Mission:

The Alaska Raptor Center's mission is threefold:

• To provide medical treatment for injured bald eagles and other birds, 
• To teach people about Alaska's birds and environmental conservation, and 
• To conduct bald eagle research. 

Each year, the Alaska Raptor Center provides medical treatment to approximately 200 injured bald eagles and other birds. Our goal is to release our patients back into the wild; some, however, are injured so severely they could not survive in the wild even after rehabilitation. These birds may join our Raptors-in-Residence, providing excitement and education for more than 40,000 annual visitors and for the 14,000 schoolchildren we reach through the Adopt-A-Raptor program and classroom presentations around the country.

Bald Eagle Flight Training Center:

Here at the Alaska Raptor Center, we've been working diligently toward raising the necessary funds for construction of a state-of-the-art flight-training facility to provide better diagnosis and rehabilitation for injured birds. This 20,000-square-foot structure will be added to our existing 6,000-square-foot building here in Sitka, giving us the necessary facilities for diagnosis, treatment, feeding, housing and rehabilitation of our patients. In addition, it will provide visitors with exceptional wildlife viewing opportunities and further enhance the award-winning educational visitor experiences we provide to help people understand animals - and the birds won't be bothered, thanks to the non-reflective, one-way glass that will separate our patients and their admirers.

The most important benefit of the flight-training center is that it will enable eagles to regain their flight skills. Despite their great wingspan, bald eagles are quite nimble in the air - agility plays a critical role in their ability to hunt, protect territory, avoid collision and practice courtship rituals. Our facility will enable rehabilitators to place obstacles high, low, left or right in the flight tube, giving the birds increased challenges to test their strength and agility.

In addition, the birds will have the ability to fish for salmon in a waterfall and pond, a simulation for their habits in the wild. This enclosed coastal rainforest area will give rehabilitators the opportunity to gauge a bird's willingness to hunt and, thus, his readiness for release back into the wild. 

This flight center also will help us fulfill our mission in many new and unique ways, especially when it comes to education. We currently teach more than 40,000 visitors a year on bald eagles and other raptors, as well as about their habitats. The new flight-training center will magnify the educational opportunities available to our visitors.

Education Programs:

Our educational programs touch the lives of thousands of schoolchildren each year. Classroom visits are a powerful way to teach children the importance of wildlife and environmental conservation, and they offer truly unique and exciting memories - for everyone involved. 

Alaska Air Warriors:

Imagine one of Alaska's wild eagles coming into a classroom in your neighborhood… Watching the students' eyes get as big as, well, an owl's as they turn their attention to their feathered guest, listening as the flood of questions about the bird fills the classroom… Imagine being able to watch the students as they learn about Alaska's wild birds with a live eagle ambassador from the Alaska Raptor Center.

The Alaska Raptor Center's "Alaska Air Warriors" program does just that. To teach people about Alaska's wild birds and environmental conservation, our "Raptors-in-Residence" travel with their handlers to classrooms across the country, from Alaska to Florida to New York, and points in between. Schoolchildren learn more about the birds, their habitats and Alaska firsthand during these up-close visits.

Our classroom visits focus upon Alaska's wildlife and conservation, and, of course, the important role bald eagles and other birds have in the environment. Our education birds - including our "chief ambassador," Volta, the bald eagle - are powerful and effective teachers who leave a lasting impression on those who meet them. Classroom visits are customized by age, from elementary school through high school - children of all ages share a common thrill in a visit from Volta or another of our birds.

Adopt-A-Raptor Program:

The Alaska Raptor Center's Adopt-A-Raptor program allows people around the world to help us care for Alaska's wild birds. By becoming an adoptive "parent," you help support the daily care, feeding and any required medical treatment for your adopted bird. 

Adoptive "parents" receive an official adoption certificate, a photograph and biography of the adopted bird, natural history information, and a one-year membership to the Alaska Raptor Center.

Teachers also can bring Alaska's wildlife into their classrooms with the Alaska Raptor Center's "Adopt-A-Raptor" program. Classes help provide for the daily care, feeding and medical treatment of their adopted bird. In return, teachers receive curriculum materials to help plan lessons on raptors and their habitats; an adoption certificate and photo of the adopted bird to display in the classroom; natural history and information on the bird; and a one-year membership to the Alaska Raptor Center. Most important, the students learn about stewardship and caring for wild animals, building a foundation and appreciation for nature conservation they can develop as they grow.

Passport Program:

Kids, come to the Alaska Raptor Center for an amazing adventure of learning and excitement! Take a two-hour trek through this wild bald eagle hospital. Stop at each of 12 educational stations and learn about bald eagles, owls and other types of raptors. Visit the clinic window and learn how the veterinary staff treat the injured patients. Touch eagle and owl feathers and feel the difference between bird and mammal bones at the artifact table. Walk through the temperate rain forest, learn about medicinal plants and trees, and learn of the plant life that supports most Alaska's wildlife.

While along the river trail, you will visit the muskeg area, a spongy moss environment, and learn of its many uses while watching and listening for wildlife. Meet many of the Raptors-in-Residence and discover how unique each species is, and how they survive in the wild. On returning to the Center, hot chocolate is served.

Research and Conservation:

DDT, heavy metal poisoning and loss of habitat nearly wiped out bald eagle populations in the 1960s and 1970s - by the time DDT was banned in 1972, there were fewer than 450 breeding pairs of bald eagles left in the continental United States. In 1978, the bald eagle was added to the Endangered Species List.

Through both rehabilitation and research, the Alaska Raptor Center seeks a better understanding of what is normal in the health and life of bald eagles. In addition to releasing hundreds of bald eagles back into the wild over the years, the Center has provided eagles to breeding programs in the lower 48 states.

Through rehabilitation and placement efforts, the Alaska Raptor Center has had a helping hand in the resurgence of bald eagle populations, resulting in the nation's symbol being removed from the endangered species list in July 1999 and downlisted to "threatened." Now, the bald eagle population is estimated to be about 100,000, with half of those found in Alaska.

How Can You Help? 

Membership:

Support from members helps the Alaska Raptor Center fulfill our mission of rehabilitating injured bald eagles and other wild birds, teaching the public about Alaska's birds and the importance of environmental conservation, and conducting bald eagle research.

Members of the Alaska Raptor Center receive our quarterly newsletter, the Mew Review, to keep up-to-date on happenings here at the Center - and it's a great way to get a bit of Alaska in your mailbox. Members also receive our gift shop catalog and other special mailings throughout the year. And, best of all, you help us heal injured bald eagles and other wild birds.

Volunteering:

Each year, volunteers from around the world donate their time - from a couple of days to a couple of months - to the Alaska Raptor Center. In 2000, 65 volunteers contributed more than 3,500 hours, doing everything from feeding the birds and cleaning the mews to helping out in the business office and maintaining the Center's facilities.

Visiting:

Visiting Sitka soon? Be sure to come to the Alaska Raptor Center! We're open for tours May through September and our operating hours are Sunday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

You'll see our 23 Raptors-in-Residence, including bald and golden eagles, hawks, falcons and owls, and learn about their habitats and how they came to be permanent residents at the Center.