While the triplets are being cared for by their parents in a gigantic nest located in the theme park's outdoor aviary, they are also under the watchful eye of the staff of the American Eagle Foundation (formerly National Foundation To Protect America's Eagles). The AEF, headquartered at Dollywood, is a non-profit organization with permits from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service to possess, care for, exhibit, rehabilitate and breed birds of prey including bald eagles. Since 1991, they have cared for dozens of non-releasable bald eagles at their Dollywood facilities. Dozens of eaglets born to non-releasable eagle parents have been successfully released back into the wild throughout Tennessee by the AEF over the past decade.

For the next several weeks, the triplet eaglets will be cared for by their parents in the Eagle Mountain Sanctuary exhibit located on the grounds of the Dollywood theme park. Around the middle of June when they are approximately five weeks old, they will be placed in a "hack tower" (artificial nesting and release tower) at Douglas Lake in nearby Dandridge, TN. When they reach 12 weeks of age, the triplets will be released from their hack tower into the wild to help further restore the bald eagle population in the Great Smoky Mountains area.

"Columbine", one of the triplets, was named in honor all the American students and teachers who have lost their lives in school shootings. The other two babies were named "Armstrong" and "Glenn" in honor of America's pioneer astronauts Neil Armstrong and John Glenn.

(Pigeon Forge, TN) A 12-week-old bald eaglet named "Columbine" will be released into the wilds of the Great Smoky Mountains area early Monday morning (8/16/99) along with two of its siblings by the American Eagle Foundation (formerly National Foundation to Protect America's Eagles).

"Columbine" is named to honor all of the students and teachers who have been slain as a result of in-school violence. The other eaglets, "Glenn" and "Armstrong", are named in honor of space pioneers John Glenn and Neil Armstrong and in rememberance of the 30th anniversary of the first moon walk and other advances in space missions.

These bald eaglets will be released from a hack tower (nesting/release tower) on Douglas Lake south of Dandridge, TN as part of the AEF project to further restore the Bald Eagle to East Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountain area.

The three eaglets were hatched by parents "Liberty" and "Justice" at Dollywood in mid-May and became the first "triplet" bald eaglets to be hatched in captivity in Tennessee. The birds have been cared for at the AEF's facilities at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge and at their hack tower on Douglas Lake. They will be equipped with bands, transmitters and patagial tags this weekend to track their progress upon release.

The hack tower and eagle release project at the Douglas Lake site is a cooperative effort between the AEF, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the Dollywood entertainment park and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The AEF manages the eagle hacking operation in cooperation with TWRA. Other contributors to this year's eagle restoration project at Douglas Lake are the Columbus Zoo in Ohio, the Wildlife Sanctuary of Northeast Florida and a private landowner in Dandridge, TN.

The American Eagle Foundation (AEF), based in Pigeon Forge, TN. at the Dollywood entertainment park, is a non-profit organization with the goal of fully restoring our threatened national symbol throughout the United States. The AEF is widely recognized as a national leader in bald eagle conservation, recovery and education.

For more information about the eagle restoration project, contact Al Cecere.