Matt Graves, Chief of Interpretation at Harpers Ferry NHP, talks about the reintroduction of peregrine falcons during International Migratory Bird Day, Saturday, May 12, 2001.

It would be pretty awesome to walk out here in this fog, look up there at the heights, and the leaves are changing color and suddenly see a flash of a peregrine coming down toward the river and take a pigeon right off there, or a duck or something like that. That's the same sight when John Brown was here. If they had bothered to look up they might have seen that. That's the same sight when George Washington was here, he could of looked up in these hillsides, and even Thomas Jefferson before that. The same sight that's occurred for hundreds of years here might once again be seen in Harpers Ferry.

There is this wildlife biologist and professor of wildlife management who used to be a professional wolf hunter for the government way back as a young man. But he wrote in a book, "The first sign of intelligent tinkering is saving all the parks." His name was Aldo Leapold. Some of you have read some of his books before. And I think by bringing these peregrines back and saving them in their natural habitat like Harpers Ferry provides, we're saving some of the park. And maybe we can learn from these magnificent creatures how their lives are lived and how we as humans can restore these species that we've almost obliterated from the Earth. And maybe, I hope in two years you'll be able to come back and we'll have nesting peregrines on a day like today up on Maryland Heights. It would be quite a spectacular sight, wouldn't it