HUNTINGTON — When a young, rehabilitated golden eagle takes flight in its return to the wild today, the belief is that it will take heavenward hopes and prayers for six miners trapped over three weeks and for the three rescuers who died.
"It's going to be tearful and emotional — it's going to be hard," said Martin Tyner, the Cedar City man who nursed the 6-month-old golden eagle back to health.
At some point during the afternoon, at an undisclosed location in the mountains above Huntington, family members of the six miners trapped since Aug. 6 and relatives of the three men who were killed while trying to find the miners will be allowed to touch the eagle. Then it will be released.
"They're very excited," Tyner said. "They're looking forward to it."
For more than 30 years, Tyner has rehabilitated injured or near-death golden eagles and released them back into the wild. He is a volunteer with the Southwest Wildlife Foundation, whose Web site is www.gowildlife.org. The eagle being released today was found dehydrated and emaciated in the desert near Cedar City.
"He's doing well," Tyner said.
Fully grown at 12 weeks, the golden eagle has a 6-foot wingspan, weighs about 7 or 8 pounds and has more than 7,000 feathers. This particular eagle had somehow become separated too early from its parents and was doing poorly on its own in hot, dry conditions, Tyner said.
About two weeks ago, Tyner released a rehabilitated golden eagle at Cedar Breaks in honor of military veterans. A Marine who is a Vietnam veteran was allowed to release that eagle.
Tyner had the idea to do the same for the miners and their families and happened to have an eagle ready to go. "You can't watch the news without literally your heart breaking for the people in Carbon and Emery counties," Tyner said.
He contacted city officials here and Huntington City Councilwoman Julie Jones latched on to the gesture.
"It's supposed to be a great healing process," Jones said. It's expected that one of the family members will actually release the eagle.
A Paiute Indian spiritual leader told Tyner about five years ago the "story" of the golden eagle, which has subspecies that exist all over the world, earning it the nickname "world eagle." The simplified version of the story is that the eagle collects prayers during the night, then flies during the day on the updrafts of warm thermals — and as the air rises, so do the prayers, Tyner said. Many cultures, he added, share that belief.
"It's a powerful animal," he said. "It can carry a lot of burdens."
Tyner's experience with golden eagles also allowed him to be the first person in North America to become licensed to use a golden eagle as his own personal hunting bird. He named the eagle Scout. He will drive more than four hours from his home in Cedar City to release the eagle near Huntington.
E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com