1940 1963 1967 1972 1973 1978 1981 1991 1995 1998 1999 2000

Congress passes the

Bald Eagle Protection

Act making it illegal 

to kill, harass, possess

(without a permit) 

or sell bald eagles.

Fewer than 500

pairs of bald 

eagles reside 

in the lower 

48 states.

Bald eagle populations are healthy 

in Alaska and do

not exist in Hawaii.

The bald eagle is

declared an endangered species in 

the southern half of

the United States.

The insecticide DDT is banned.

Eagles feeding on fish 

contaminated by DDT 

produced weak-shelled 

eggs that cracked, broke, 

or failed to hatch.

A strengthened

Endangered Species

Act passes. The 

number of bald

eagle pairs rises to

almost 800 by 1974.

Bald eagles mate for 

life and often return 

to their huge nests 

year after year.

The bald eagle is listed as a threatened

species in Michigan, Minnesota,

Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin,

and as endangered for the rest of the

continental United States.

Bald eagles usually lay 2 to 3 eggs each

year which hatch in about 35 days.

Eaglets fly within 3 months.

Bald eagle pairs now 

number over 1100 in the

lower 48 states, a huge

increase.

Bald eagle pairs

triple since 1981 to

over 3300 pairs.

Bald eagle 

downlisted 

to threatened 

status throughout

the continental

United States.

Recovery goals

surpassed! Over

5700 bald eagle

pairs are in the

lower 48 states.

The bald eagle

reaches fullyrecovered status,

leading to a

proposal to

remove it from 

the Federal

endangered

species list.

Delisting 

efforts 

underway.

Even when

delisted, the

bald eagle and

its habitat will

still be protected under the

Bald Eagle

Protection Act.

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BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, LA

A pair of bald eagles has returned 

to Barksdale for the past 15 years. 

To encourage the return of bald 

eagles, the base removes aquatic 

weeds and stocks fish in Flag Lake. 

FORT RILEY, KS

Fort Riley conserves bald eagle winter habitat 

and controls human intrusion into areas where 

eagles live. Results are dramatic. In 1994, 

a one-day eagle count totaled 64 birds. 

By 1999, that number had increased to 388!

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, NC

Signs of bald eagle recovery continue. Camp 

Lejeune discovered its first bald eagle nest 

on base in spring 2000 after years of watching 

the occasional eagle fly by. 

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, MD

This gunnery testing range for the 

Army offers 75,000 acres of woods, 

marshes, and streams, making it one 

of the most hospitable habitats for 

eagles on the East Coast. Twenty 

years ago, there were virtually no 

eagles here. Today, there are over 

150 birds and 23 nests on the base 

and adjacent Susquehanna 

River estuary. 

NAVAL AIR STATION WHIDBEY ISLAND, WA

Working with Washington State’s Department of Fish & 

Wildlife and local Audubon Society volunteers, base 

biologists studied eagle movements and behavior for 18 

months. Some eagles were fitted with backpacks carrying 

satellite transmitters that gave biologists very accurate 

information about where the eagles went, while other 

eagles were tracked with color coded and numbered leg 

bands. The information has helped the base better protect 

important nesting, roosting, and foraging habitats.

NAVAL SURFACE WARFARE CENTER CRANE, IN

In 1984, one of the first six eagle pairs to nest 

successfully in the state of Indiana settled at the 

Navy’s base in Crane, IN. By 1993, eagles were 

successfully producing eaglets on the base. To 

aid recovery, the Navy established buffer zones 

around eagle nests, posted signs making nest 

areas off-limits to people, and built man-made 

nesting platforms to provide nesting “trees”.

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In 1782, Congress 

selects the bald eagle 

as the nation’s symbol.

North America is 

the only continent 

that has bald eagles.

▲

Eagle nests can be as

big as 10 feet across

and can weigh as

much as 2000 lbs.

Adults can grow to 

3 feet tall and have 

an 8 foot wingspan.

Great fishers, eagles

nest near water for a

constant food source.

FREEDOM

SOARS

DEFENDING OUR NATION AND

OUR ENVIRONMENT

The Department of Defense (DoD) is steward of

approximately 25 million acres of public lands. These

air, land, and water resources directly support DoD’s

military training and readiness capabilities. They also

harbor pristine habitats for a wide variety of unique

species, including over 200 threatened and endangered

plants and animals, as well as a wealth of opportunities for recreational and other renewable uses.

The bald eagle is a premier example of what our 

military does to protect wildlife. By restoring and 

creating habitat for eagles, building platforms for

nests, establishing protection zones around nests, 

and monitoring bald eagle movements, military 

installations around the country have provided a

healthy and safe environment so these magnificent 

flyers can flourish. By helping the eagle soar again, 

our military has demonstrated their ability to protect

native wildlife while defending our nation. In the 

military’s eyes, there are many ways to let freedom

soar, and conservation of our natural heritage is 

just one of them!

To learn more about our nation’s symbol, you can 

visit the following websites: Defense Environmental

Network and Information Exchange (DENIX) at

http://www.denix.osd.mil, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife

Service’s Endangered Species Program Welcome Page

at http://endangered.fws.gov.

FREEDOM

SOARS

DEFENDING OUR NATION AND

OUR ENVIRONMENT

The Department of Defense (DoD) is steward of

approximately 25 million acres of public lands. These

air, land, and water resources directly support DoD’s

military training and readiness capabilities. They also

harbor pristine habitats for a wide variety of unique

species, including over 200 threatened and endangered

plants and animals, as well as a wealth of opportunities for recreational and other renewable uses.

The bald eagle is a premier example of what our 

military does to protect wildlife. By restoring and 

creating habitat for eagles, building platforms for

nests, establishing protection zones around nests, 

and monitoring bald eagle movements, military 

installations around the country have provided a

healthy and safe environment so these magnificent 

flyers can flourish. By helping the eagle soar again, 

our military has demonstrated their ability to protect

native wildlife while defending our nation. In the 

military’s eyes, there are many ways to let freedom

soar, and conservation of our natural heritage is 

just one of them!

To learn more about our nation’s symbol, you can 

visit the following websites: Defense Environmental

Network and Information Exchange (DENIX) at

http://www.denix.osd.mil, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife

Service’s Endangered Species Program Welcome Page

at http://endangered.fws.gov.

BALD EAGLES ON MILITARY BASES

■ AIR FORCE 

1 Avon Park Air Force Range

Avon Park, FL 

2 Barksdale Air Force Base

Shreveport, LA 

3 Cannon Air Force Base

Clovis, NM

4 Goldwater Air Force Range

Gila Bend, AZ 

5 Holloman Air Force Base

Alamagordo, NM

6 MacDill Air Force Base

Tampa, FL

7 Moody Air Force Base

Valdosta, GA 

◆ ARMY 

1 Aberdeen Proving Ground

Aberdeen, MD

2 Adelphi Army Research Labs

Hyattsville, MD

3 Camp Blanding, Starke, FL

4 Camp Crowder, Neosho, MO

5 Camp Grayling, Grayling, MI

6 Camp Murray, Tacoma, WA

7 Camp Navajo, Flagstaff, AZ

8 Camp Perry, Port Clinton, OH

9 Camp Rilea, Warrenton, OR

10 Camp Ripley, Little Falls, MN

11 Camp Roberts, Paso Robles, CA

12 Fort A.P. Hill, Bowling Green, VA

13 Fort Belvoir, Lorton, VA

14 Fort Benning, Columbus, GA

15 Fort Bliss, El Paso, TX

16 Fort Campbell, Oak Grove, KY

17 Fort Carson

Colorado Springs, CO

18 Fort Eustis, Newport News, VA

19 Fort Gordon, Augusta, GA

20 Fort Hood, Killeen, TX

21 Fort Hunter Liggett, 

King City, CA

22 Fort Knox, Radcliff, KY

23 Fort Leavenworth

Leavenworth, KS

24 Fort Lee, Petersburg, VA

25 Fort Leonard Wood

Waynesville, MO

26 Fort Lewis, Lacey, WA

27 Fort McCoy, Sparta, WI

28 Fort Pickett, Blackstone, VA

29 Fort Riley, Junction City, KS

30 Fort Stewart, Glennville, GA

31 Ike Skelton Training Area

Jefferson City, MO

32 Macon Training Site, Macon, MO

33 Newport Chemical Depot

Newport, IN

34 Pinyon Canyon Maneuver 

Site, La Junta, CO

35 Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, AL

36 Rock Island Arsenal

Rock Island, IL

37 Rocky Mountain Arsenal

Commerce City, CO

38 Savanna Army Depot

Savanna, IL

39 Truman Training Site

Clinton, MO

40 Utah Army National Guard

Draper, UT

41 West Point Military Academy

West Point, NY

42 White Sands Missile Range

Las Cruces, NM

43 Yakima Training Center

Yakima, WA

▲ MARINE CORPS

1 Marine Corps Base Camp

Lejeune, Jacksonville, NC

2 Marine Corps Base Quantico

Dumfries, VA

3 Marine Corps Recruit Depot 

Parris Island, Beaufort, SC

● NAVY

1 AFETA Camp Peary

Williamsburg, VA

2 David Taylor Research Center

Bayview, ID

3 Naval Air Station Key West

Key West, FL

4 Naval Air Station Patuxent River

Lexington Park, MD

5 Naval Air Station Whidbey

Island, Oak Harbor, WA

6 Naval Fuel Depot Manchester

Manchester, WA

7 Naval Hospital Bremerton

Bremerton, WA

8 Naval Magazine Indian Island

Port Hadlock, WA

9 Naval Radio Station Jim Creek

Arlington, WA

10 Naval Station Everett

Everett, WA

11 Naval Submarine Base Bangor

Silverdale, WA

12 Naval Surface Warfare Center

Crane, Loogootee, IN

13 Naval Surface Warfare 

Center Dahlgren

Colonial Beach, VA 

14 Naval Surface Warfare 

Center Indian Head

Indian Head, MD

15 Naval Undersea Warfare 

Station Keyport

Silverdale, WA

16 Naval Weapons Station

Charleston, Goose Creek, SC

17 Naval Weapons Station

Yorktown, Yorktown, VA

JOE ONDEK

JOE ONDEK

JOE ONDEK