WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Friday it is working to remove the bald eagle from the list of endangered species, following a court decision ordering it do so by Feb. 16 unless it can prove further delays are necessary.

U.S. District Judge John R. Tunheim's order came in a lawsuit brought by Pacific Legal Foundation on behalf of a Minnesota landowner who wants to develop property in Morrison County where there is an active bald eagle nest.

"We are evaluating the court decision and preparing our response to it," said Valerie Fellows, a Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman in Washington. "However, we are working diligently to delist the bald eagle, because it has met the goals for recovery."

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources issued a letter recommending no development within 330 feet of the Morrison County nest to ensure compliance with the Endangered Species Act and the Eagle Protection Act, according to the court filing.

Landowner Edmund Contoski, whose property abuts Sullivan Lake in central Minnesota, filed the lawsuit in federal court in Minnesota on Oct. 31, 2005.

In 1967, under a law that preceded the Endangered Species Act, the bald eagle was declared an endangered species in the lower 48 states. Since then, the population has rebounded.

In North Dakota, the state Game and Fish Department reported a record number of bald eagles wintering along the Missouri River in February, and cited a mild winter. One count spotted 75 of the birds, which was the highest number observed since the department began annual surveys in 1986.

The major protections afforded to endangered and threatened animals under the Endangered Species Act are prohibitions against "taking," meaning to kill, wound, shoot, capture, harass, harm or disturb; providing critical habitat to the animals; and requiring all federal agencies to comply with the law.