John Gallone shared this story with me and kindly gave me permission to post it on Boing Boing. He writes: The beaches of the Pacific Northwest are loaded with interesting finds. From glass floats that have drifted from Japan to carcasses of sea life that defy the imagination but one of the items I have been searching for for years has been an eagle feather. Yesterday during a beach hike near my home I found a large wing feather from a mature bald eagle. Now, not only is the bird a thing of beauty in itself but its feathers are beautifully constructed with ample size and a thick quill. When proving Galileo’s theory of gravitational pull in a vacuum it was an eagle feather, which Neil Armstong used on the first moon landing. The landing probe was called the Eagle, remember “The eagle has landed” ? These items are very highly prized among Native Americans and in fact they are the only people allowed to posses an eagle feather and even they must have certification o…[...]

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Keeping a bald eagle feather could result in a $100,000 fine and a year in prison