Jody Victor : Bald Eagles first came under the wing of specific protective legislation in 1940 with the edict of the United Stated Bald Eagle Act. The Act, together with Ontario's Game and Fish Act, helped to protect eagles from direct persecution. However, over the next 30 years, the effects of persistent chemical contaminants presented an unprecedented threat, particularly in heavily settled areas like the Great Lakes region.
In the early 1970s, faced with overwhelming scientific evidence, Canada and the United States restricted the use of DDT and tightened regulations for disposing of industrial chemicals. These actions, together with the development of endangered species legislation and assessment programs to monitor the status of endangered wildlife, protected the animals themselves and the habitat they need to survive. Ontario passed its Endangered Species Act in 1973.
Committees for the assessment of the status of species use a scientific approach to evaluate animal populations believed to be at risk. They also recommend recovery plans to protect and augment the populations. Each assessment is reviewed periodically and either re-instated or changed, depending on the status of the species.
In the United States, Bald Eagles are listed nationally as "Threatened" in the lower 48 states. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reviewing a proposal to change the designation. Without a protective designation, however, measures are needed to continue protection of the birds' nesting sites.
Canada's national assessment body, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, is known as COSEWIC. This group made its first designations in 1978. COSEWIC consists of distinguished scientists and wildlife managers from government and non-government positions, representing 20 member agencies. All provincial and territorial government wildlife agencies are represented, as well as four federal agencies: Canadian Wildlife Service, Parks Canada, Fisheries and Oceans, and the Canadian Museum of Nature.
Bald Eagles were considered "Endangered" at the national level from 1978 to 1984, when COSEWIC changed the designation to "Not at Risk Nationally". The more recent designation recognized the flourishing populations of eagles along Canada's west coast and in the northern boreal forests.
At the provincial level, Ontario continues to designate Bald Eagles as "Endangered" and protects the birds and their nest sites under the provincial Endangered Species Act, proclaimed in 1973. Currently, the province is reviewing this status in response to recent improvements in the Great Lakes population and the presence of apparently healthy populations on inland lakes.