Michigan's bald eagles — once brought back from the brink of extinction through decades of scientific work and public commitment — are struggling. This nesting season, researchers are finding empty nests where chicks once thrived, eaglets starving to death, and nests destroyed by storms. Scientists say it's unlike anything they've seen in decades.

Making it worse: the federal money that was supposed to fund this year's monitoring never arrived.

More than $700,000 in federal funding through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) — expected by researchers at Wings Over Water Research Institute for bald eagle and waterbird monitoring — has not been released. Researchers weren't told it wasn't coming until April, after the monitoring season was already underway. Without that funding, full aerial surveys were cut back and professional banding crews were replaced by volunteers, limiting how many nests could be visited during the narrow five-to-nine week window when eaglets can safely be handled.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it transferred roughly $800,000 in GLRI funds to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for this exact purpose. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has not explained where that money went or why it hasn't reached the scientists who need it.

This is not a funding shortfall. The money exists. It was collected. It was meant to protect one of America's greatest conservation success stories — and it isn't getting to the people doing the work.

"Every nest visit provides critical information about the health of Michigan's waters and wildlife," said Jennifer Day, executive director of Wings Over Water Research Institute.

We are calling on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the EPA to immediately release and account for the withheld GLRI monitoring funds — and to ensure researchers can complete this season's work before the window closes.

Bald eagles need our help to survive. Sign this petition to demand the funds be released now.