfield County and produced 1 chick in 2003, 2 chicks in 2006, and failed in 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2007.

A seventh pair built a nest in the middle of the Connecticut River (Middlesex County) and produced 1 chick in 2002, 2003 and 2007, 2 chicks in 2005, and failed in 2004 and 2006.

An eighth pair on the Connecticut River (Hartford County) failed in 2002, produced 1 chick in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007, and 2 chicks in 2004.

A ninth pair on the Connecticut River (Middlesex County) produced 2 chicks in 2005 and 2007, and 3 chicks in 2006.

A tenth pair on the lower Connecticut River (New London County) produced 1 chick in 2005 and 2007 and failed in 2006.

An eleventh pair on the Quinnipiac River (New Haven County) produced 2 chicks in 2007.
 

A twelfth pair on the Naugatuck River (New Haven County) produced 2 chicks in 2007.

A thirteenth pair on the Connecticut River (Hartford County) produced 1 chick in 2007.

A fourteenth pair on the lower Connecticut River (New London County) failed in 2007.

Bald Eagle Still an Endangered Species in Connecticut

Due to the slower recovery of the Bald Eagle population in Connecticut, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection’s (CT DEP) Wildlife Division recommended that the USFWS extend the proposed five-year post-listing monitoring plan – which is required for species that are de-listed due to recovery -- to 15 years. Because Bald Eagles are such a long-lived species (both males and females can live 15-20 years in the wild), any declines in the numeric increases exhibited today may take that long to be detected. The CT DEP Wildlife Division also encouraged the USFWS to consider establishing minimum criteria to activate re-listing should declining numbers or declining reproduction be detected. However, the USFWS set the post-listing monitoring guidelines at five years with a re-evaluation at the end of that time.

In 1999, the federal de-listing process did not consider the need to protect available suitable habitat for this habitat-sensitive species under the Endangered Species Act. At a time when the human population is increasing at a rapid rate throughout the U.S., it was to be the responsibility of each of the 48 States to monitor their Bald Eagle populations and to continue the conservation programs. Listening to scientists and eagle advocates, the USFWS recently promulgated wording in the Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle Act of 1940 to protect nesting habitat and to clarify the definition of “disturb.” The Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940 and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 will now be the primary federal laws protecting Bald Eagles.

Even though the Bald Eagle was de-listed from the federal endangered species list, the species is still listed in Connecticut as a state endangered species. And as long as the species satisfies the criteria for state listing, it will remain a Connecticut endangered species. 

For more information about the Bald Eagle and CT DEP's Wildlife Management Programs, click here or visit

http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2723&q=325972&depNav_GID=1655.