Bald Eagle Timeline: Recovery Begins

In 1940, the United States Congress passed the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, prohibiting trapping, hunting, or killing the animals. It also outlawed disturbing eagle nests. Lawmakers were principally motivated by the beauty and symbolic importance of our national bird.

1940: Bald Eagle Act

“From an esthetic point of view there can be no question as to the desirability of protecting the eagle. Its status as the emblem of the sovereignty of the United States settles that. . . Real lovers of nature, of which there are millions in this country now, count it as red-letter day when they see an eagle, and they are united in support of legislation such as is proposed in this bill.”

Harry L. Brown, H.R. Rep., #2104, 76th Cong., 3d Sess. 1 (1940).

This quote from a Congressman about the passage of the Bald Eagle Act marks a crucial event in the story of the eagle because it shows how legislation can provide a solution to managing environmental problems, in this case, the decline of a species.