Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
In the mid-1900s, DDT and other pesticides nearly wiped out the American bald eagle, as well as some other birds of prey, and bald eagles were put on the Endangered Species List. After DDT was banned in the U.S., New York State began a campaign to try to restore bald eagles to their former habitats, such as the extensive wetlands at the north end of Cayuga Lake.
"In the mid-1970's New York launched the most comprehensive bald eagle restoration program in the nation. This program was designed to return breeding bald eagles to all portions of the state still suitable for their existence. In 1976, a program designed to reestablish nesting bald eagles in New York was undertaken at the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The program involved the use of a falconry technique called 'hacking' to release young bald eagles to the wild. The Montezuma program in 1976 was the first of it's kind on the North American continent. … From 1976 to 1980 a total of 23 bald eagles were released at the refuge through the hacking program."
Today, there are six active bald eagle nests within the Refuge and two others within the encompassing Montezuma Wetlands Complex. As many as 59 eagles have been counted in one morning at the Refuge.
Source: Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
Have you seen our BOOK, Ithaca: the City, Gorges, and Colleges? Now an e-publication. Only $3.99 if you share it on Facebook! See it here.