Don Torino, president of the Bergen County Audubon Society  and frequent leader of the NJMC/BCAS nature walk, has a new column on wildnewjersey.tv, about the abundance of Bald Eagles in our region and the 40th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. Here’s a sample:

This past month was the 40th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), signed into law by President Nixon on December 28th 1973.

For the last 40 years the ESA has saved hundreds of animals, plants, birds, and fish and protected thousands of acres of critical wildlife habitat that is enjoyed not only by endangered species but by we humans also.

Here in New Jersey and even in Bergen County we can see the benefits of this groundbreaking piece of legislation by looking at places like the Hackensack River. The Endangered Species Act has brought back the Peregrine Falcons, the Osprey and none more dramatic a sight than the Bald Eagle, not only to the Hackensack but to rivers in communities all over the United States, a sight that was not possible for the last Century.

Growing up in the Hackensack Meadowlands, I never thought I would see the day when I could point out these magnificent birds to schoolchildren — an honor that my generation was never able to enjoy.

Link is here.