On September 4, supporters of Jackie, Big Bear Lake’s beloved bald eagle, are being invited to wear purple. The color has become a visible expression of grief, gratitude and resolve after Jackie’s final weeks in care, when viewers followed medical updates and hoped she might recover. Jackie died during the night of August 9 after more than three weeks of intensive treatment.

The tribute may look like one official campaign, but it came together from two distinct places. The California State Senate chose the date and the public purpose. Jackie’s online community chose purple. Keeping those origins separate preserves both the accuracy of the state’s action and the meaning of the ritual supporters created for themselves.

Senator Tony Strickland introduced Senate Resolution 140 on August 11, 2026. The Senate adopted it without opposition on August 28, and the measure was enrolled two days later. It proclaims September 4, 2026, as California Wildlife Day in remembrance of Jackie and encourages Californians to honor her by recognizing the importance of protecting wildlife.

The resolution never mentions purple. Its operative language names only September 4, 2026, so the observance shouldn’t be described as a permanent annual state holiday. It is a special Senate proclamation tied to one date and to Jackie’s memory.

The date carries another layer of meaning because the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has also marked September 4 as National Wildlife Day. Still, Jackie’s resolution did not establish California’s first Wildlife Day. In 2017, a separate California resolution proclaimed the spring equinox of every year as California Wildlife Day. The 2026 measure adds a special September observance without replacing that earlier annual recognition.

How purple became the language of remembrance

The clearest traceable public source for the purple tribute is a Facebook post by Ahone Howard. After someone asked what color people should wear on September 4, Howard chose purple and connected it with dignity, strength, devotion and remembrance. The idea then circulated through Jackie and Shadow fan communities, where supporters suggested shirts, ribbons, scarves, bracelets and other simple ways to participate.

The public record does not prove that Howard was the first person anywhere to suggest the color. It does show that her post became an identifiable source for the wording that spread. Purple is therefore best understood as a voluntary community tradition layered onto an official state observance, not as a color designated in the Senate resolution.

That distinction doesn’t diminish the tribute. The resolution gave Jackie public recognition, while the purple campaign gave people a shared action they could take from almost anywhere.

Jackie’s symbolic weight came from a real and unusually public life. State wildlife officials identify her as the first documented bald eagle chick hatched in Big Bear Valley, in the summer of 2012. Friends of Big Bear Valley installed its first nest camera in 2015, and audiences later watched Jackie and Shadow raise young, including the eaglets Sandy and Luna, who fledged in 2026.

“Sharing her story inspired deep care in people and a broader understanding of why conservation matters,” California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Meghan Hertel said after Jackie’s death.

Her final illness also requires careful language. Jackie was found grounded and unable to fly on July 18. She arrived at the Ojai Raptor Center severely anemic, emaciated and systemically ill. Even after extensive testing and treatment, the veterinary team did not settle on one confirmed explanation for her decline.

Jackie’s legacy reaches beyond remembrance. In July, a campaign raised the $10 million needed to preserve Moon Camp habitat, a 63-acre stretch of forest, open space and shoreline used by Jackie and Shadow. More than 25,000 donations helped fund the effort, alongside a gift of more than $5.5 million from Anna and Greg Brockman. The San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust confirmed that the property was permanently protected by July 31.

The fight to protect Moon Camp showed how public attention around the Big Bear eagles could translate into habitat protection. The land supports bald eagles, other native birds, San Bernardino flying squirrels and distinctive native plants.

Wearing purple therefore works best as an opening gesture, not the entire message. A shirt, ribbon or scarf can make a shared loss visible. The deeper tribute is to protect habitat, keep a respectful distance from nests, remove discarded fishing line and litter, support licensed wildlife rehabilitation and learn about the wild species living nearby. CDFW’s previous Wildlife Day guidance has similarly encouraged people to learn about nearby species, observe nature and support conservation work.

On September 4, the state’s proclamation and the community’s chosen color meet in one tribute. Purple remembers Jackie. California Wildlife Day asks what people will do with the care she awakened.