Facts about Bald Eagle Recovery in North America
- 05
Federal protection under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940 made it illegal to kill, sell, or possess bald eagles, providing a legal foundation for their recovery.
- 04
Bald eagle populations in the contiguous United States have grown to well over 300,000 individuals today, representing one of conservation's most celebrated wildlife recoveries.
- 03
Captive breeding programs, including efforts at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland, helped restore bald eagle populations to regions where they had been locally extirpated.
- 02
DDT was a primary driver of bald eagle decline, causing eggshell thinning that crushed embryos, and its 1972 ban was critical to the species' recovery.
- 01
The bald eagle was removed from the US Endangered Species List in 2007 after its population rebounded from fewer than 500 nesting pairs in the 1960s to tens of thousands.