Dollywood's Eagle Mountain Sanctuary

By: Amanda Whitsell

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    Dollywood is a theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Dolly Parton made this beautiful park the way it is to boost the economy of where she grew up. At the time she purchased the park, the prosperity in East Tennessee was struggling. Before being known as Dollywood, the park was Silver Dollar City. She became a co-owner in 1986. At the same time, the bald eagle population was also poor. Native to Tennessee, the bald eagle was sitting at a few to no breeding pairs in the state. In 1991, the Eagle Mountain Sanctuary opened to help in the conservation of the beautiful raptor. Now, Dollywood has three breeding pairs of bald eagles and the largest number of unreleasable bald eagles. They can be seen at the park in their 1.5 million-cubic-foot enclosure. This raptor sanctuary has greatly helped the wild population, releasing over 180 bald eagles with the American Eagle Foundation.