Cascades Raptor Center one year after the ice storm
February 10, 2025– One year after suffering damage from an ice storm, Cascades Raptor Center has rebuilt fully thanks to community support.
Cascades Raptor Center sends financial help to Pasadena Humane Society
January 30, 2025–The local raptor center raised over $8,000 to send to Pasadena Humane Society to help them recover from the Los Angeles wildfires.
Cascades Raptor Center hosting 2025 Youth Raptor Art Challenge
January 16, 2025–Kids are encouraged to submit their raptor-inspired artwork on the raptor center’s website.
Portland Book Festival: Environmental concerns loom large in appearances by Richard Powers, Cara Giaimo, Julie Beeler, and an owl named Hans
November 4, 2024–Hans, a Eurasian eagle-owl, stole the show in the morning’s first presentation in the Winningstad Theatre, “Atlas Obscura: Wild Life.” Hans was introduced to the audience by Sidney Campbell, a bird handler and trainer with Cascades Raptor Center. The Eugene-based nonprofit treats between 400 and 700 birds a year at Oregon’s only raptor-specific wildlife hospital, as well as providing public education about raptor species (which include owls, falcons, eagles, and hawks).
Cascades Raptor Center Constantly Updating Emergency Action Plan
August 1, 2024–As more than a million acres burn across Oregon, the Cascades Raptor Center representatives say their emergency evacuation plan is constantly being updated to ensure their birds are safe. The emergency action plan includes protocols for fires, earthquakes, snow, and ice storms.
How Eugene's Cascades Raptor Center Prepares For Potential Wildfires
July 31, 2024–With wildfire season well underway, the Cascades Raptor Center near Eugene, Oregon, said it’s prepared in case a blaze ever threatens its facilities. At a picnic table at the Center, Bird Curator Kit Lacy sat with a thick white binder, which contains the sanctuary’s emergency action plan. “We’re not just kind of waiting around for a fire to take us down,” said Lacy. “We also have been really proactive in trying to make our site itself is fire safe.”
Eugene Weekly: The Beauty of Raptors
'Raptors of the Pacific Northwest' ushers in Springfield 2nd Friday Artwalk
June 13, 2024–The beautiful and stately creatures from the Cascades Raptor Center are showcased in lovely paintings this month at the Emerald Art Center in Springfield, and they, along with artworks at five other locations, can be seen June 14 at the Downtown Springfield 2nd Friday Art Walk. Raptors of the Pacific Northwest is an exhibit from the Cascade Raptor Center’s 2024 Raptor Art Challenge. It features Oregon artists and their portraits of birds of prey found in the Pacific Northwest landscape. The juried exhibition includes selections of youth and adult artists, and it captures the creative relationship to raptor species and the importance of their stewardship.
Parents and children enjoyed the Cascades Raptor Center's pilot year of educational programming
April 13, 2024–Parents and children enjoyed the Cascades Raptor Center’s pilot year of educational programming which was funded in part by a $14,200 grant they received from Weyerhaeuser in November.
$14,000 grant issued to Cascades Raptor Center for educational programming
April 13, 2024–The Cascades Raptor Center held a giant check ceremony on April 10 to commemorate the $14,200 educational programming grant they received from Weyerhaeuser in November. The grant helped fund the Raptor Center’s pilot year of educational programming for students around Lane County.
Oregon On The Record: Kit Lacy, Bird Curator at Cascades Raptor Center On Her Unique Job
March 4, 2024–On This edition of Oregon On The Record, you’ll hear from Kit Lacy, the Bird Curator at Eugene’s Cascades Raptor Center about her very unusual job and how she goes about doing it. The falcons, hawks, owls and eagles at the center are not just birds of prey, but truly her friends, and clients and they all work together toward the goal of creating an environment of trust and collaboration. Lacy didn’t start out studying and working with birds of prey. During her graduate studies at the U of O, she was all about the study of lizards. But after visiting the center, and seeing these amazing creatures, she was hooked. I went up to the center to chat with Lacy in her favorite environment.
Cascades Raptor Center Soars Again!
February 15, 2024–The Cascades Raptor Center’s soft reopening on Feb. 8 sounded like a “welcome home” party for the birds and its generous volunteers. Birds calling, children laughing and CRC workers conversing about the raptors added to the overall rejoicing that the center, after three weeks of closure due to the mid-January ice storm, was open once again to the public.
Eugene’s Cascades Raptor Center set to reopen after heavy storm damage
February 3, 2024–After dealing with serious damages, the Cascades Raptor Center has set dates for its reopening. Nearly three weeks after the center was forced to temporarily close due to the weather, the Center is set to reopen next week after over a thousand community members reached out to donate or volunteered to help fix the damage.
Cascades Raptor Center to Reopen With Community Support
February 2, 2024–The Cascades Raptor Center, after suffering major damage in January’s ice storm, is set to reopen to the public on February 9, according to raptor center staff. When freezing rain hit most of western Oregon including Lane County, Cascades Raptor Center suffered damage and power outages. Electrical lines were severed by the weight of the ice, and trees fell on enclosures even as staff watched. In total, the raptor center suffered more than $50,000 worth in damage to the facility.
Local pub hosts event to help Cascades Raptor Center with damages
January 31, 2024–The doors have been closed at the Cascades Raptor Center for two weeks following the brutal ice storm in January that caused tens of thousands of dollars in damages. Now, the community is coming together to help get the center back off the ground.
Great Horned Owl, Bald Eagle survive, but winter storm took toll on Cascades Raptor Center
January 20, 2024–Cascades Raptor Center staff spent Wednesday morning searching the rubble of a destroyed aviary for signs of their Great Horned Owl in the aftermath of the devastating storm that battered northwestern Oregon last week. The storm caused more than $30,000 worth of damages to the center, staff estimated. Two aviaries were particularly hard hit.
‘Biggest relief imaginable’: Eugene wildlife center’s owl found after storm damage
January 20, 2024–When keepers at Eugene’s Cascades Raptor Center arrived onsite Tuesday morning after the winter storm swept through the area, they became immediately concerned when a Great Horned Owl named Lorax was missing from her damaged enclosure.
Eugene wildlife care facility forced to close following severe winter weather
January 20, 2024–The recent ice storms ravaged a rescue and rehabilitation facility for birds of prey in Eugene. Staff at the Cascades Raptor Center say it’s now closed for repairs, and will remain so until further notice. Several of the CRC’s aviaries were crushed by ice and fallen trees. A power pole also fell, creating an electrical hazard and complicating efforts to move vehicles up the driveway. Staff estimated the storm caused more than $30,000 worth of damage, and will take hundreds of hours to repair.
Cascades Raptor Center faces significant damages after winter weather destroys aviaries
January 18, 2024–While many in the Willamette Valley were bunkered inside, waiting out the worst of the winter storm that buffeted the region over the past weekend, Cascades Raptor Center Staff trekked through ice and debris, looking for an owl.
Eugene Weekly's Happening People: Sydney Campbell
November 2, 2023–“My uncle trained elephants at the San Diego Zoo,” says Sidney Campbell, who grew up in nearby Los Angeles County. “I spent time at the zoo and I wanted to do what my uncle did.” After high school, Campbell moved to San Diego and became friends with a young man who had grown up in Alaska. She was inspired to move north to pursue a degree in biology at the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau. “In my senior year, I did an internship at a small raptor center in Haines,” she notes, “and I met a young woman who volunteered at the Cascade Raptor Center in Eugene.”
Cascades Raptor Center receives $10,000 grant from Three Rivers Foundation
February 26, 2023–In February 2023, we were very honored to receive a generous $10,000 grant for our educational programs from the Three Rivers Foundation! The foundation, established by the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians as the charitable branch of the Three Rivers Casino Resort, recently distributed $1.1 million in funding to 117 different organizations across Oregon.
From fender to freedom, Gordon the Red-Tail has new lease on life
January 6, 2023–A red-tailed hawk found embedded in a car’s grille last fall has recovered from a broken pelvis. The raptor – named Gordon – was released yesterday at Mt. Pisgah. The hawk got its namesake because it was discovered outside the Gordon Hotel in downtown Eugene, stuck to a guest’s vehicle. Front desk agent Krystal Bliss recalled a valet showing her the hawk’s situation that November day.
Cascades Raptor Center helps birds of prey take flight again
December 7, 2022–It was a quiet day at the facility, located on the east side on Spencer Butte. That is, until Cindy Davis arrived from Junction City. She parked her car, then darted towards the center’s intake area clutching a carrier.
Bald eagle to take flight after healing from shotgun wounds
October 12, 2022–A bald eagle wounded by a shotgun is getting ready to return to the air after a period of healing with the Cascade Raptor Center. The Cascade Raptor Center said they got a call from someone near Reedsport on September 22. The caller said they had rescued a seriously hurt bald eagle from a river, and raptor center staff brought the bird in for medical care right away.
Cascades Raptor Center in Eugene announces new executive director
September 20, 2022–The Cascades Raptor Center in Eugene has announced Julie Collins as its new executive director. Collins will be the 35-year-old center’s second executive director. Collins, who started out as a volunteer at the center six years ago, first got inspired to help out after moving to the area and asking her 11-year-old son what her next volunteer endeavor should be
A gourmet menu for Cascades Raptor Center eagles, courtesy of local fishermen
July 28, 2022–The Cascades Raptor Center, nestled in the hills of south Eugene on an 8-acre forested property, is currently home for nearly a dozen eagles. The center takes in all kinds of raptors, but the recent influx of eagles needing care resulted in a much higher demand of meals for the birds – who won’t eat just anything thrown their way. They are the national bird, after all. Hoping to fill the hungry bellies of the birds, the center took to Facebook and Instagram to ask the community: local fishermen could donate their catch of the day to the center in the spirit of providing the eagles with a fresh, locally sourced diet.
Important, but heartbreaking: Cascades Raptor Center reacts to bird flu spreading in Oregon
June 7, 2022–As avian flu cases continue to spread among birds in the Willamette Valley, it has been a trying time for veterinarian Ulrike Streicher and other staff members at the Cascades Raptor Center in Eugene.
See Oregon birds of prey at Eugene’s Cascades Raptor Center
June 26, 2022–Cascades Raptor Center volunteer Isabel Dutroncy has trudged into ponds to reach injured herons, crossed muddy fields to save hawks caught in barbed wire, and been vomited on by turkey vultures (it’s a defense mechanism).
KLCC Shadows Cascades Raptor Center Staff on Site and in the Field
In December 2022, Cascades Raptor Center welcomed KLCC’s Brian Bull to our facility for a glimpse behind the scenes at our training and rehabilitation work.
Hawk Found Stuck in Vehicle Grille Successfully Released at Mt. Pisgah
In early November 2022, we received a call from the Gordon Hotel about a Red-tailed Hawk stuck in the grille of a vehicle. After 65 days in care, the bird, now nicknamed “Gordon”, was released at Mt. Pisgah Arboretum on January 5.
Cascades Raptor Center Staff Interviewed on McKenzie River Broadcasting's Community Forums
In June 2022, Cascades Raptor Center was the featured topic on McKenzie River Broadcasting’s Community Forums radio series. Bird Curator Kit Lacy and then-Deputy Director (now Executive Director) Julie Collins spoke with host Tracy Berry about our work with raptors, the center’s 30-year history, and looking to the future.