WABASHA, Minn. – Minnesota’s members of the House and Senate in D.C. are mounting a bipartisan effort to honor an important piece of local wildlife: the bald eagle.
They want to make the bald eagle the official bird of the United States.
Despite all the national treasures we have, no national bird has ever been designated – despite common misconception.
“It goes back to the fact that it was chosen as a national symbol in 1782,” said Ed Hahn of the National Raptor Center in Wabasha.
After helping repopulate the once endangered species, they are now orchestrating a push in Congress to officially designate the bald eagle as the Bird of America.
“We came very close to losing our national symbol forever,” Hahn said. “This was one of the last places in the continental United States where you could reliably see a bald eagle in the winter months. And that was a period when seeing a bald eagle was very important.”
Today, you only have to walk through the Linden Hills neighborhood to see a bald eagle nest located on prime real estate next to Bde Maka Ska.
“It’s pretty amazing. We’ve seen some up close at the Raptor Center and things like that, but in the wild it’s really special to see them in their own habitat,” said Kevin Mahoney, a Minneapolis resident.
Minnesotans agree: the eagles who call our state home should represent the entire country.
“I can’t think of a good reason why it should be a different bird,” said Minneapolis resident Kimmie Kemberling.
