Bald eagle is set to lose 'threatened' tag

Protected since 1967 under the Endangered Species Act, the eagle may be delisted as soon as Thursday.

from the June 28, 2007 edition

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Under an updated FWS's regulatory definition, disturbing now includes any human activity that drives the eagle away from its nests. So developers whose operations drive the birds away will now fit the definition of "disturbing" and be subject to federal sanctions.

That new definition rankles Edmund Contoski, a Minnesota developer, who, now that the eagle is to be delisted from the ESA, has his sights set on building a subdivision on property abutting the shore of Sullivan Lake in Minnesota. It was Mr. Contoski's successful federal lawsuit and court order that nudged the FWS toward delisting the eagle after an eight year-long delay.

Now his attorney says he'll sue again if the updated eagle protection act prevents him building on Sullivan Lake.

"It makes no sense why the wildlife service would afford the same level of protection before, as after the delisting," says Damien Schiff, a staff attorney for the Sacramento-based Pacific Legal Foundation, a property-rights advocacy group. "If the eagle is delisted, there should be some reduction in regulations. But the way the regulation has been drafted and finalized, we believe the protections will remain essentially the same."

That legal threat aimed at eagle habitat has some eagle watchers concerned. While eagle populations are up overall, some states now are seeing eagle numbers level off.

In Florida, where development pressures are intense, eagle populations have been flat with about 1,100 pairs for five years, because they have saturated their available habitat. Something similar is also happening in Washington state. And in a few areas, such as Vermont, eagles still aren't soaring.

"We want to make sure the eagle population stays stable and healthy now that it's recovered to an appropriate level," says Mike Dalton, director of conservation policy at the National Audubon Society in Washington. "The problem is that bald eagles like waterfronts, rivers, streams, and beaches that are popular for development. We need to make sure we don't sacrifice all the bald eagle habitat now that we're seeing their numbers recover."

While some question whether it was the act, or banning DDT, that saved the eagle, others say the eagle's success may be a harbinger of other wildlife recovery success stories. Among ESA listed species, 92 percent have seen populations increase or remain stable since going on the list, the Center for Biological Diversity reports.

"We hope and expect that the eagle's success is just a hint of things to come," Suckling says.

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