Jackie’s new monument holds onto a small piece of her daily life: a fish gripped beneath her wings. Chainsaw sculptor Paul Waclo worked from a photograph of the bald eagle in flight, giving the wooden tribute a specific moment to preserve.

The life-size sculpture was unveiled on September 26, 2026, at Fawnskin Freedom Park near Big Bear Lake. It follows Jackie’s death in August, after she received treatment at Ojai Raptor Center.

Park owner Mike Wayman emphasized the likeness when speaking to CBS Los Angeles. “People that know Jackie, especially from that side, will recognize that’s Jackie,” he said.

That observation gets at the challenge of commemorating a particular wild animal. A white head and hooked beak identify a bald eagle. A familiar angle, captured in a photograph, can help connect a sculpture to the individual people remember. Here, the fish also keeps the subject rooted in the business of being a wild bird.

Waclo came to woodcarving after a substantial career elsewhere. According to his account of becoming a sculptor, he spent 25 years in corporate sales and design before first trying a chainsaw in 2012. Within two years, commissions had grown enough for him to leave that career behind.

His commissions have since taken him across the United States and Europe. Eagles are a recurring subject in his portfolio, which includes both perched and soaring birds.

For this tribute, the photograph gives the artist something more specific than a species to represent. It preserves an action from Jackie’s life, even as the carving brings that image into a place set aside for remembrance.

The gathering began before the sculpture arrived

Jackie’s audience had years of images to remember. Friends of Big Bear Valley installed the nest camera in October 2015. Jackie later occupied the nest, and Shadow became her mate in 2018. The organization’s records document the pair raising young, enduring storms and continuing to tend eggs that never hatched. The carving draws on a different view of her life, away from the nest bowl and out over the landscape.

People were already gathering at the park before Waclo’s sculpture was unveiled. At the September 5 memorial, attendees shared memories and tributes. Organizer Trisha Dale Green told ABC7 that anyone attending who wanted to speak was welcome at the microphone. The carving was still a future addition when that earlier gathering took place.

The two September dates belong to the Fawnskin tribute. A separate commemoration, Wings Over Big Bear, is scheduled for October 3 at Bear Mountain Ski Resort, with Friends of Big Bear Valley and Visit Big Bear among its organizing partners.

According to the current Wings Over Big Bear program, the venue opens at 10 a.m. Pacific, followed by the ceremony at 10:30 a.m. Admission is free, with an RSVP requested. A livestream is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. Pacific for people who can’t attend.

The following day’s birdwatching and forest restoration activities extend the tribute into the surrounding habitat. The listings include a guided birdwatching walk, native seed collection and trail-conservation activities, with locations and registration arrangements varying by activity.

Those plans give Jackie’s followers several ways to take part, but the Fawnskin carving serves a quieter purpose. It leaves a recognizable likeness after an unveiling ends and a gathering disperses. Wayman told CBS that visitors wanted somewhere they could remember a bird they’d become attached to. The monument gives that wish a physical form.