In the 1960s, one of America’s most treasured and symbolic animals was declared an endangered species. The Bald Eagle, made our nation’s national animal in its founding days, was nearing extinction leading up to the 1970s thanks to its consumption of DDT. DDT was a pesticide widely used in crops to repel insects but inadvertently caused reproductive impairments for bald eagles and many other birds of prey. However, with the 1972 ban on DDT, bald eagles were given a new lease on life as they could safely eat their prey without causing damage to themselves (shown in the graph below with the increase in population after 1970). One of the main areas which saw a significant bounce back in population numbers was upstate New York in the Adirondack Park. Bald Eagles all but disappeared from the park in the 1960s due to their inability to reproduce and were presumed never to return. However, in 1976 the New York State Bald Eagle Restoration Project began. This project started three years after the ban on DDT and lasted up until 1989. Without this project, the bald eagle population would never have fully recovered in the northeast and served as an example for how to rejuvenate a species population efficiently and with minimal human interference.

In 1976, the restoration project began. Through a breeding process called hacking, meaning hand-rearing to independence, nearly 200 nestling bald eagles were introduced to the ADK region from Alaska over a 13-year time span. After these 13 years, the project had reached its goal of establishing ten breeding pairs and was able to transition into preservation and protection-based goals instead. Ultimately, this project was an overwhelming success bringing the population from near extinction in 1970 to 173 breeding partners in 2010, which produced 244 baby eagles that year. Every year since 1989, around 10% more baby eagles are born than the year before. This healthy and consistent rate represents the overall success of this project in saving one of the most majestic animals in the world. This project’s success cannot be overlooked either, as it led to creating one of the two regions in the lower 48 states that have breeding resident bald eagle populations. In the map below, in the upper portion of New York, the red shading represents a population of breeding resident bald eagles that only three other states can claim. The map highlights the importance and success of the project in creating a lasting and thriving environment to resurrect the bald eagle population when it was at its worst and allow it to spread to states across the US. Overall, the the ADK region was a perfect setting to bring back the bald eagle population due to the natural bald eagle habitats and rural, isolated setting away from human interference.

References:

“Bald Eagle.” Bald Eagle – NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation, https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/74052.html.

“Bald Eagle Restoration in New York, 1976 to 1989.” Bald Eagle Restoration in New York, 1976 to 1989 – NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation, https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/9380.html.

“Adirondack Bald Eagles: Facts, Photos, and Where to Find Them.” Adirondack.net, https://www.adirondack.net/wildlife/bald-eagles/.