Minnesota benefactor has bald eagle on cusp of winning status as national bird

The bald eagle has (almost) landed as the national bird of the United States after the House on Monday cleared the bill to make the designation official.

All that remains is a signature from President Joe Biden, and the eagle will have the same status as the national mammal (the American bison), the national flower (the rose) and the national tree (the oak), each of which was elevated by federal legislation in the two-and-a-half centuries since the bald eagle became an unofficial symbol of the nation during the Second Continental Congress in 1782. That’s when the Great Seal of the United States, which displays the eagle front and center, was approved.

“It makes me feel like I’m levitating,” said Preston Cook, a lifelong collector of eagle memorabilia who discovered that Congress had never designated a national bird while he was writing a book about the bald eagle’s role in U.S. history.

“I am thrilled this bill has passed the Senate and now the House to honor, after 240 years, our living symbol, the bald eagle,” said Cook, who spearheaded the legislative effort in collaboration with the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, Minn., where he now lives. “This bill gives the bald eagle the recognition it fully deserves.”

The bill passed the House by voice vote under suspension of the rules.

The Senate passed the bill from Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., to designate the bald eagle as the national bird by unanimous consent in July. The companion measure sponsored by Rep. Brad Finstad, R-Minn., sat quietly in the House until Republican leaders moved Klobuchar’s bill to the House floor for Monday’s vote under suspension of the rules.

“More than 240 years ago, the Founding Fathers identified the bald eagle as a symbol of the strength and independence promised in our new nation. Since then, we have revered this majestic creature as the unquestionable icon of the United States,” Finstad said in a statement after the vote. “Today, we rightfully recognize the bald eagle as our official national bird — bestowing an honor that is long overdue.”

Finstad’s bill had 13 co-sponsors, including Minnesota Republicans Tom Emmer, Michelle Fischbach and Pete Stauber and Democrats Angie Craig, Betty McCollum, Ilhan Omar and Dean Phillips. The state has one of the largest eagle populations in the U.S.

“The bald eagle is a symbol of our country’s freedom and strength,” Klobuchar said in a statement when the bill was introduced in June. Her co-sponsors were Sens. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., and Tina Smith, D-Minn.

“There is nothing more American than a bald eagle soaring across the Wyoming sky,” Lummis said. “These majestic creatures have long been viewed as the official bird of this country and it is past time we made it official without costing taxpayers a single cent.”

Cook, a former California real estate developer who donated his vast collection of eagle statues, buttons, drawings, photos and other memorabilia to the National Eagle Center, said he hopes Biden will hold a ceremony at the White House when he signs the bill.

“He can use it for a little unity talk, because the eagle represents all Americans,” Cook said. “Hopefully he’ll do something like that.”