The number of American Bald Eagles soared in 2019-2020, now growing to more than 71,400 nesting pairs and an estimated 316,700 individual birds in the lower 48 states.
The survey, undertaken by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, noted this finding showed a remarkable improvement. There are now 4.4 times the number of birds then there were in 2009, the last time the survey was conducted.
Although not involved with this success, Biden’s Interior secretary Deb Haaland nevertheless used her first press briefing to both make this positive announcement and attack her predecessor’s stewardship of protecting important species.
As reported by NBC News:
“Reiterating a pledge by President Joe Biden, Haaland said her department will review actions by the Trump administration ‘to undermine key provisions’ of the endangered species law. She did not offer specifics….”
The Bald Eagle, placed as the seal of the United States in 1782, declined in population rapidly during the first half of the 20th century. It’s low point came in 1963 when there were only 417 known pairs of the birds on the continental U.S. Since then, efforts to protect the bird have seen its numbers claw back to healthy levels. It was delisted as an “endangered” species in 2007 under President George W. Bush.
For more information, read the full FWS report here.