Bush official: Bald eagle will be off threatened list this year

[Kadie]

Bush official: Bald eagle will be off threatened list this year


By DON THOMPSON
Associated Press Writer

SACRAMENTO -- The American bald eagle - the national symbol whose decline helped spur the Endangered Species Act and a ban on the pesticide DDT - will be off the threatened species list this year, a top Bush administration official promised Saturday.

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Today there are more than 7,678 breeding pairs in the contiguous United States, leading the group Environmental Defense to call on President Bush this week to "make history" by removing the bird from the federal list.

The delisting process began 4 1/2 years ago, but is taking far longer than the typical year because the eagle's range is so wide. Nesting pairs must be recounted in each state, and the government's plan must take into account differing protections enacted by individual states.

The delay stretches back to the Clinton administration, Manson said, but earlier this year the administration began the final steps to complete the process by year's end.

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