Pure Michigan uses this stunning shot of a flying eagle in state tourism promotion. EPA EAGLES SOAR: National Bird Thrives on Chemical Ban, Habitat Protection
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Some might call eagles EPA birds.
Here's why.
From 487 nesting pairs nationwide in 1963 to 750 pairs in Michigan alone now, it's clear bald eagles have made a comeback.
When America adopted the bald eagle as the national symbol in 1782, the country may have had as many as 100,000 nesting eagles. Some estimates range as high as 300,000 to 500,000.
The first major decline of the species probably began in the mid to late 1800's, coinciding with the overall decline of waterfowl, shorebirds, and other prey.
The effort to save the eagles actually goes back about 75 years. Congress passed the Bald Eagle Protection Act in 1940 as the population was in decline due to indiscriminate killing, habitat destruction and water pollution. That act protects eagles today.
Wildlife experts say the eagles are thriving, finally, after all these years, because of chemical bans and habitat protection.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that now there are at least 9,789 nesting pairs of bald eagles in the contiguous United States. Bald eagles have staged a remarkable population rebound and have recovered to the point that they no longer need the protection of the Endangered Species Act.
America's national bird is soaring in numbers in Michigan and finding Bay County a favorite nesting place, as anyone who notices the wildlife around the area can see.
Distinguished by a white head and white tail feathers, bald eagles are powerful, brown birds that may weigh 14 pounds and have a wingspan of 8 feet. Male eagles are smaller, weighing as much as 10 pounds and have a wingspan of 6 feet.
Consumers Energy's eagle habitat plan around its dams and hydro facilities in northeastern Michigan also has helped the eagles come back, the company says.
Consumers Energy, Michigan's largest utility, is the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS), providing natural gas and electricity to 6.6 million of the state's 10 million residents in all 68 Lower Peninsula counties.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that in 1963 only 487 nesting pairs of eagles remained in the 48 contiguous states. A significant number of the survivors in Michigan were found on inland lakes and hydro reservoirs in the northern lower part of the state and the Upper Peninsula.
Then came waves of public reaction to Rachel Carson's 1962 book "Silent Spring," creating a new awareness of the dangers of chemicals in the environment.
Legislators quickly jumped to pass new laws banning pesticides, actions unheard of previously.
The book documented the detrimental effects on the environment -- particularly on birds -- of the widespread use of synthetic pesticides. Carson accused the chemical industry of spreading disinformation and public officials of accepting industry claims unquestioningly.
Silent Spring, a blockbuster book roundly criticized by chemical companies and the lobbyists and legislators in their thrall, spurred a new look at national pesticide policy. The nationwide ban on DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) for agricultural uses resulted, but not until 10 years after Silent Spring's release.
An environmental movement arose that led to the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Even today, in some political circles, the EPA is subject to scorn.
But the proof that the agency's actions have worked to the benefit of the nation's precious wildlife is in the skies, soaring high and coming down to nest and procreate.
In Bay County, eagles now are prominent around the mouth of the Saginaw River and in trees along the shore of Saginaw Bay, whereas even a few years ago it was rare to see one.
Bald eagles nest statewide in Michigan, Tom Cooley, wildlife pathologist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, said. The birds in Michigan -- and in the rest of the nation -- were on the brink of extinction in the 1950s and early 1960s, mostly due to chemicals such as PCBs and DDT in pesticides.
However, in the late 1960s researchers discovered the source of the problem and chemical bans and species protection laws allowed the bird to slowly made a comeback.
However, eagles still are affected with chemicals, Scientific America reported recently. Tests at the University of Michigan have shown that dead eagles have high concentrations of flame retardants in their livers.
Nil Basu, an associate professor at McGill University who led a study while at the U-M, said companies in the 1970s started putting polybrominated diphenyl ethers, PBDEs, into furniture cushions, electronics and clothing in an effort to slow the spread of flames if they catch fire.
The chemicals quickly built up in people and the environment. PBDEs have been found in air, dirt and people in virtually every corner of the globe, including the Great Lakes region.
The compounds can leach out of products they were used in and persist in the environment. Eagles are exposed through eating contaminated fish, but the chemicals also can enter landfills, latch onto dust and be inhaled, or be licked off the feathers, Basu said. Starting in the early 2000s, phase-outs of flame retardant PBDEs began.
Conservation really pays off, wildlife experts note. Michigan's eagle population is strong and has been going up, according to Cooley. "We have about 750 active nests throughout the state," he said.
Beneficial habitat created by Consumers Energy dams has helped bald eagles in 2014 reach the record number of breeding pairs in Michigan, the utility reports.
"Many of the eagles soaring over Michigan today trace their roots to eagles that nested near Tippy Dam and other hydro facilities Consumers Energy operates along the Manistee, Au Sable and Muskegon rivers," said Gary Dawson, director of land and water policy at Consumers.
The dams create backwater habitat where eagles can find secluded nesting sites and plenty of fish that are safe for them to eat.
The areas around hydro reservoirs provided critical bald eagle refuges when chemicals such as PCB and DDT, banned in the 1970s, severely reduced the eagle population across Michigan and the continental U.S. That's because dams block toxins transported by migrating Great Lakes fish from affecting eagles foraging above the dams.
Eagles feeding above the dams, where fish were up to a hundred times less contaminated than fish below the dams, were able to produce young. A bald eagle diet is 90 percent fish.
After the chemical bans, offspring of the eagles that had persisted around hydro facilities were able to spread to other areas of the state and set up breeding territories.
Bald eagles have fledged 270 young around Consumers Energy hydros since 1994 when the company implemented a bald eagle management plan, part of an agreement with regulators to operate river hydro generating facilities.
"Hydro facilities remain important eagle breeding areas today. While contaminants in fish below the dams have declined substantially over the last two decades, PCB concentrations still exceed EPA's standard for the protection of eagles and other sensitive wildlife," Dawson said. "We are at the midway point in our 40-year bald eagle management plan, and the birds have responded spectacularly."
The 750 bald eagle breeding pairs in Michigan estimated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the highest number since their census has been taken, and they are now commonly seen throughout the Great Lakes State.
"The recovery is ongoing," Dawson said. "Michigan will likely see a new record high number of eagles next year."
Highlights of Consumers Energy's bald eagle management plan include:
Protecting old growth white pines;
Establishing a protection zone to minimize disturbance for each nest;
Protecting the eagles' food supply
Contributing to eagle productivity census flights;
Successfully exceeding productivity goal of 1.0 eagles fledged per nest;
Successfully added new breeding territories which has increased annual eagle productivity on the hydros by more than 50 percent;
Established eagle territory at Hardy impoundment where none had existed;
Increased breeding territories at Cooke, Loud, Mio, and Tippy hydros.
Bald eagles were removed from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in 2007. ###
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"The BUZZ" - Read Feedback From Readers! |
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tennis1960 Says:
On March 15, 2015
at 05:09 PM
Mr Rogers, again you find yet another way to captivate your readers. I have been to this area (listed below) that is strictly dedicated to the preservation of the american eagle. I was all of the politicians would travel to these site because it may just"Turn on the light switch" to read and understand the constitution and start doing what it was intended to do. That is the preservation of liberty and the freedoms we all should have. If you can fix an eagle then the rest should be a piece of cake right ???. Good job Dad.
PLUM ISLAND EAGLE SANCTUARY In March 2004, the Society acquired Plum Island, a 45-acre island across from Starved Rock State Park in the Illinois River. The island had been threatened by a series of plans for residential and commercial development. A three-year struggle to save it ended successfully due to a generous grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation. Bald eagles use the island as a wintering site, perching in the trees and flying forth over the river to feed at the nearby lock and dam. The Society wanted to save the island not only for eagles, but to preserve the scenic view from atop Starved Rock, and to protect the Native American archaeological sites which are there. |
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jahr2d2 Says:
On March 16, 2015
at 09:43 AM
I was traveling on a two lane highway in the UP and came upon a bald eagle eating road kill of a deer that had probably been hit by a truck. I got out to look at him and he flew to a nearby tree. I promptly got back in my car and watched him return to his road kill. This proves to me that this could be the other 10% of their diet.
They are a beautiful creature. Near us in Bay City, a bald eagle was on the dock at the Saginaw Bay Yacht Club looking for fish. I heard they have a nest across the river near Bay Harbor Marina. |
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ilanoeliezel1992 Says:
On March 05, 2016
at 10:39 AM
Great Article. blog post - I was enlightened by the insight - Does anyone know if I might be able to locate a sample IRS 1099-PATR copy to complete ?
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Dave Rogers |
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