Although I by and large agree with Don & Bud, I still have grave
concerns about the survival of the Bald Eagle after de listing. I have
doubts what the recovery data shows, not because of it's accuracy nor is
it the expertise of those who have taken Bald Eagle counts. What
concerns me is the overall life span of the data. Not much has been done
to my knowledge to monitor raptor counts going back beyond thirty years.
So how accurate can the comparative numbers be? What is a healthy number
for Bald Eagles or Grizzlies for that matter etc. Last but not least the
Pacific Northwest's Eagle population may in fact be healthy and thriving
for now but what about the next two decades of shopping malls and
commercial development ? What I am saying in a nutshell is, before we
brandish a label of recovery upon a specie. We as a nation should have
cohesive recovery plan that includes habitat preservation.





Philip Lane