The two main categories on the list created by the Endangered Species Act are threatened and endangered. Bald Eagles were listed as endangered in 43 of the 48 lower states. They were listed as threatened in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Washington, and Oregon. Bald Eagles are not found in Hawaii. In Alaska the number of birds had gone down, but the population was still considered healthy.

At the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland, scientists had in captivity the largest number of breeding Bald Eagle pairs. When the eggs were laid they would be taken and incubated artificially. Since they were taken right away, the birds would lay a second set of eggs. The birds would then incubate the second set. The ability to lay a second set of eggs is an adaptation many birds have in case the original set of eggs fall out of the nest, the nest falls, or the eggs are eaten by another animal.

The scientists at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center hatched 124 Bald Eagles and released them into the wild. The program ended in 1988, because Bald Eagles were having more success with population growth in the wild.

Eagle "Adoption"

Another method used to increase the number of Bald Eagles requires scientists to find nests with more than two eggs. It is very rare that more than two eaglets will survive; so the third, and on a rare occasion the fourth, eggs are removed and placed in the nest of Bald Eagles whose eggs did not hatch or who did not lay any eggs. The new parents take over and the additional eggs are fine.

Hacking

There is one last main method that is used to get pairs of Bald Eagles established in areas that have few or no eagle pairs. Scientists will build a tower in a forest where they would like Bald Eagles to make a home. When captive born eaglets are 8 weeks old, they are put on this tower. The tower is covered with an enclosure that lets the eagles survey everything around them.

The eaglets are fed by humans, but the humans stay out of sight so the eaglets do not associate the human as their source of food. When the birds start getting restless and are exercising their wings a lot, the enclosure is opened and they are free to go. Scientists have found that hunting is instinctual for Bald Eagles, so with a little bit of practice the fledglings are fine. This method is called hacking, and was adopted for use in increasing Bald Eagle populations from falconry.

What are the results of these methods?  Let's check the figures ...   Between 1984 and 1994, the number of Bald Eagle pairs that scientists knew about in the Pacific Northwest increased from under 500 to almost 1,200. One fourth of all the breeding pairs of Bald Eagles in the lower 48 states live in the Pacific Northwest.   In 1988, it was estimated that there were over 2,000 pairs of Bald Eagles that were breeding. By 1993, the number passed 4,000!  In 1995, Bald Eagles had their status changed from endangered to threatened in all but three states located in the desert southwest area.

As scientists have been working on different methods to help the Bald Eagle population grow, they have also been working on preserving habitat for the Bald Eagles. The Chilkat River in southeastern Alaska is an example of a preserved habitat that attracts eagles.  Each winter thousands of Bald Eagles gather there.  The river is located in such a way that it seldom freezes, so the eagles enjoy easy fishing through out the winter season. 

In 1982, the name of the area was officially called the Alaska Chilkat Eagle Preserve. Each winter the United States Fish and Wildlife Service allows a certain number of people in to see the thousands of birds that have gathered.

Hey, what about Indiana?

Here in Indiana, the Division of Fish and Wildlife has been working to increase the number of Bald Eagles in the state. In 1985, they started a program that lasted for four years. The main part of the program was the release of 73 bald eagles from Lake Monroe in Monroe County. The birds that were released at Lake Monroe had orange bands put on a leg to show they came from that release site.

In 1997, scientists from the Division of Fish and Wildlife found 15 active Bald Eagle nests, 9 of which had eggs that hatched. The eggs in those nine nests produced 13 eaglets that fledged. All of the eaglets were banded. Most Bald Eagles in Indiana live in the southwest, south-central and west-central parts of the state, but their range is expanding.