
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, April 24, 1994                   TAG: 9404240086
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: D-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: associated press
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

FACTS ABOUT THE BALD EAGLE

The bald eagle is the only eagle unique to North America, and is found throughout the continent. Its largest concentrations are in Canada and Alaska.

The eagle is listed as endangered in 43 states, including all of the continental United States except Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin. The eagle is listed as threatened - a less serious status - in those states.

It is not listed at all in Hawaii, where it is not a native species, nor Alaska, where it remains abundant.

Wildlife experts have estimated that there may have been 25,000 to 75,000 bald eagles in the continental United States in 1782, when the eagle was chosen as the national symbol. However, other experts say these figures are based on no reliable data and are worthless.

The National Audubon Society estimated the number of adult nesting eagles in the continental United States at fewer than 850 in 1963. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated the number at fewer than 1,600 in 1974 and 2,400 in 1980.

Today, the Fish and Wildlife Service estimates the number of adult nesting birds at more than 7,000. The agency is expected to announce soon that it intends to change the eagle's status from endangered to threatened. - Associated Press

by CNB