There are important lessons to be learned from the case of the bald eagle. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) – now under threat itself – is important, but as the bald eagle shows, we have to use all the tools available to us at the local, state, and national levels to protect endangered and threatened species.
The iconic bald eagle is considered a success story of the ESA, although the truth is a bit more complicated than that. Before the ESA was passed in 1973, the bald eagle was covered by preceding legislation such as the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940. Two other actions are considered crucial to the recovery of the bald eagle in the U.S.: the banning of the pesticide DDT in 1972 and the subsequent importing of eagles from Canada to the U.S. in the 1970s. Together, these protections and actions allowed the bald eagle to be removed from the list of endangered species.
Although the bald eagle still has some protections within the U.S., its delisting under the ESA does present some challenges; for example, prime bald eagle habitat can be developed on without facing legal challenge. Thus, we should not rest on our laurels too much, even for a success story like the bald eagle.
Moreover, at the national level, the ESA is under attack. As the New Yorker summarizes:
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