How did bald eagles become endangered in the U.S.?
In the lower 48, DDT, heavy metal poisoning and loss of habitat nearly wiped out bald eagle populations. By the time DDT was banned in 1972, there were fewer than 450 breeding pairs left in the continental United States. The bald eagle was added to the Endangered Species List in 1978 and was removed from that list and downlisted to threatened in July 1999. Now, the bald eagle population is estimated to be about 100,000, with half of those found in Alaska.
