Bald eagle, osprey removed from endangered species list in New Jersey
New Jersey is celebrating an animal conservation milestone decades in the making.
On Monday, Jan. 6, the state's Department of Environmental Protection announced that Gov. Phil Murphy's administration officially removed the bald eagle and osprey from the state's endangered species list. Bald eagles are now categorized as special concern, and ospreys are now considered "stable" instead of "threatened."
According to the New Jersey Fish and Wildlife Department, efforts to recover the state's bald eagle population go back more than 40 years.
"In the early 1980s, New Jersey had just one remaining pair of bald eagles. The state's population had been devastated by widespread use of DDT and other threats, including habitat degradation and human disturbances," the agency said on Facebook.
After reintroducing eagles from Canada, artificial incubation and fostering, the state documented 293 nesting pairs of bald eagles in 2024 and documented 800 osprey nests in 2023.
"This action is indeed a significant milestone in the history of endangered species conservation and recovery in New Jersey and is the result of the passion and commitment of many people over the past 40-plus years to restore wildlife that were on the brink of extirpation in New Jersey," DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said. "Even with this tremendous success, we will remain vigilant in our monitoring and protection of these species to ensure they continue to thrive in New Jersey."
According to the DEP, the status change for bald eagles and ospreys was included in a rule adoption that included more than 100 "additions, deletions and conservation status updates" in New Jersey.
Also included in the rule adoption was the addition of 30 species to the state's endangered list as endangered or threatened.
It's been a good couple of weeks for bald eagles in America. Last month, President Biden signed legislation declaring the bald eagle the official national bird.
