Carbon County is lucky to have two eagles, a bald eagle and a golden eagle to admire, and these birds are fortunate for the Carbon County Environmental Education Center for taking care of them after they were injured.

At one time, the Center housed three eagles, two bald and one golden. Thanks to rehabilitation efforts through St. Francis Animal Hospital, their veterinarian, one of the bald eagles was released to the wild. The remaining bald eagle, Renshaw, who was hit by a car, never recovered from a head injury. The golden, Miss Charles Butler McVay, who was shot in the wing and not discovered for nearly two weeks, never recovered from her injuries.

In Pennsylvania forty-four years ago when the Endangered Species Act was passed in 1973, eagles were on their way towards extinction. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, in 1980, there were only three known nesting pairs of bald eagles in Pennsylvania.

The bald eagle, a predatory bird at the top of the food chain became a leading indicator of the spread of pesticides, particularly DDT—which was used extensively from the close of World War II until it was banned in 1972—into the food chain.

Runoff from fields entered the lakes, streams and rivers of the Commonwealth and became concentrated in the fish—the principal diet of the bald eagle. DDT accumulation led to thinning and cracking of eggshells.

The bald eagle lost habitat due to eating lead from shotgun pellets in waterfowl, suburban housing development, collisions with automobiles, and errant hunters. America's symbol for over 200 years, the bald eagle was on its way to extinction in Pennsylvania and most of the lower 48 states. The Pennsylvania Game Commission reintroduced bald eagles from 1982 to 1989.

In 2005, there are 96 known bald eagle nesting pairs in Pennsylvania. In 1973, there were just 417 known nesting pairs left in the lower 48 states. At last count, the numbers have increased to 7,066 known nesting pairs now exist in the contiguous United States. The bald eagle's territory stretches over much of the North American continent. Tens of thousands more live in Alaska and Canada, where their existence never was imperiled.

With the success of its reintroduction, the bald eagle's status has been changed from endangered to threatened in Pennsylvania. There is a lawsuit in the works where people are opposing the delisting of the bald eagle from the Endangered Species List," said Franklin Klock Ð a naturalist at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center.

There are laws regarding harassment and interference with nesting eagles, along with the delisting," Klock continued. But once de-listed, anything goes."

They still have protection under the 1972 Migratory Bird Treaty Act," added Susan Gallagher Ð the Center's chief naturalist. There is also the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act—but having the bald eagle on the Endangered Species List provides additional protection."

The Center's two eagle a bald and a golden belong to species that are not closely related. The bald eagle is a fish eater that lives near large bodies of water and nests in tall trees. Its young are a dark brown color from head to tail with the head and tail feathers turning white at maturity, which is about five years old. Bald eagles are not bald. The name bald" comes from the Old English word balde" which means white.

Golden eagles

In the eagle world, females resemble the males but are about a third larger. Bald eagles tend to be larger than goldens. The Center believes their bald is a male and their golden is a female because the two birds each weigh about ten pounds.

Bald eagles are native only to North America. Both the golden and bald eagle like cold weather. The bald eagle, Renshaw, loves water and will bath in his bath, and even with a wind-chill of minus thirty-five degrees, he will cut through a layer of ice to bath.

Both eagles are about seven years old. Renshaw was only in his first year and weighed six pounds when he was brought to the Center. He was pretty emaciated," said Gallagher. Life in the wild is tough for a young bird of prey. Studies say from 50 to 90 percent don't survive their first year."

The Center's eagles' enclosure was donated in memory of Carbon Conservation District Director Ben Grotsky. His family also supports of the Center's Eagle Education Program. A boardwalk trail leads to enclosures of additional birds of prey that the Center has rehabilitated.

Each year, the Center receives up to 500 injured and abandoned animals: birds of prey, orphaned rabbits, squirrels, possums and songbirds. About half are returned to the wild.

Now that the bald eagles' population has increased, people are rethinking whether it should retain a special status. With the loss of the species, developments began encroaching on their habitat. With the bald eagle's reintroduction, these new communities view them as pests. In Alaska, where the bald eagle numbers in the tens of thousands, some hunters want to have a season on bald eagles.

The Carbon County Environmental Education Center is located just west of Jim Thorpe at 151 East White Bear Drive in Summit Hill. For information, call (570) 645-8597, or visit: www.carboneec.org.

If you find an injured animal
· Do not touch the animal
· Wild animals can be dangerous
· Watch the animal. The parent may return to take care of it.
· Call the Carbon County Environmental Education Center (570) 645-8597
· Or call the PA Game Commission (570) 675-1143