Originally Posted By: Rookhawk
Bald eagle recovery, most likely reasons:

1. Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1969 banned their slaughter, made prison a consequence of harming them.

2. DDT ban in USA reduced the egg shell thinning issues that made for more successful clutches.

3. Increased domestication over time encouraged more urbanized breeding opportunities that opened up further prey bases / habitats. (e.g. Chicago River Basin, Adjacent to freeways throughout the nation, etc.)

4. Lead ban of 1991 for waterfowl? I don't know about that one way or the other. I'd need data on the number of lead toxicity cases in relation to the population at large from pre-1991 reconciled against data from today. Brent may be correct that the ban reduced mortality but I don't have the data.


Finally someone who knows what they are talking about. The only numbers that matter about the bald eagle are these right here:

http://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/population/chtofprs.html

The ban in 1991 had no affect on the rate of increase in the population, in fact the percentage of gain actually starts going down by the 90's. I keep pounding this point, because the waterfowl lead ban affecting bald eagle recovery is constantly used by the uninformed, or intentionally mis-leading anti-lead activists to further their cause.

“I left long before daylight, alone but not lonely.”~Gordon Macquarrie