Bald eagle numbers soar
Almost 35 years after he resigned from office in disgrace,
President Richard Nixon continues to be reviled as the centerpiece
of the Watergate scandal.
Bald eagle numbers soar
Almost 35 years after he resigned from office in disgrace, President Richard Nixon continues to be reviled as the centerpiece of the Watergate scandal.
While it’s popular to cast him in the role of villain, there’s a lot to like about the Nixon presidency. His efforts to warm relations with China were so successful that it’s nearly impossible to assemble an outfit or buy a small appliance without finding a “Made in China” label.
And it was Nixon who signed the Endangered Species Act.
In some circles, it’s nearly as popular to disparage the ESA as it is Nixon himself. But it’s a crowning achievement, and a demonstrable success.
Just think about America, circa 1970. A trip up Highway 880 through the East Bay was an olfactory assault. At the time, we all thought that was just the way San Francisco Bay was supposed to smell. What we smelled was a toxic cocktail of industrial waste. Today, our bays and rivers are cleaner, our air is healthier and most of us embrace recycling as part of our daily lives.
It’s all cause for hope. And perhaps nothing embodies that hope better than our national symbol, the bald eagle.
Most school children know the bald eagle was a somewhat controversial choice as a national symbol. Benjamin Franklin reportedly was an ardent advocate of the wild turkey.
But our forebears finally settled upon the eagle. Anyone who has seen one likely has little doubt that it’s an appropriate choice, one that conveys freedom and majesty.
And more people are seeing bald eagles than anyone has for generations.
In the mid-1960s the bald eagle was in danger of extinction. In the 1970s, fewer than 35 adults remained in California.
As a large predator, bald eagles were never numerous. The historic high was in the neighborhood of 400 breeding pairs in California.
According to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, there were 200 pairs in 2005.
That’s enough eagles to move the birds off the list Nixon spawned with the Endangered Species Act.
Last week, federal officials officially removed bald eagles from the threatened and endangered species lists, crowning one of the nation’s greatest conservation success stories.
Bald eagles are a regular presence in San Benito County. At least two pair breed within the county, where historically they never did. The location of those nests – huge tangles of sticks – is a carefully guarded secret among the few who know in an effort to leave the birds undisturbed.
Since they eat mostly carrion and fish, they are often seen near large bodies of water. Our creation of reservoirs scattered across the county offers perfect habitat.
People interested in watching eagles fishing or just being eagles have the best chances of seeing them locally at Paicines Reservoir, a shallow lake just off Hwy. 25 near Paicines.
A large pullout a short distance south of the Paicines Store offers an ideal overlook. The birds are often perched in live oaks across the reservoir from the pullout. Their brilliant white heads and tails make them easy to spot in the dark green foliage.
A few years ago, on a winter walk in Santa Ana Valley, a juvenile bald eagle passed low overhead, close enough for us to read the numbers on a tag placed on the leading edge of one wing.
Back at the house a quick check revealed that the bird had been released from a captive breeding program on Catalina Island. How that enormous bird came to a valley just a few minutes outside of Hollister is a story that will never be told.
The story that can be told is one of enlightenment. Thirty-five years ago, a shared realization that we were bringing our environment to ruination brought about change.
Pesticide regulation, habitat enhancement and captive breeding programs combined to bring the nation’s emblem back into our skies.
That’s certainly cause for celebration.
