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The
American Eagle Foundation (AEF) is a not-for-profit organization of
concerned
citizens and professionals founded in 1985 to develop and conduct bald
eagle and environmental recovery programs in the United States and
to
assist private, state and federal projects that do the same. Our goal
is to fully restore the bald eagle, the U.S.A.'s National Symbol, to
America's
lands and skies and to "Build A Nest-Egg" for their future
care and protection. We are headquartered at the Dollywood entertainment
park
in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
In addition to our commitment to conduct projects that ensure the restoration
and protection of eagles in the wild, we are dedicated to caring for eagles
that are injured and orphaned. At our Pigeon Forge eagle center, we are
federally licensed care-givers to over 60 birds of prey daily. These birds
are non-releasable due to permanent physical disabilities or accidental
imprinting on humans. Many of the non-releasable eagles residing at our
facility have successfully reproduced while in our care. We operate the
largest Bald Eagle breeding facility in the world, and have released dozens
of captive-hatched eaglets into the Great Smoky Mountains area, Tennessee
and other places. We have been a party to releasing hundreds of eaglets
into the wild in cooperation with Federal and State agencies, and have
also supported numerous eagle recovery and protection projects in various
states.
In addition, our organization is deeply involved in environmental education.
Since 1991, we have educated millions of people at the Dollywood entertainment
park and at schools, conventions and events throughout the country. We
have successfully performed more than 8,000 "free flight" birds
of prey education programs since 1991 using non-releasable, permanently
disabled trained birds of prey. All of our efforts to save and protect
America's eagles do little good if we cannot teach respect and appreciation
for these magnificent birds and their natural habitat ... and that is
our number one goal.
Our activities and programs are recognized by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Independent Charities of
America, Animal Funds Of America, Office of Personnel Management, Internal
Revenue Service, and numerous State fish and wildlife agencies.
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