A petition drive is seeking to stop the transfer of the remains of the beloved Big Bear bald eagle, Jackie, to a federal facility in Colorado that supplies feathers and wings to Native American tribes.
The online petition hosted on Change.org seeks an exception to federal law to halt Jackie’s intended route to the repository and return her to Big Bear Valley through an “educational, scientific, conservation, or memorial arrangement” institution. By Thursday afternoon the petition had received 813 signatures.
The petition’s creator – Sandra Sehl – could not be reached for comment by Thursday afternoon.
Jackie’s life, captured by a nonstop livestream camera operated by the environmental nonprofit Friends of Big Bear Valley, still has a community reeling from her death, after she was found grounded for hours after fighting two younger eagles in mid-July.
A Ventura County wildlife rehab facility, Ojai Raptor Center, provided medical care to Jackie for almost a month until her passing. The Ojai center said that Jackie had been suffering from ailments including large blood clots in both wings and a kidney.
There is still no word on the cause of death. A California Department of Fish and Wildlife Aug. 11 news release said Jackie would undergo a necropsy by veterinary pathologists at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, then be transferred to the National Eagle Repository in Colorado, in accordance with federal law.
Some aren’t happy with Jackie’s intended route and feel her remains should stay in the San Bernardino Mountains community where she lived, rather than being sent to the eagle repository. The federal faculty to receive Jackie evaluates, stores and distributes remains, parts and feathers to enrolled members of federally recognized Native American tribes who have traditionally used eagle remains, feathers and parts in religious and cultural ceremonies and in traditional regalia.
Sehl writes in the petition that “Jackie’s circumstances are extraordinary.”
“Her entire documented life is intertwined with Big Bear Valley, and her educational and conservation legacy reaches around the world,” Sehl said in the petition.
“Imagine a permanent educational exhibit in Big Bear Valley where future generations could learn Jackie’s story: the recovery and protection of bald eagles, their biology and behavior, the Big Bear ecosystem, the importance of habitat conservation, and everything scientists ultimately learn from Jackie’s medical examination,” the petition said.
Friends of Big Bear Valley spokesperson Jenny Voisard said the nonprofit has nothing to do with the petition.
“We would prefer that the Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation have the remains. We ask that people honor and respect tradition and process,” Voisard said by text Thursday.
A celebration of life honoring Jackie seems to be in the works, according to a Friends of Big Bear Valley Wednesday social media post.
“Several agencies in the Big Bear Valley got together to discuss an event to honor our beloved Jackie on October 3rd,” the post read. Further details on the event have not been announced by the nonproft as of Thursday afternoon.
Community members continue to celebrate Jackie in their own way.
A shrine dedicated to Jackie in Fawnskin, the community in Big Bear close where the livestream nest resides, has been erected in a privately own park – Fawn Park. The memorial is not sanctioned or affiliated with the Friends of Big Bear Valley.
The single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Ontario Tower Buzzers, however, has partnered with Friends of Big Bear Valley to commemorate Jackie and help further the nonprofit’s work.
A “Fly High, Jackie” night is set for the Buzzers’ Sunday, Aug. 23 game at ONT Field against the Inland Empire 66ers. The Buzzers will donate 50% of ticket proceeds to the Friends nonprofit.