I wondered about that, too, why this law was passed. Per the article it goes back to 1940 so I don’t know, was something going on that point about eagles being hunted down for their feathers.
good question.
A. The Bald Eagle Becomes a Ward of the Federal Government
Congressional attention first focused on the eagle in the late 1930’s. It became well known that the bald eagle was declining at an alarming rate.
The decline of bald eagle populations was first noticed in the late 1930’s. Throughout the United States and Canada bald eagle populations dwindled. In several areas breeding populations disappeared entirely. A variety of causes was suspected for the decline, including loss of habitat, illegal shooting, pesticides, electrocution from high voltage lines, and other human disturbances.
Tina S. Boradiansky, Conflicting Values: The Religious Killing of Federally Protected Wildlife , 30 Nat. Resources J. 709 (1990).
In 1940, Congress acted to prevent what seemed to be the inevitable destruction of the Nation’s symbol. The purpose behind the enactment of the 1940 version of the Bald Eagle Act, as it was then known, can be explained through the words from the Acting Secretary of Agriculture in 1939:
It is apparent to this Department from its long observations with respect to the wildlife of this country that there are those in any community in which an eagle may appear who are immediately seized with a determination to kill it for no other reason than that it is an eagle and a bird of large proportions. It is equally apparent that if the destruction of the eagle and its eggs continues as in the past this bird will wholly disappear from much the larger part of its former range and eventually will become extinct.
From an esthetic point of view there can be no question as to the desirability of protecting the eagle. Its status as the emblem of the sovereignty of the United States settles that; the bird should be a ward of the National Government . Real lovers of nature, of which there are millions in this country now, count it a red-letter day when they see an eagle, and they are united in support of legislation such as is proposed in this bill. They would regret beyond expression to see the now evident process of extinction of this bird continue and fervently hope that it can be checked for all time by the Congress of the United States.
The above is the official statement. Might be other factors at the time.
Timeline
1782: The Founding Fathers at the Second Continental Congress adopted the bald eagle as the symbol of the United States. The United States had approximately 100,000 nesting eagles.[9]
1921: The magazine Ecology articulated the possible extinction of the bald eagle.[10]
1930: Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) was first discovered[10]
1940: Congress enacted legislation known as the Bald Eagle Protection Act. This act prohibited selling, killing, or possessing the species [9]
1950: The bald eagle was beginning to recover from human persecution [10]
1952: Bald eagle protection extended to include Alaska [9]
1962: Congress amended the act, extending the ban to the golden eagle and the law became the Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BEPA). This law protects the bird’s feathers, eggshells, and body parts. In addition, it protects their nesting trees.[9] Bald eagles are significant to Native American tribes and therefore BEPA gave an exception for Indian religious purposes. [11]
1963: Due to shooting, DDT poisoning, and loss of habitat, the bald eagle was in danger of extinction. Within 48 states, there were only 487 nesting pairs of bald eagles.[9]
1972: The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act was amended again with several different aspects such as increasing the civil penalties for violating provisions increased to a maximum fine of $5,000 and less than one year of imprisonment for first conviction. If second conviction occurs, a maximum fine of $10,000 and less than two years of imprisonment will take place.[11] DDT is banned in the United States, which resulted in the initial step of recovery for the bald eagle.[9]
1994: An executive issue was ordered by President Clinton which recognized the administrative delays and difficulties in obtaining eagle parts from the federal repository. Clinton also urged the relevant agencies to restructure the application process and continue the effort to obtain eagle parts to distribute to Native Americans.[12]
1995: The bald eagle’s status altered from endangered to threatened[9]
1999: Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) request to remove the bald eagle from the endangered species and threatened list.[9]
2007: FWS and the U.S remove the bald eagle from threatened and endangered species.[9]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_and_Golden_Eagle_Protection_Act
Women’s hats.