Dollywood Eagles Move Permanently to American Eagle Foundation Campus

The bald eagles long associated with Dollywood’s Eagle Mountain Sanctuary will make their permanent home at the American Eagle Foundation’s 50-acre campus in Kodak, marking a major change in a conservation partnership that began 35 years ago.

The non-releasable eagles have been cared for at the Kodak campus since a storm damaged the Dollywood sanctuary earlier in 2026. Dollywood and the foundation announced Aug. 21 that the move will now be permanent, bringing more of the organization’s eagle care, education and conservation work together at one site.

Eagle Mountain Sanctuary became one of Dollywood’s most recognizable animal exhibits, allowing park guests to see bald eagles that could not survive in the wild. The organizations began working together in 1991, when the species was still federally listed as threatened or endangered across much of the country.

During the partnership, the American Eagle Foundation says it released more than 400 bald eagles into the wild. The species was removed from the federal threatened and endangered list in 2007 after a decades-long national recovery.

The move does not end the foundation’s presence at Dollywood. Its Birds of Prey program will continue at the Wings of America Theater, where visitors can see bald eagles and other raptors while learning about their behavior and conservation.

The American Eagle Foundation opened its current Kodak headquarters and education campus in 2023. The property gives the nonprofit more room for long-term care and future development than the sanctuary site inside the theme park.

For Dollywood visitors, the most visible change is that Eagle Mountain Sanctuary will no longer serve as the eagles’ home. The live educational shows remain part of the park experience, while the birds themselves and the foundation’s broader conservation operation are centered in Kodak.