The bald eagle — America’s national symbol — is flying high after spending three decades in recovery. Since the 1970s, the government has worked hard to save the bald eagle, which was dying off because of habitat destruction, illegal shooting and contamination of its food source. It was first listed as endangered, then threatened, and now it’s off the list entirely. The species, once on the brink of extinction, has grown to 316,700 birds and 71,400 nesting pairs in the 2019 breeding season. U.S. officials say the strong return of American bald eagles is a reminder of the importance of federal conservation efforts and protections, such as banning the pesticide DDT. The bald eagle was declared the nation’s symbol back in 1782, but that didn’t keep Americans from regarding it as a predator, shooting it and destroying its eggs for most of the next two centuries. Today, we’ve learned to live with bald eagles, and they’ve learned to live with us.
