Sojourner Truth: Wednesday 1.18.23: PG&E threatens bald eagle's nest habitat

In 1995, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reclassified the bald eagle from endangered to threatened in the lower 48 states. Populations continued to recover enough that, in 2007, the bald eagle was officially removed from the federal Endangered Species List.
The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States of America and appears on its seal. This majestic species of birds generally represent strength, pride, and courage. The fierce beauty and proud independence of this great bird was the reason it was selected as a symbol of the strength and freedom of America when European settlers first came across one.
For indigenous people the bald eagle represents the strongest and bravest of all birds. For this reason, Native Americans have chosen the eagle and its feathers as a symbol of what is highest, bravest, strongest and holiest. The bald eagle is indigenous to North America. Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the contiguous United States, and northern Mexico. It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting.

And in Potter Valley, Mendocino CA, a 150 foot pine tree nesting bald eagles for the last 25 years is under threat of being cut down by PG&;E before the nesting season begins and it becomes illegal to cut the tree this week. PG&E contract workers showed up with wood chippers and County Sheriffs intimidating and shoving tree protectors who were lined up protecting the 150-foot tall pine tree harboring the eagles’ nest. PG&E has refused to consider alternatives such as installing automatic shut-off switches on their antiquated lines or putting the lines underground. Eagle supporters have offered to raise the $200,000 estimated cost of removing the hazardous lines instead of the tree, and are continuing to be overlooked, our guest is Pauline Girvin, an elder married into the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians, in whose ancestral territory the eagle tree stands. She is an Indian law attorney, a veteran of the 1990s northern California Timber Wars, a youth mentor and nonviolent warrior for the Earth.