Bald Eagles Approaching New Status In Pennsylvania

By Bob Frye

Pennsylvania is marking a milestone this year. It was 30 years ago that the Pennsylvania Game Commission launched efforts to re-establish wild eagles in the state.

That work has succeeded to the point that the agency might, this summer, consider moving eagles off the list of threatened species, said Dan Brauning, chief of its wildlife diversity section.

Southwestern Pennsylvania is one area where the eagles are doing well.

Beth Fife, a wildlife conservation officer for the commission in Allegheny County, has long received reports of eagles in the area, with more in the last year than ever. She recently saw her first one in Upper St. Clair.

“While driving past the old Mayview Hospital, I did a double take and tried not to wreck the car. There was a mature bald eagle flying west right down the valley,” she said.

Conservation officer Seth Mesoras said eagles have been spotted more frequently along the Conemaugh River near Johnstown, too. Christopher Deal, a conservation officer in Butler County, said he's seen eagles there this winter as well.