The article “Once endangered, bald eagle flourished at winter retreat” (Jan. 24) does not give credit where credit is due. The eagle has, in fact, been brought back from the brink of extinction, and Midwesterners are once again enjoying watching this national symbol in flocks.
The credit for the revival of the bald eagle should, at least in part, go to the implementation of the Endangered Species Act passed 20 years ago.
The ESA was passed in recognition that “various species have been rendered extinct as a consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation.”
While the act has helped to save hundreds of species, there is a backlog of more than 3,000 species waiting to be listed as threatened or endangered.
The first 20 years of the act set the course for species conservation, but the fate of thousands of species will be played out over the next two decades. We should recognize that a strengthened Endangered Species Act is our most effective, viable option for the continued preservation of all threatened species, and that this session of Congress should take appropriate action.
