MESA — The number of bald-eagle breeding areas in Arizona has reached a record high.
Three new breeding areas, or nests, found this year in Northeastern Arizona and along the Verde River bring the state's total to 50 nests.
"Usually every couple of years we may find a new breeding area," said Tuk Jacobson, an Arizona Game and Fish biologist. "Finding three in one year was pretty surprising."
Besides more breeding areas, 42 eaglets lived to begin flying, tying the previous Arizona record that was set in 2004.
The success of the bald-eagle breeding season, which ended June 30, is due largely to protection efforts, Jacobson said. Those efforts include stationing nest watchers to monitor the eagles and notify rescuers of any danger to the birds.
Since the nest-watching program began in 1978, it has helped save the lives of almost 50 eaglets. This year, nest watchers helped rescue four young eagles.
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While the increase in breeding areas is a positive sign, the eagle population is still low in Arizona as compared to other states, said Bob Witzeman, conservation chairman of the Maricopa Audubon Society.
"It doesn't mean they're out of the woods," he said. "A population of only 50 pair is still minuscule."
In March, the Maricopa Audubon Society and the Center For Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit to have the Arizona desert nesting bald eagle classified as a distinct species.
Arizona eagles have adapted to the hot weather and evolved into a nonmigrating resident of the Southwest, Witzeman said.
Bald eagles were near extinction 30 years ago when they became one of the first species to be placed on the list of threatened or endangered species.
Nationally, the population has rebounded enough that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is moving forward with efforts to have bald eagles delisted.
If this happens, the Arizona eagle will suffer because protection funds will dry up, Witzeman said.
Arizona Game and Fish officials said the eagles will continue to receive protection, even if removed, through voluntary programs and state eagle protection laws.
