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Eagles, Young and Bald
Researched and Written by Janine Weins
(Posted 9/28/06)

Eagles, young and bald, are soaring in northern New England because of dedicated volunteers.

Young Eagles are young people, 8 through 17, who have flown for free under the Young Eagles program. The Young Eagles program was launched in 1992 by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) to introduce young people to the excitement of aviation. The EAA Young Eagles program is the largest youth aviation program in the world, under the program more than 1.2 million young people have become Young Eagles.

In 2003, Harrison Ford replaced General Chuck Yaeger, the first man to break the sound barrier, as Chairman of Young Eagles. Mr. Ford is a pilot who owns more than a dozen aircraft including a deHavilland Beaver and Bell helicopter. His ratings including seaplane, rotorcraft (helicopters), and instrument. Harrison Ford has personally flown more than 250 young people for free in his own airplanes.

The volunteer most responsible for the success of the Young Eagles program in northern New England is Joel Godston, Chairman of the Dean Memorial Airport Commission. This past July, Godston was given the highest honors in civil aviation, the Phillips 66 Aviation Leadership Award for his exceptional contributions to the EAA Young Eagles program.

During the past decade, Joe has organized Airport Awareness Days across northern New England. At each of these Airport Awareness Days, young people are given an opportunity to fly for free in a general aviation aircraft. In the past decade, Joel has personally flown hundreds of Young Eagles. This summer he, with the help of his wife Annemarie, organized Airport Awareness Day at Lebanon Airport at which several hundred young people were given free flights. Joel and his wife are planning an Airport Awareness Day for October 7th at Dean Memorial. On October 7, young people who register between 10:00 and 2:00 will have an opportunity to fly for free and get an eagle's eye view of the fall colors in the Connecticut River valley.

The Bald Eagle is our national symbol. It was selected on June 20, 1782, when the great seal of the United States was being designed. Benjamin Franklin wanted our national bird to be the wild turkey but those who argued that the bald eagle should be selected because of its long life, great strength, majestic look, and the belief that it existed only on this continent, prevailed.

The bald eagle is large. An adult is more than 3 feet tall, can have a wing span of more than 8 feet, and weigh 14 pounds. In 1782, bald eagles were common, but as their habitat was destroyed the bald eagle population declined. DDT and other pesticides accelerated the decline. By the 1930's the bald eagle population had diminished significantly and some thought our national symbol would become extinct. On June 8, 1940, the Federal government adopted the Bald Eagle Protection Act. That same year the last pair of nesting bald eagles to be seen in Vermont for many decades was sited near Lake Bomoseen.

For nearly half a century dedicated volunteers worked with the Vermont Fish and Game Commission, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Vermont Bald Eagle Restoration Initiative to restore the bald eagle to Vermont. In April of 2006, the first breeding pair of bald eagles to establish a nest in Vermont in decades was sited on the Vermont side of the Connecticut River.

In New Hampshire, the state's Fish and Game Department has worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the University of New Hampshire, and the New Hampshire Audubon Society to help reestablish bald eagles in New Hampshire. In 2005, the number of territorial pairs of bald eagles in New Hampshire was a post DDT high of ten and there were six successful nests and 11 young.

The eagle population is beginning to recover. Many of the eagles who come to northen New England like to soar over the Connecticut River, where the fishing is good and they have a long, uninterrupted flight path.

If you drive in the Connecticut River Valley the first Saturday in October, you will have an opportunity to see spectacular fall colors and you may be lucky enough to see eagles both young and bald.