Bald Eagle Soars Off Endangered Species List VIDEO

Army Efforts Contribute to Removal of Bald Eagle from Endangered Species List. Jun 28, 2007, BY Robert DiMichele High Resolution Image ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. (Army News Service, June 28, 2007) - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today the removal of the bald eagle from the list of threatened and endangered species.

Video Features

• Bald Eagles - Soaring Once Again
• Public Domain Footage of Bald Eagle
• Bald Eagle Delisting Ceremony Highlights

The action, called a delisting, comes about because the nation's symbol has recovered to the point that it no longer needs protection afforded by the Endangered Species Act. It will become effective July 28, 30 days after publication of the final rule in the Federal Register.

Army environmental stewardship efforts played an important role in bringing the bald eagle back from the brink of extinction, according to Michael Dette, chief of natural resources at the U.S. Army Environmental Command.

Fifty-eight Army installations report bald eagles living on or near its properties. In fact, the bald eagle has been the most common threatened or endangered species reported on Army installations.

The species rebounded in the last 40 years, largely due to the government's banning of DDT in 1972 and the protections provided by listing the bald eagles the Endangered Species Act. Based on the most recent population figures, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates there are at least 9,789 nesting pairs of bald eagles in the contiguous United States.

"Removing the bald eagle, the symbol of our country, from the list of threatened and endangered species is a great environmental triumph. It provides a tangible example of how far our nation and its military have progressed as environmental stewards," said Col. Michael P. O'Keefe, commander of the U.S. Army Environmental Command.

Army installations apply a number of different natural resource-management practices to protect the bald eagle and its habitat, according to Mr. Dette. Typically, garrison staffs work to maintain and improve forested habitat for both breeding and non-breeding eagles, minimize human disturbance in nesting and wintering areas, maintain and improve the availability and quality of food supplies, and minimize direct hazards to bald eagles. Installations identify special management areas around eagle nests, and evaluate proposed activities within these areas for impacts on the bald eagle population.

For example, on some installations, forest management, harvest and thinning activities are limited to mid-July through mid-December to prevent disruptions to nesting eagles. Army forest-management practices, such as timber rotation and the retention of snags, also improve eagle-nesting habitat.

In addition, Army wildlife specialists pay special attention to the potential for electrocution or collisions with power or communication lines, installing deflectors, avoidance devices, insulators or perch guards where there is a risk to eagles.

"Bald eagles thrive on our installations because of decades of sound stewardship practiced by Army Soldiers and Civilians. This success story highlights just one of many innovative and diligent efforts going on every day to sustain our precious natural resources," Col. O'Keefe said.

The Army successfully protects more than 170 threatened and endangered species on its installations, to include the red cockaded woodpecker and the gray wolf. The Army and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service celebrated the recovery of the red cockaded woodpecker population on Fort Bragg last summer, five years ahead of schedule.

While the bald eagle has been removed from the list of threatened and endangered species, it will continue to be managed under both the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. On June 5, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service opened a 90-day public comment period on a proposal to create a permit program to authorize limited "take," or accidental killing or injury, of bald and golden eagles where the take is associated with, and not the purpose of, otherwise lawful activities.

When America formally adopted the bald eagle as the national symbol in 1782, as many as 100,000 nested in what would become the lower 48 states. By 1963, though, only 417 nesting pairs remained and the species was in danger of extinction. Loss of habitat, shooting for feathers and poisoning by the pesticide DDT all contributed to its near extinction.

(Robert DiMichele writes for the U.S. Army Environmental Command.)

Related

• Service's Bald Eagle Website
• PDF National Bald Eagle Management Guidelines

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Admiral Mike Mullen Biography

Admiral Mike Mullen Chief of Naval Operations A native of Los Angeles, Admiral Mullen graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1968. He has served in Allied, Joint and Navy positions, overseas and in both the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets.

As a junior officer, he served in various leadership positions aboard USS Collett (DD 730), USS Blandy (DD 943), USS Fox (CG 33) and USS Sterrett (CG 31). Adm. Mullen commanded three ships: USS Noxubee (AOG 56), USS Goldsborough (DDG 20), and USS Yorktown (CG 48). As a Flag Officer, he commanded Cruiser-Destroyer Group Two and the George Washington Battle Group. Adm. Mullen's last command at sea was as Commander, U.S. Second Fleet/Commander, NATO Striking Fleet Atlantic.

Ashore, Adm. Mullen served as Company Officer and Executive Assistant to the Commandant of Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy. He also served in the Bureau of Naval Personnel as Director, Surface Officer Distribution and in the Office of the Secretary of Defense on the staff of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation. On the Chief of Naval Operations' staff, Adm. Mullen served as Deputy Director and Director of Surface Warfare; Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Resources, Requirements, and Assessments (N8); and as the 32nd Vice Chief of Naval Operations.

Adm. Mullen graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., with a Master of Science degree in Operations Research. He is also a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.

Adm. Mullen's last operational assignment was Commander, Joint Force Command Naples/Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe. Based in Naples, Italy, he had operational responsibility for NATO missions in the Balkans, Iraq, and the Mediterranean as well as providing overall command, operational control, and coordination of U.S. naval forces in the European Command area of responsibility.

Admiral Mullen became the 28th Chief of Naval Operations on July 22, 2005.

On June 8, 2007, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced that he would advise President George W. Bush to nominate Admiral Mullen to replace current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Peter Pace. Pace's term will expire on September 30, 2007.[1] If approved, Mullen will become the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to have been born after the conclusion of WWII.

Admiral Mullen has two sons, Michael and John.

QUOTES:

• "Without mastery of the sea -- without Sea Power -- we cannot protect trade, we cannot help those in peril, we cannot provide relief from natural disaster, and we cannot intercede when whole societies are torn asunder by slavery, weapons of mass destruction, drugs, and piracy. Without sea power we cannot hope -- the world cannot hope -- to achieve what President Bush has called 'a balance of power that favors freedom." (To the Current Strategy Forum, 31 August 2005 at the Naval War College Newport, R.I.).
• "The Navy is first and foremost a fighting, sea-going service — always has been. The weapons and technology change. The ships, aircraft, and submarines certainly improve over time, but the job remains the same: to take the fight to the enemy so that he cannot take it to us." (From All Ahead Full — Message to the men and women of the United States Navy, 23 July 2005).
• "Today the Navy grants me yet another great opportunity, and I intend to make good on my obligation in return. Listen. Learn. And lead. Those will be my watchwords these next four years — a challenge to myself and to all of you."

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article, Michael Mullen, and Public Domain material from US Navy Biographies - ADMIRAL MIKE MULLEN

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