DEWAYNE HOLLOWAY/dewayne@mcnews.online
Liberty took flight Saturday from atop Hickory Nut Mountain as Tommy Young successfully released his 115th bald eagle. Liberty was the name given to the most recent bald eagle rehabilitated by Tommy Young at the Arkansas Native Plant and Wildlife Center located in Mena.
A large crowd gathered on a beautiful July afternoon at the vista point at the top of Hickory Nut Mountain. Tommy stated that he felt drawn to the sight and has used the location to release three bald eagles this year.
The bald eagle named Liberty was brought to Young in April after it had been found with a broken wing in the Muddy Creek Wildlife Management Area. The eagle was rescued by AGFC Wildlife Officer Mac Davis and brought to Young’s facility.
Young has been rehabilitating wild animals and returning them to the wild for over 30 years. He stated before releasing the eagle that he was scaling back his operation so he could focus on endangered and protected species. In his lifetime he has rehabilitated and released over 87,000 wild animals.
Stephen Walker, a representative from Senator Tom Cotton’s Office, was on hand for the release to talk to Young about what the Senator can do to help with rehabilitation efforts. Young shared after the release that the biggest help the Senator can offer is to help ease back state and federal regulations regarding caring for wild animals.
Young added that he wasn’t worried about his work at this point. He wanted to help bring about change for those who follow him in rehabilitation efforts.
Liberty takes flight
