Contacts
Tom Dore, National Park Service, 805-658-5733
Stephanie Balian, NOAA, 301-713-3066
Lois Grunwald, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 805-644-1766
Dana Michaels, California Dept of Fish and Game, 916-327-9948
Ventura, Calif. - Several American bald eagles, the symbol of our nation’s freedom and heritage, were released into the Northern Channel Islands today. State and federal agencies released four bald eagles on Santa Cruz Island in Channel Islands National Park in an effort to reestablish its historic population there. This will be the first time that bald eagles have flown in the northern Channel Islands since the population was wiped out by contamination in the 1960s.
The bald eagle release is part of a larger federal and state plan to restore natural resources from a $30 million legal settlement by a corporation that dumped chemical DDTs and PCBs in the area more than three decades ago. The chemicals entered the eagle’s food chain and prevented the birds from successfully reproducing. The federal and state trustee council of the Montrose Settlements Restoration Program (MSRP) will use the eagle release as a feasibility study to determine whether the birds can once again live and reproduce in the northern Channel Islands.
“The nation faces many challenges, and restoring America’s natural resources
and our symbol of freedom, the bald eagle, takes on special significance, “ said Scott Gudes, deputy undersecretary for oceans and atmosphere, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “The commitment of and cooperation among the federal and state partners of the Montrose Settlements Restoration Program is fundamental for the continued restoration efforts in these coastal waters.”
The MSRP Trustee Council is made up representatives from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NationalPark Service, California Department of Fish and Game, California State Lands Commission, and California Department of Parks and Recreation.
The first phase of the eagle release study brought four eight-week-old eaglets to a “hack tower” on Santa Cruz Island a month ago to acclimate to the island and to gain strength and coordination for their first flight today. Now, scientists will monitor the birds by recording their feeding, foraging habits and physical health in their new environment.
Bald eagles, a federally threatened species, disappeared from the islands after eating food from the ocean that was contaminated with DDTs. This caused them to lay thin-shelled eggs that broke easily under the weight of their parents and prevented them from reproducing naturally.
Millions of pounds of DDTs and PCBs were dumped into the Southern California Bight by the Montrose Chemical Company and other dischargers between the 1940’s and the early 1970’s. The Southern California Bight, located from Point Conception to San Diego, has one of the world’s largest known deposits of DDT.
In late 2000 a settlement with Montrose Chemical Corporation, and the other dischargers, was reached providing more than $30 million to restore natural resources injured by DDTs and PCBs. Today marks the first step toward a restoration plan that would be aimed at the recovery of bald eagles, peregrine falcons, and recreational and subsistence fishing in the Southern California Bight.
“We look forward to the day when the American public can enjoy watching bald eagles soar over the southern California coast,” stated Robert Hight, director of the California Department of Fish and Game.
“Today’s release is a huge step for Channel Islands National Park’s ongoing efforts to bring the island back to its biological balance,” explained Tim Setnicka, Channel Islands National Park superintendent. “Bald Eagles are keystone predators in this island ecosystem.”
The National Park Service and the Nature Conservancy co-own Santa Cruz Island and are involved in an independent island-wide restoration program that calls for the reintroduction of bald eagles.
“The skies over the Channel Islands have been without these majestic birds for too long,” said Steve Thompson, manager of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s California/Nevada office. “With the return of these birds today comes the hope that one day bald eagles will no longer be threatened with extinction.”
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