Benjamin Franklin wrote in a letter to his daughter, Sally,
on January 26, 1784:

"I wish that the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country, he is a bird of bad moral character... For a truth, the turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America . . . a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British guards, who should presume to invade his farmyard with a red coat on."

In 1963, only 400 nesting eagle pairs were reported in the lower 48 states, leading to measures being taken to protect our national symbol. In 2007, with the population having rebounded to more than 11,000 nesting pairs, the American Bald Eagle was officially removed from the Endangered Species List.