Park Record Media Center

Wildlife repository specialist Dennis Wiist evaluates a bald eagle at the National Eagle Repository in Commerce City, CO February 27, 2014. The Native American Eagle Feather Program is operated by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. Native Americans enrolled in federally recognized tribes can apply to receive eagle feathers, up to a whole bird, for religious purposes. Supervisor Bernadette Atencio said the repository receives over 2,300 eagles, in varying conditions, a year. The birds are processed and the head, talons, trunk, tail, wings and feathers are evaluated before being distributed. (Photo By Craig F. Walker / The Denver Post) ( CD18YELLOWBEAR_1CW9815 )

Wildlife repository specialist Dennis Wiist hangs a bald eagle in a freezer at the National Eagle Repository in Commerce City, CO February 27, 2014. (Photo By Craig F. Walker / The Denver Post) ( CD18YELLOWBEAR_1CW0342 )

Wildlife repository specialist Dennis Wiist evaluates a bald eagle at the National Eagle Repository in Commerce City, CO February 27, 2014. (Photo By Craig F. Walker / The Denver Post) ( CD18YELLOWBEAR_1CW9731 )

Wildlife repository specialist Dennis Wiist evaluates the talons of a bald eagle at the National Eagle Repository in Commerce City, CO February 27, 2014. (Photo By Craig F. Walker / The Denver Post) ( CD18YELLOWBEAR_1CW9617 )

Wildlife repository specialist Doni Sprague separates eagle feathers at the National Eagle Repository in Commerce City, CO February 27, 2014. (Photo By Craig F. Walker / The Denver Post) ( CD18YELLOWBEAR_1CW0238 )

Wildlife repository specialist Dennis Wiist evaluates the feathers of a bald eagle at the National Eagle Repository in Commerce City, CO February 27, 2014. (Photo By Craig F. Walker / The Denver Post) ( CD18YELLOWBEAR_1CW9920 )

A bald eagle rests on a table at the National Eagle Repository in Commerce City, CO February 27, 2014. (Photo By Craig F. Walker / The Denver Post) ( CD18YELLOWBEAR_1CW0215 )