; Whereas, by 2007, bald eagles residing in the lower 48 States had rebounded to approximately 11,000 pairs; Whereas, on June 28, 2007, the Secretary the Interior and the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service removed the bald eagle from protection under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 ( 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), but the bald eagle continues to be protected under the Act of June 8, 1940 (commonly known as the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act ) ( 16 U.S.C. 668 et seq.), the Migratory Bird Treaty Act ( 16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.), section 42 of title 18, United States Code (commonly known as the Lacey Act ), and the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 ( 16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.); Whereas Challenger, the trained, educational bald eagle of the American Eagle Foundation in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, was invited by the Secretary of the Interior to perform a free-flight demonstration during the official bald eagle delisting ceremony held at the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, District of Columbia; Whereas experts and population growth charts estimate that the bald eagle population could reach 15,000 pairs, even though a physical count has not been conducted by State and Federal wildlife agencies since 2007; Whereas caring and concerned agencies, corporations, organizations, and people of the United States representing Federal and State governments and the private sector passionately and resourcefully banded together, determined to save and protect the national bird of the United States; Whereas the recovery of the bald eagle population in the United States was largely accomplished through— (1) the dedicated and vigilant efforts of Federal and State wildlife agencies and nonprofit organizations, such as the American Eagle Foundation; (2) public education; (3) captive breeding and release programs; (4) hacking and release programs