The bald eagle is our country’s national symbol, and bald eagle nests line many waterways and streams in Virginia. Bald eagles almost became extinct back in the 1960s when pesticides flowed into streams and rivers from stormwater runoff. Through the Environmental Protection Act, these beautiful birds were protected and now are no longer listed as endangered or threatened. As the American Bird Conservancy says, this truly is one of our country’s greatest environmental protection success stories!
But bald eagles reproduce very slowly and continue to be at risk. Each bald eagle pair only produces one to two eaglets each year. Losing even one of these chicks a year would soon lead to a dangerous downward spiral for the eagles.
We’ve added a fact sheet on bald eagles to the Endangered Species section of our Research & Resources page to share ways that you can both monitor bald eagles and raise concerns about their protection any time a utility-scale solar project is proposed for your county.
This can include checking the Center for Conservation Biology’s bald eagle nest locator, which includes a mapping portal showing where bald eagles are located in Virginia.
Another way to help is to join the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Citizen Science project, which encourages everyone who cares about birds to report which birds they see in their areas.
Data from both of these efforts can be important to raise in sharing your concerns about large-scale solar projects on agricultural or forested lands, especially those on or near Virginia rivers, streams, and bays.
