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Image Courtesy of USFWS
January 8, 2025
New Jersey Bald Eagle Announcement Reason for Conservation Celebration
The new year is starting off right away with great news in New Jersey and it’s something all Americans – especially outdoorsmen and women conservationists, hunters and recreational target shooters – can and should celebrate, not just in the Garden State.
The bald eagle population has rebounded from the brink so much in New Jersey that the state’s department of environmental protection announced it was removing the raptor from the state’s own protected endangered species list.
“The status of the bald eagle has changed from endangered to special concern…based on determinations by New Jersey DEP (NJDEP) Fish & Wildlife that the populations of these birds have recovered to the point at which their survival in the state is no longer in jeopardy,” the announcement stated.
The welcomed announcement in New Jersey overlaps with a tremendous effort by sportsmen and women over the past year, during which firearm and ammunition manufacturers topped $17 billion in excise tax contributions to the Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund since its inception in 1937. When adjusted for inflation, the total is more than $27.38 billion.
Returning From the Brink
The rise of the bald eagle population is truly astounding. In the 1970s and into the 1980s, there was only a single – one – bald eagle nesting pair in New Jersey. Reintroduction of bald eagles from Canada and artificial incubation and fostering efforts began to show tremendous success during the 1990s and active bald eagle nests surpassed 100 for the first time in decades, reaching to 119, in 2012. A decade later, the total more than doubled to 250. In 2024, New Jersey celebrated a record 293 nesting pairs, of which 264 laid eggs, according to the announcement.
“This action is indeed a significant milestone in the history of endangered species conservation and recovery in New Jersey and is the result of the passion and commitment of many people over the past 40-plus years to restore wildlife that were on the brink of extirpation in New Jersey,” said NJDEP Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette.
“The removal of the bald eagle and osprey from New Jersey’s endangered species list is a remarkable accomplishment, made possible by the tireless efforts of our dedicated wildlife professionals,” added NJDEP Fish & Wildlife Assistant Commissioner Dave Golden. “The key to this success is a commitment to science, planning, and strong lines of communication with the public and stakeholders.
National Success
New Jersey isn’t the only state seeing signs of the remarkable recovery of the bald eagle. Populations are literally soaring across the country, from coast to coast.
A 2021 Axios report highlighted the raptor’s recovery since the low point in population 45 years ago. In just the past 15 years, populations of the American bald eagle have quadrupled since 2009 when there were only around 72,000 in the lower 48 states, Axios reported. That report was based off new data on the bald eagle released by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) showing then (2021) there were an estimated 316,700 individual bald eagles and more than 71,400 breeding pairs in the lower 48 states.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland praised the bald eagles’ return in the announcement, saying, “The recovery of the bald eagle is one of the most well-known conservation success stories of all time.”
In addition to the 2021 data, even more recent positive news about bald eagle recovery, in addition to New Jersey’s announcement, can easily be found. Eagle populations in Arizona reached record highs last month with 104 breeding pairs in the state. Delaware also announced 121 active bald eagle nests over the summer, a dramatic increase from just four active nests in the entire state in 1987. Both Ohio and Kentucky announced bald eagle populations were reaching new heights over the summer, just in time for the Fourth of July celebrations in those states.
All this good news regarding healthy and thriving bald eagle populations couldn’t come at a better time. The White House announced on Christmas Eve that President Joe Biden signed a bill officially designating the bald eagle as the national bird after Congress unanimously passed the legislation.
Don’t Fall for False Media
Despite the undeniable science and results pointing out to the bald eagle’s remarkable recovery across the United States, it’s become common practice for anti-hunting, antigun media outlets to run “scare stories” attempting to pluck at emotional heartstrings and blame hunters for the occasional bald eagle death attributing it to traditional lead-based ammunition. The stories are far too common and lack any basic understanding of wildlife biology.
What is actually going on is successful science-based conservation and wildlife management, funded by hunters and outdoorsmen and women – America’s original conservationists. Millions of these men and women support the firearm and ammunition industry which pays the Pittman-Robertson excise taxes that go into the Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund and get distributed back to the states for wildlife conservation and management projects.
Created in 1937, firearm and ammunition manufacturers have contributed over $27.38 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars. America’s wildlife populations – including the American bald eagle – have never been healthier and that’s the science and success that local media, like those highlighting the New Jersey successes, should continue to highlight.
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Broad in the Beam: Bald Eagle Thought Poisoned Actually Just Bloated
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