
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, December 11, 1993                   TAG: 9312110093
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

BALD EAGLE OVERCOMING THREAT

The bald eagle, America's national symbol for two centuries, is coming back from the brink of extinction and soon will no longer be an endangered species, Fish and Wildlife Service Director Mollie Beattie said Friday.

Because of the bird's strong recovery in the past three decades, "we're moving quite close" to taking it off the endangered list, along with several other species, she said.

Fish and Wildlife officials said the bird will be listed, probably next year, in the less dire "threatened species" category.

The bald eagle, found in all states except Hawaii, had dwindled to an estimated low of 417 nesting pairs in the lower 48 states in 1963. A 1992 survey found the population up to 3,747 pairs, according to the Interior Department.

Researchers credit the comeback in large part to the banning of the pesticide DDT, which had interfered with the reproductive capacity of the eagle and other birds. In addition, the government acquired nesting sites for the eagle, relocated some eagles in areas where they had died out and developed captive breeding programs.

by CNB