Bald Eagle Recovery Efforts at Corps of Engineers Projects.

Abstract : The bald eagle appears to be recovering at a remarkable rate, following a long history of declining populations attributed to a variety of factors. The Corps has been instrumental in recovery efforts by managing breeding, nesting, and wintering eagle populations, as well as conducting public education and outreach activities. The USFWS has recently considered removing the bald eagle from protection of the Endangered Species Act because of the dramatic increase in the number of breeding pairs of eagles. However, the species will continue to be federally protected from harmful activities by such legislation as the Bald Eagle Protection Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Lacey Act, and other state and Federal legislation. Likewise, conservation measures that have been implemented to recover the bald eagle will continue, and bald eagle population status will be periodically reviewed through surveys and banding efforts (USFWS 1999). The direct role the Corps has played in contributing to the recovery of the bald eagle should provide an incentive to continue to participate in the recovery of other Federal and state-listed, or otherwise sensitive, species.