Bald Eagle
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History & Highlights Chicago Illinois Field Office |
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus): Our national symbol once lived along major waterways throughout Illinois, including the Chicago region. By the early 1900's it was reduced to widely scattered populations, and was no longer present as a breeding species in northeast Illinois. It was listed as a federally endangered species in 1967. Populations grew slowly, and in 1995 it was reclassified to from endangered to threatened.
Since 2004, the growing national population of eagles has included several pairs that have attempted to nest in northeast Illinois, the first such attempts in over a century.
RECOVERED! By 2007, the US Fish & Wildlife Service found that the number of nesting pairs of bald eagles nationwide had exceeded those required by the species recovery plan. In Summer 2007 The Department of the Interior announced the removal of the species from the list of endangered and threatened species. The Bald Eagle is still fully protected under the provisions of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.
Recent Records or Nesting Attempts by this Species in Northeast Illinois are known to have occurred in Cook, Kane, and Will counties.
The Chicago Illinois Field Office has conducted site surveillance of Bald Eagle nests as they have been reported in our area beginning in 2004. We also consult with the Rock Island, Illinois Field Office regarding Bald Eagle recovery. We are interested in additional local reports of this species in our area. Please contact us if you believe you have located a Bald Eagle nest in northeast Illinois. Also, if you believe you know the location of a Bald Eagle nest, to lessen the potential for nest abandonment, please do not attempt to approach within 150 yards.
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus): Listed as threatened in 1967. Removed from list of endangered and threatened species in 2007. Pertinent web areas, and listing and recovery literature and dates include:
Complete regulatory profile as provided on the Service's Endangered Species website.
A copy of the final rule to remove the Bald Eagle from the list of Threatened and Endangered Species can be viewed here.
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