Tag: DDT

Eagle

Bald Eagle Anniversary

Photo of a bald eagle flying into the sun.
Sweet Success!

Each year on or about this day I post a photo of a bald eagle to recognize and celebrate the fact that five years ago today the Fish & Wildlife Service announced that the bald eagle in the lower 48 States had recovered enough to be removed from the list of threatened and endangered species.  We almost lost it due to DDT and other persistent pesticides.   Thanks to Rachel Carson, the Endangered Species Act and other factors, the story of the bald eagle in the lower 48 was a story of success.  The same can be said for other species like the osprey, which was also hurt by DDT.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out that way.

Eagle

Bald Eagle Recovery Anniverary

Photo of a bald eagle soaring over Kachemak Bay, Alaska.
A bald eagle soars over Kachemak Bay.

Today is the fourth anniversary of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s announcement that the bald eagle had recovered and would be removed from the list of Threatened and Endangered Species.  It had been listed since 1967, first as an endangered species, and later as a threatened species.  The main reason for its listing was the wide-spread use of DDT which had caused thinning of egg shells.