WASHINGTON – The American bald eagle, once nearly extinct, is making a comeback. The government is confirming that by taking the revered bird off a list of protected species.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne was to make the announcement at a ceremony near the Jefferson Memorial today, a day before a court-directed deadline for his department to decide the eagle’s status.

Conservationists have hailed the successful recovery of the eagle as clear evidence that the Endangered Species Act, which has been under attack in recent years from business groups and some members of Congress, can work.

Government biologists have documented nearly 10,000 nesting pairs of bald eagles, including at least one pair in each of the 48 contiguous states. This compares to only 417 such pairs in 1963 when the bird was on the verge of disappearing everywhere in the country except for Alaska.

Maine alone had 414 breeding pairs last year, an increase from about 35 in the early 1970s.

While no longer declared endangered, the bald eagle will continue to be protected by a 1940 federal law that will make it illegal to kill the bird – as well as state statutes.

Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service also is preparing guidelines for protecting the bird’s nesting habitat under the 1940 law and developing a permitting process that landowners will have to use if eagles are found on property they want to disturb.