Eagle Preening Early
by Randall Branham
Title
Eagle Preening Early
Artist
Randall Branham
Medium
Photograph - Photography / Art
Description
Bald eagles were officially declared an endangered species in 1967 in all areas of the United States south of the 40th parallel, under a law that preceded the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The Endangered Species Act was signed into law in 1973 by President Richard Nixon. This landmark legislation is regarded as one of the most comprehensive and important wildlife conservation laws in the world. Federal and state government agencies, along with private organizations, successfully sought to alert the public about the eagle's plight and to protect its habitat. On July 4, 1976, the US Fish and Wildlife Service officially listed the bald eagle as a national endangered species. Until 1995, the bald eagle had been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 43 of the 48 lower states, and listed as threatened in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Washington and Oregon. In July of 1995, the US Fish and Wildlife Service upgraded the status of bald eagles in the lower 48 states to threatened.
Only a handful of species have fought their way back from the United States' endangered species list; the California gray whale, the American alligator, and the bald eagle are a few. Once endangered in all of the lower 48 states, the bald eagle's status was upgraded to "threatened" in 1995, two decades after the banning of DDT and the passing of laws to protect both eagles and their nesting trees.
About half of North America's bald eagles live in Alaska; British Columbia and the US northwest coast is also a great stronghold. They flourish in these areas in part because of salmon (dead or dying fish are an important food source for all bald eagles).
Uploaded
July 18th, 2013
Embed
Share