Celebrating a Noble Survivor

Bicentennial of a bird that symbolizes courage and power

If Benjamin Franklin had had his way, Ronald Reagan would be declaring 1982 as "The Year of the Turkey." In 1776, the Continental Congress assigned to Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams the task of designing an official seal for the new nation. Franklin opposed the selection of the American bald eagle as the centerpiece on the ground that it was "a bird of bad moral character" that sometimes steals food from other predators. Fortunately for the American psyche, Franklin's preference for the "more respectable" turkey as the national symbol was voted down.

On June 20, 1782, Congress approved the Great Seal of the United States. Its principal feature is the majestic bald eagle, wings spread, clutching an olive branch in its right talons, a cluster of 13 arrows (for the original states) in its left. Americans were not the first to adopt eagles as symbols of independence, courage and power: European cave men decorated their walls with drawings of eagles, and rulers from the Roman Caesars to Napoleon chose the bird as their emblem. But no people took to eagles like the Americans to Old Baldie, which has adorned everything from 19th century $20 gold pieces and 20th century quarters to brass door knockers and even mass-produced "colonial-style" paper-towel dispensers. American craftsmen have featured the proud bird on such homely items as belt buckles, silk kerchiefs, pewter plates, pillowcases and coverlets, bureaus and mantelpieces. More than 1,700 U.S. crags, towns and waterways have been named for the eagle, from Eagleville, Calif, (pop. 200), to Eagle Lake in Maine.

Said President Reagan of the bird in proclaiming 1982 the "Bicentennial Year of the American Bald Eagle" and June 20 as "National Bald Eagle Day": "Its grace and power in flight, its vigilance and loyalty in defending its family group and, most of all its courage, make the eagle a proud and appropriate symbol for the United States."

The tributes come just as the birds, which range from south Florida to the Alaskan wilds, are making a comeback from near extinction caused by chemical pesticides and other modern hazards. For that reason, the year's most significant event was the opening in mid-June of the 50,000-acre Haines Eagle Preserve near Juneau, Alaska. Governor Jay Hammond plans to contribute some of Alaska's estimated flock of 30,000 eagles to 21 other states that are trying to rebuild their populations. Additional help came from an unexpected quarter last month when West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt gave two baby bald eagles to President Reagan in Bonn. When they are old enough later this year, the eaglets, named Carol and Captain, will be flown to the U.S. After that, air travel will be strictly do-it-yourself.

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