"Great Spirit: teach us to walk soft upon the mother earth with all the creatures we live with ... Mitakuye oyasin! We are all related!" "Eagle Man" Ed McGaa, Oglala Lakota Sioux
The Bald Eagle is the magnificent emblem of the United States of America. However, since the founding of our country, habitat reductions and human interaction have caused this beautiful high-flying raptor's population to decline drastically. Listed in Montana as a endangered species in 1978, the Bald Eagle is protected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Its recovery is a great national success story.
But it is also a great Montana success story. By 1980, Montana populations had dropped to 17 known nesting sites. In just 25 years, management of habitats turned the plummeting trend around. As a result, these raptors began to thrive, with nesting sites numbering approximately 300 in 2005.
Across the river, in the tallest tree a couple of hundred yards downstream from here, is a nesting site that has been in use for many years and has successfully produced many offspring. (Use the peephole in the post to the right of this exhibit for a better look.) (missing).
If delisted from the Endangered Species Act, Bald Eagles will continue to be protected by the Bald Eagle Protection Act which prohibits killing, selling,
or otherwise harming eagles, their nests or eggs. Please remember that this great bird is still protected as a symbol of our nation's freedom and should not be harassed in any way.
Bald Eagles are primarily fish eaters, often stealing from the abundant osprey near the river. However they also eat duck, young geese and small mammals. In winter, they will eat carrion (recently killed animals). The Bald Eagle's lifespan in the wild is approximately 20 years.
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