Bald eagle on rise in S.D., and off endangered list
1:38 PM
Posted: Tuesday, January 16, 2007
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- South Dakota has been part of the resurgence of the bald eagle, which next month will be removed from the nation's list of threatened species.
The species has gone from 483 active nests in 1963 to more than 7,000 nests today, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Most experts attribute the increase to the banning of the pesticide DDT.
South Dakota has several dozen bald eagle nests each year and attracts hundreds of the birds to open water below the Missouri River dams in winter.
An aerial survey this month by the state Department of Game, Fish and Parks counted 144 bald eagles along the Missouri River between Sioux City, Iowa and Yankton. About 80 of them were on a single island at the mouth of the James River, said Spencer Vaa, a biologist for the department.
The species has gone from 483 active nests in 1963 to more than 7,000 nests today, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Most experts attribute the increase to the banning of the pesticide DDT.
South Dakota has several dozen bald eagle nests each year and attracts hundreds of the birds to open water below the Missouri River dams in winter.
An aerial survey this month by the state Department of Game, Fish and Parks counted 144 bald eagles along the Missouri River between Sioux City, Iowa and Yankton. About 80 of them were on a single island at the mouth of the James River, said Spencer Vaa, a biologist for the department.
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