Bald eagle populations are rising from the brink of extinction. Here's how Michigan helped lead....

Bald eagle populations are rising from the brink of extinction. Here’s how Michigan helped lead the way.
We were the first state to ban a pesticide that affected eagle’s ability to reproduce in the 1960s, years before the rest of the country caught on

By Randiah Camille Green on Fri, Aug 18, 2023 at 6:00 am


Evan Deutsch/ Detroit Audubon Courtesy photo
A Bald Eagle spotted on Belle Isle.


(Detroit Metro Times) If you’ve done any hiking around Belle Isle in the past few years, you’ve likely seen the pair of bald eagles nesting on the island. This used to be a rare sight as these majestic birds were once on the brink of extinction, but they’ve since seen a comeback across the U.S. thanks, in part, to Michigan scientists.

The state led the charge on banning a pesticide called DDT that was decimating eagle eggs in 1969. The rest of the country followed suit in 1972.

The most recent statewide survey released by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources recorded 900 bald eagle breeding pairs in the state in 2019. In 2000, Michigan only had 359 pairs, and that number was as low as 83 in 1980.

The bald eagle population in the U.S. reached an all-time low of 417 nesting pairs across the lower 48 states in 1963, and the species was considered endangered. Luckily, researchers at the University of Michigan discovered that DDT, or dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane, was thinning eagle eggshells so badly they had almost no chance of survival. ................(more)

https://www.metrotimes.com/arts/bald-eagle-populations-are-rising-from-the-brink-of-extinction-heres-how-michigan-helped-lead-the-way-33887520