Bald eagles and ospreys have made such a promising comeback in New Jersey over the last four decades that the state proposed earlier this year delisting the animals from its endangered species register.
Gov. Phil Murphy made the announcement in June, but conservationists were more cautious, The Two River Times reported. The bald eagle is still in danger from lead poisoning and habitat destruction, for instance.
"There are so many threats to these birds, even among the great conservation success. … We want to make sure that any [legislative] changes don't put them in jeopardy once again," American Littoral Society Assistant Director Lindsay McNamara said, per The Two River Times. "And so we're recommending downlisting the osprey and bald eagles, but not removing them from the list entirely."
In the 1970s and 1980s, the Garden State was home to just one bald eagle nest and 50 osprey nests, according to the Times. Last year, there were 267 nesting pairs of bald eagles and 800 osprey nests in the state.
This shows that humans can walk back the environmental damage they cause. The near extinction of the bald eagle and other birds was largely the result of the use of the insecticide DDT. The toxic chemical became abundant in the food chain, accumulating in fish and the creatures that relied on them to survive. Bald eagles and ospreys then had difficulty producing viable eggs, risking their continued existence. DDT was banned in 1972, and efforts were made around the country to support birds of prey by erecting nesting platforms, for example.
The bald eagle was removed from the federal endangered species list in 2007. It also made headlines this year in Georgia, where 178 eaglets were documented.
The national symbol of the United States, the bald eagle's ability to thrive would be heartening to every American.
"The recovery of these species from near extirpation during the 1980s in New Jersey is a dramatic example of what is possible when regulations, science, and public commitment come together for a common purpose," said David Golden, assistant commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Division of Fish and Wildlife. "With focused attention on other species of greatest conservation need, future recovery success stories are also possible."
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