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Vance questions authority of US judges to challenge Trump; UAW contract negotiations at VW focus on higher wages, health care, retirement; Report highlights how Georgia can unlock rural infrastructure, broadband; Leftover fish parts could help keep industrial fishing waste low.

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The head of the new White House Faith Office draws scrutiny, Trump moves to fire the Federal Elections Commission chair, and a North Carolina judge won't toss tens of thousands of ballots in a state Supreme Court race.

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Medical debt, which tops $90 billion has an outsized impact on rural communities, a new photography book shares the story of 5,000 schools built for Black students between 1912 and 1937, and anti-hunger advocates champion SNAP.

Bald eagle gets official nod as Maine population soars

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Friday, December 27, 2024   

Mainers are celebrating the official designation of the bald eagle as America's national bird after helping in its recovery.

Once close to extinction, conservation efforts -- including private land donations for nesting habitats -- are credited with restoring the state's bald eagle population to more than 700 nesting pairs today.

Aimee Delach, senior policy analyst at Defenders of Wildlife, said the recognition was long overdue.

"There are almost 70 species of eagle across the world but the bald eagle is the only one that's found only in North America," Delach pointed out. "It really is our national bird, as far as its territory and range."

Delach acknowledged many people assumed the bald eagle was already the national bird but while it has been a symbol on the country's seal for centuries, it was never officially designated. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates roughly 300,000 bald eagles in the U.S. today.

State wildlife agencies began aerial surveys of bald eagle nests in the early 1970s as the bird's numbers plummeted. Scientists believed pesticides like DDT were working their way up the eagle's food chain in a process known as biomagnification. Delach said the pesticides interfered with the bald eagle's calcium levels, which made eggshells weak and less likely to hatch.

"A species like a bald eagle, which eats a lot of fish, they're essentially getting a dose from everything that those fish have eaten in their lifetimes. So, that biomagnification is why these pesticide issues show up worst in some of the 'top of the food chain' animals."

Delach said the federal government banned the use of DDT in 1972. One year later, Congress passed the Endangered Species Act and ever since, bald eagles have made major rebounds and are considered a premiere example of conservation success.

Disclosure: Defenders of Wildlife contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Endangered Species and Wildlife, Energy Policy, and Public Lands/Wilderness. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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