A bald eagle. Courtesy/LAC

COUNTY News:

When European colonists first arrived in North America, an estimated quarter million to half a million bald eagles lived in what is now the United States. This handsome eagle, native to North America, was selected as the national emblem of our new nation in 1782. However, despite being a national symbol, the bald eagle declined between 1782 and 1940. Eagles came to be viewed as killers of livestock; therefore, ‘varmints’ were to be eliminated.

In the early 20th Century, a bounty was set for bald eagles, paying 50 cents for each pair of feet; this reward was later increased to a dollar. It is estimated that more than 100,000 bald eagles were killed before 1940, when the Bald Eagle Act was passed, banning the killing or selling of bald eagles in the United States.

Today, the main threat to New Mexico’s wintering bald eagles and its small breeding population is habitat loss or degradation. Human disturbance, pesticide contamination, accidental electrocution, illegal shooting and poisoning, and trapping eagles for their feathers continue to be a problem.

To learn more about living with wildlife, visit the NM Game & Fish website at www.lacnm.com/NMGF. For information on how to contact NM Game and Fish, visit the Contact Us page on their website.