08/25/2026
💔
Oh, Dolly. We’ll miss you so, so much.
We probably don’t have to tell any of you about the impact that Dolly Parton had on humanity. You all probably know about the Imagination Library, and about her contributions to children’s healthcare, and about her charities that made East Tennessee go from being one of the most destitute regions of the U.S. to a thriving, educated community, even in the wake of wildfires and other natural disasters.
But what does this have to do with wildlife rescue? A lot, actually. One of our most successful wildlife rehabilitation and education programs, the American Eagle Foundation, is headquartered at Dollywood and largely funded by her generosity. AEF began rescuing eagles and other birds of prey when they were significantly endangered in 1990, and they had a hand in bringing these birds back from the brink. To this day, visitors to Pigeon Forge get to see our native Tennessean raptors up close and learn to appreciate and protect them.
In 2021, I visited Dollywood and noticed that the Daredevil Falls attraction in particular was covered in nandina, a highly invasive plant that is toxic to native birds. I sent an email about the landscaping, expecting it to be ignored, but got a response from the groundskeeper saying that conservation is an important part of their values as a company, and that they intended to replace their landscaping with more native plants. To my surprise, when I returned the next year, the nandina was gone and there were native plants sprawling across the property, feeding birds and butterflies. I’d never expect a theme park to actually care like that, but their values as a company were evidently more than just platitudes.
Please take a moment to remember Dolly by contributing to the Dollywood Foundation, The American Eagle Foundation, or the charity of your choice today. May we all aspire to leave just a fraction of the impact on the world that this one much-loved person made.
