New Jersey Bald Eagle Management Project Reports

The bald eagle is a shining example of recovery in New Jersey. In 1973, when the Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act was passed, there was just one nesting pair, in a remote forest in Cumberland County. Today there are approximately 100 nesting pairs of eagles in the state (as of 2011). Most are in the Delaware Bay counties of Cumberland and Salem, but eagles can be found nearly statewide. Additionally, numbers of wintering eagles along the Delaware have increased dramatically. They remain on the endangered list (threatened federally), however, due to their sensitivity to environmental contaminants, habitat loss and human disturbance. The challenge to biologists and citizens now is protecting the lands and waterways used by eagles to maintain and enhance this species' recovery.