Bald eagles home again in Indiana
John Castrale has seen his share of bald eagles. Maybe more than his share, but there’s an undeniable feeling each time he sees another one.
“I still get excited when I see a bald eagle,” Castrale said. “It doesn’t go away after seeing hundreds, probably thousands.”
Castrale is a non-game wildlife biologist with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and much of his career has been spent helping restore bald eagles and other birds of prey – peregrine falcons and ospreys – to the Hoosier landscape.
Like elsewhere across America, the efforts have been a ringing success. From barely more than 400 nesting pairs in the 1960s, there are thousands today, prompting Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to announce Thursday that the bald eagle will be dropped from threatened status under the Endangered Species Act.
“It’s probably overdue,” said Castrale, who was on his way to Lake County to band peregrine falcon chicks at the moment Kempthorne was making the historic announcement.
“The (U.S. Fish and Wildlife) service has been careful about delisting eagles, but the numbers are there,” Castrale said. “We’re excited the birds will be off the list.
“It’s something we’ve strived for since they were listed in the first place.”
Bald eagles became the most visible figure of the Endangered Species Act, far more than gray wolves or grizzly bears or any of the hundreds of other species that have made the list.
“Bald eagles are kind of a special bird, the national symbol,” Castrale said. “They are dramatic in appearance with their large size and striking features.
“They are special birds. They’re kind of awe inspiring.”
Saving bald eagles became a national mission in the 1970s.
Fueled by revenue from the sale of environmental vehicle plates, Indiana joined the recovery effort in 1985 and released 73 young eagles over a five-year period. One year after the last release, the first successful nest was recorded in Indiana in nearly a century.
Charged with a federal goal of five nesting pairs by 2000, Indiana hit that mark by 1991 and has been climbing ever since.
“This year we had about 85 territorial pairs that we know of in the state,” Castrale said. “Looking at the type of habitat we have, the population should continue to grow.”
Nesting pairs were found in 42 Indiana counties this year and produced 123 eaglets, solid assurance that bald eagles will continue to expand their reach.
Indiana’s bald eagle numbers reflect the national picture. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports just under 10,000 nesting pairs in the lower 48 states, but on Thursday the Center for Biological Diversity pegged the total at 11,040 pairs.
Whatever the actual number, it is a true conservation success story that proves humans working with nature rather than against it can produce remarkable results in repairing decades of abuse.