Bald Eagle To Come Off Endangered List

December 27th, 2006

Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has confirmed that the bald eagle will be officially taken off the endangered species list in February.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has confirmed that the bald eagle will be officially taken off the endangered species list in February.

The delisting, supported by mainstream environmental groups, would represent a formal declaration that the eagle population has sufficiently rebounded, increasing more than 15-fold since its 1963 low-point to more than 7,000 nesting pairs.

February 16th is the scheduled date, said Marshall Jones, deputy director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "We'll be clear so people won't think, 'It's open season on bald eagles.'"

Jones said two earlier laws would ensure the eagle's numbers are protected while maintaining respect for property rights.

"It's not as though we're pulling away the Endangered Species Act and you have nothing else," said John Kostyak, senior counsel at the National Wildlife Federation, which has expressed support for the delisting.