22d • General discussion
Bald Eagle Comeback is thanks to liberals and tree-huggers
In 1971, when I began birding and specifically, painting birds, the bald eagle was a rare and endangered bird species in the United States. Audubon magazine published a photo set of eagles in Florida by a famous photographer, and looking at those images back then while reading about the devastating effects of DDT on raptor egg shells in peregrine falcons and ospreys, it felt like I'd never see any of those species in real life.
Fortunately, the 70s became an era of environmental activism, and both political parties joined in. President Nixon signed the and Clean Air (1970) and Clean Water (1972) acts, and the Endangered Species act in 1973. These acts, along with the ban on DDT in 1972 represented America's commitment to protecting not just endangered species, but millions of other life forms. Wetlands conservation also provided important protection for eagle habitat.
However, political conservatives in the Trump administration recently moved to degrade wetland protections by "redefining" what constitutes protected wetlands. This degradation is in response to the political activism of the US Supreme Court in the Sackett v. EPA, who ruled that a couple in Idaho backfilling on their property had the right to do what they want because the "The CWA’s (Clean Water Act) use of “waters” in §1362(7) refers only to “geographic[al] features that are described in ordinary parlance as ‘streams, oceans, rivers, and lakes’ ” and to adjacent wetlands that are “indistinguishable” from those bodies of water due to a continuous surface connection."
This is an utterly ignorant description of what wetlands are, how they were formed, and what they do for clean water and conservation. For example, it specifically ignored wetlands formed by glaciers 10,000 years ago that are not specifically connected to any "stream, ocean, river, or lakes." The Supreme Court ruled in willful ignorance of this fact.
All of this leads to the fact that bald eagles often rely on wetlands for hunting and feeding their young. The wetland in our backyard is non-contiguous to any other bodies of water as described by the Supreme Court, yet hosts dozens of species of wildlife, including bald eagles.
And it was only because liberals, tree-huggers and politicians willing to collaborate to protect the environment beginning back in the 1970s that the bald eagle even survived in this country.
Yet we see lots of hard-right conservatives flying flags and wearing tee shirts emblazoned with bald eagles while claiming they symbolize freedom. Yet these same hard-righties support the Trump administration tearing apart conservation laws and opening up national parks to potential development.
The hypocrisy is rich. The dishonesty is sad. And liberals and tree-huggers are rightly angry.
I wrote the attached article for the Beacon News a few years back. The bald eagle painting in the pines is one I produced when bald eagles began breeding in the Mooseheart property, the first such nesting in perhaps 100 years, and the bald eagle painting shown in the antique shop is one I produced on commission back in 1977 for Robert Van Kampen. It was since sold and showed up in an antique shop where my brother took a photo of it for me while antiquing in Michigan.
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Bald Eagle Comeback is thanks to liberals and tree-huggers
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Birding expert and wildlife artist Christopher Cudworth brings birding to life
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