The return of our national symbol, the bald eagle, is a victory for wildlife, a victory for conservation, and a victory for the Endangered Species Act. Without this Act, the eagle's recovery would not have happened. And yet, in the face of this success, Congress is trying to weaken this Act.

The bald eagle was at the brink of extinction, but in the 1970s, Americans took bold steps to protect it. At that time, there were only 417 nesting pairs left in the lower 48 states. Today, eagle numbers are strong with over 7,000 breeding pairs spread across the lower 48. This is thanks to the work of landowners, conservationists, business owners, scientists, federal, state and local agencies, and our champions in Congress.

In February 2006, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to declare the bald eagle "recovered" in the lower-48 states and to remove it from the list of threatened species protected by the Endangered Species Act. This shows how the Endangered Species Act can be so successful.