(Pennsylvania Game Commission photo: Hal Korber)

HARRISBURG - The bald eagle continues to supplant its recent - and remarkable - nesting successes with new records, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. And from all indications, this raptor isn't done making headlines.

This spring, bald eagles are known to be nesting in at least 47 of the state's 67 counties, including Monroe, Pike and Wayne. Their tally of nests is expected to exceed 140 nests. In June 2007, biologists estimated Pennsylvania had 120 known nests in 42 counties. The final count of those nests turned out to be 132, and they produced more than 150 eaglets.

As recently as 1983, there were only three eagle nests remaining in Pennsylvania. That year, the Game Commission began a seven-year bald eagle reintroduction program in which the agency sent employees to Saskatchewan to obtain eaglets from wilderness nests. The Richard King Mellon Foundation of Pittsburgh and the federal Endangered Species Fund provided financial assistance for this effort. In all, 88 Canadian bald eagles were released from sites located at Dauphin County's Haldeman Island and Pike County's Shohola Falls.

"The bald eagle's ascension from its perilous past is an inspiration to all who care about environmental reform and wild Pennsylvania," explained Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe. "These birds are living proof that responsible natural resource management and conservation make Pennsylvania a better place to live and ensure wildlife will be around for future generations to enjoy.

"It's fitting that news about the continuing triumphs of bald eagles have graced our headlines over the Fourth of July for the past several years. As our nation's symbol, their presence is essential in America's outdoors. They immediately add a touch of class and true wilderness to any area they inhabit, whether it's on the outskirts of Philadelphia or a remote stretch of the Lake Erie shoreline."

"What's so exciting about the bald eagle's return is that each year they're nesting in more counties, strengthening their population in Pennsylvania and giving more residents the chance to enjoy these magnificent birds," Roe said. "Their presence is stronger than ever and it doesn't appear that they're close to being done claiming new nesting territories in the Commonwealth. Who knows, maybe your county will be the next to host eagles."

Bald eagles have symbolized America's greatness for centuries and now they've become America's latest success story in wildlife management and environmental reform. But their comeback in Pennsylvania took time, because their population had been decimated.

Partnering with other states and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and countless other state wildlife agencies, the Game Commission helped to bring bald eagles back from the brink of extinction. The effort dovetailed with important gains made in improving water quality and the banning of pesticides such as DDT, which led a cleaner environment and increases in the quality and quantity of freshwater fish, a staple in the eagle's diet. Pennsylvania's eagle resurgence also was likely stimulated by young eagles dispersing from the Chesapeake Bay, which now has hundreds of nesting pairs, and neighboring states that reintroduced eagles, too.

The Game Commission currently classifies the bald eagle as a threatened species in Pennsylvania. They are no longer protected by the federal Endangered Species Act - delisted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2007 - because delisting goals have been achieved. However, bald eagles continue to receive federal protection under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which safeguard the birds from their nests disturbances and destruction.

Today, bald eagles are nesting in every state but Hawaii, which they never inhabited. The lower 48 states have a nesting population that is approaching 10,000 pairs, which is up considerably from the little more than 400 pairs America had in 1963.