A theme park is probably not the first place you would look for bald eagles. Yet for 35 years, Dollywood in Tennessee was home to a large group of them. The American Eagle Foundation and Dollywood Parks & Resorts jointly announced that the non-releasable bald eagles that lived at Dollywood's Eagle Mountain Sanctuary will have their permanent home on the foundation’s 50-acre campus in Kodak, Tenn. The foundation announced the news on August 21, 2026, months after a storm hit the sanctuary.
Three decades of eagle sightings at Dollywood
The Eagle Mountain Sanctuary opened in April 1991, and Dolly Parton participated in the grand opening, where a bald eagle was ceremonially released into the newly built habitat. Since 1991, the American Eagle Foundation has worked with Dollywood. Dollywood's president, Eugene Naughton, said the partnership has allowed millions of guests to learn about and appreciate bald eagles and other birds of prey. The sanctuary housed non-releasable birds, meaning they could not be released into the wild. It was designed as a natural habitat with minimal human contact for the birds.
The storm and the escape
A storm toppled a tree near the sanctuary on April 19, damaging an aviary and releasing three bald eagles. At least 26 other eagles were captured and taken to the foundation’s headquarters at Kodak. A staff member said they had protocols for tracking and returning bald eagles. One of the escaped eagles, Caesar, was found about two weeks later. The other two, Rockland and Wesley, have wing or shoulder injuries that make their survival in the wild difficult, foundation CEO Lori Moore said. As of August 21, the foundation said both were missing.
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A permanent home in Kodak
The American Eagle Foundation opened its Kodak campus in 2023, and the foundation says it has more development planned there. The eagles have been on campus since the storm, and now they will stay on campus forever. The foundation says the move will consolidate more of its eagle care, conservation, and education work in one place. Moore said that Eagle Mountain Sanctuary "has played an extraordinary role in our history." She said the campus allows the foundation to build on that legacy and expand its conservation and educational work. The foundation thanked Dollywood for 35 years of partnership.
{{/usCountry}}The American Eagle Foundation opened its Kodak campus in 2023, and the foundation says it has more development planned there. The eagles have been on campus since the storm, and now they will stay on campus forever. The foundation says the move will consolidate more of its eagle care, conservation, and education work in one place. Moore said that Eagle Mountain Sanctuary "has played an extraordinary role in our history." She said the campus allows the foundation to build on that legacy and expand its conservation and educational work. The foundation thanked Dollywood for 35 years of partnership.
{{/usCountry}}Visitors can still see bald eagles at Dollywood. The foundation’s Birds of Prey Program will be continuing at the Wings of America Theater, where visitors can view eagles and other raptors and learn about caring for nature. But the eagles themselves will not come back to the old sanctuary. Naughton said Dollywood plans to continue to inspire guests to care for these birds and the natural world.
Why bald eagles matter
Bald eagles are perhaps the most famous conservation success story in the United States. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s technical report, ‘Bald Eagle Population Size: 2020 Update,’ estimates the lower 48 states’ bald eagle population at roughly 316,700. The report also shows 71,467 occupied nests. Scientists flew aerial surveys in 2018 and 2019, which helped the estimate. That reflects a significant recovery for a bird that once faced severe decline in the U.S. The foundation has set more than 400 bald eagles free into the wild. It was also presented with a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Conservation Award in 2007 for its work in support of bald eagle recovery.
So, as Dollywood says goodbye to its eagle sanctuary, the eagles at Kodak are still being cared for by the same group that cared for them at the park, and the mission continues.