The bald eagle, a symbol of strength and freedom, has made an impressive comeback from near extinction. From the banning of DDT to conservation efforts, this national bird has soared back to a healthy population.
A bald eagle named Freedom perches on a branch at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, N.J., Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) A bald eagle named Freedom flies around its enclosure at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, N.J., Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) A bald eagle named Freedom perches on a branch at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, N.J., Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) FILE - A bald eagle rests on a tree next to Union Bay, Jan.
16, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File) An eagle, right, is seen in its nest with three eaglets in Princeton, N.J., on May 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) A bald eagle named Freedom perches on a branch at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, N.J., Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) A bald eagle named Freedom flies around its enclosure at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, N.J., Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) A bald eagle named Freedom perches on a branch at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, N.J., Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) A bald eagle named Freedom perches on a branch at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, N.J., Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) A bald eagle named Freedom perches on a branch at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, N.J., Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) A bald eagle named Freedom perches on a branch at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, N.J., Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) A bald eagle named Freedom perches on a branch at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, N.J., Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) A bald eagle named Freedom perches on a branch at the Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, N.J., Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)Along the long road from American icon to endangered species and back again, the bald eagle — the national bird of the United States, often seen against a clear blue sky — is having a moment. The eagles find themselves in an environmental updraft of sorts since the early 2000's, when the federal government took the thriving birds off its endangered species list with more states following suit. Culturally, too, the animals are soaring.making the raptor the country's national bird (thought that was already the case? More in a bit). This month, New Jersey became the latest state to delist the bald eagle as endangered, citing a remarkable comeback for the creatures associated with strength and independence — and that occupied just a single nest in the state decades ago. And to the chagrin or elation of football fans, the How did the storied birds find their way back? As with so many tales, it's complex.The story — there was a single nesting pair in New Jersey in the 1980s and roughly 300 now, for instance — centers on the banning of DDT, a chemical insecticide with environmental side effects that included thin-shelled eagle eggs. That touched off a cratering in the number of eagles across the country, and officials prohibited the pesticide in 1972. To rebuild the birds' numbers in their historic range across the country, conservationists imported birds from places where their populations were stable, including from Canada. Early on, they also removed eggs from nesting birds' nests, replacing them with artificial ones for the eagles to “incubate” while the real eggs were safely hatched outside the nest before being returned, as eaglets for their parents to raise according to Kathy Clark, the head of New Jersey's Endangered and Nongame Species Program. “They’re one of the few conservation success stories of animals that almost went extinct on our continent. And so I think now it’s really important to make sure people know that story and learn from it,” said Maia Edwards, the science director at the American Bald Eagle Foundation in Alaska
BALD EAGLE CONSERVATION DDT ENDANGERED SPECIES REBOUND WILDLIFE
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