Gov't Develops Plan for the Bald Eagle

[leftchick]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060214/ap_on_sc/bald_eagle

WASHINGTON - The proud symbol of a nation for more than two centuries, the iconic and elegant American bald eagle also is emblematic of a snail-paced federal bureaucracy.

Seven years after the government said the fierce raptor is no longer threatened with extinction, officials finally have a plan for removing it from the endangered species list.

"Partly it just fell through the cracks," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, executive vice president of Defenders of Wildlife, who proposed delisting the bird in 1999 while she was President Clinton's Fish and Wildlife Service director.

The process has taken far longer than the typical year, partly because updated counts are required from each of the states, and some of those have rules that add red tape.

Clark called the bald eagle "a success story" for the embattled Endangered Species Act, which Republicans in Congress and the Bush administration have been pushing to reshape so that more responsibility is given to private landowners instead of the federal government.

[sasha031]

1. ya.right, more canned hunting folks

[ewoden]

2. In a related story . . .

VP Cheney announced that bald eagles ae delicious in orange sauce, with a side order of attorney.

[hexola]

3. I see them everyday...central PA

Not sure how widespread they are...but we have a few in my neck of South-Central,PA - in fact someone was arrested a few years ago for shooting a young eagle.

Everyday might be an exaggeration - but if I make an effort - they are out there....

[Nevernose]

6. I saw them in East Texas/SW Arkansas when I lived there

And that was when they really were still seriously endangered. The situation's still not great for them, but at least the DDT is gone (or at least it's gone north of the Rio Grande).

[soothsayer]

4. Bald Eagle, is that cheney's SS handle? "The bald eagle just

shot a 78 y.o. quail. Get turdblossom on the horn."

[Earth_First]

5. "Partly it just fell through the cracks,"

Sad. This seems to be par for the course with the endangered species list.