Nearly thirty years after listing the American peregrine falcon as endangered under the predecessor of the Endangered Species Act ("ESA"), the US Fish and Wildlife Service ("USFWS") removed the species from protection under the federal law, effective August 25, 1999.
The world's fastest bird, diving at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour, has climbed from a population low of 324 nesting pairs throughout North America in 1975 to 1,650 pairs in 1998. According to USFWS, the most important factor in the species' recovery were restrictions on the use of organochlorine pesticides, such as DDT, in the United States and Canada (for instance, DDT has been banned in the United States since 1972).
Although no longer protected under the ESA, the falcon continues to be protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, State threatened and endangered species lists (most States, including New Jersey, list the peregrine falcon as a species to be protected), and federal land management programs. Protection is afforded, too, through the required testing of all new pesticides and registration of pesticides pursuant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act ("FIFRA").
