Cascades Raptor Center

About Cascades Raptor Center

Cascades Raptor Center is a nonprofit nature center and wildlife hospital at 32275 Fox Hollow Road in Eugene, Oregon, focused on birds of prey. Its mission, as stated on its website, is to foster a connection between people and birds of prey through wildlife rehabilitation and public education, and to help people "value, understand, and honor the role of wildlife" in the natural and cultural heritage of the Pacific Northwest.

The center works in two areas. Its wildlife hospital, which the center describes as the only raptor-specific wildlife clinic in Oregon, treats over 1,000 patients a year, according to the About page, and takes in patients seven days a week. Its nature center houses over 30 resident education birds, which the center describes as one of the largest native North American raptor collections in the Pacific Northwest. The center's Visit page gives annual attendance as 30,000; Wikipedia gives 25,000.

The center is not accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Temporary closure: The center's website announces that, beginning Monday, September 7, 2026, it is closed to visitors for approximately eight weeks for site improvements tied to its Nature For All accessibility initiative. The wildlife hospital remains open and is still accepting patients. The education programs page says onsite programs will not be scheduled until the week of November 16.

History

The center's history page credits its founding to Louise Shimmel, who came to wildlife rehabilitation after finding an abandoned baby squirrel in her yard, and who spent five years as a rehabilitator and administrator at an all-species wildlife hospital before specializing in raptors. She carried out raptor rehabilitation from her home and education at community events. The history page says the center was officially incorporated as a nonprofit in 1990; Wikipedia gives 1987 as its founding year.

Shimmel negotiated the purchase of a tract of land on Fox Hollow Road from the City of Eugene, and volunteers moved birds, enclosures and hospital equipment to the new site. The center opened to the public in 1994 with twelve resident education birds, according to its website. It bought an adjacent property in 2016, with plans to expand public operations onto that side.

Outside the center, the history page says Shimmel served seven years on the board of the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council, two as board president, co-founded the Oregon Wildlife Rehabilitation Association, and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association in 2011. She retired as executive director in March 2022 and serves as director emeritus. The wildlife hospital carries her name.

The center's website includes a land acknowledgement stating that the site is on the traditional homelands of the Kalapuya people, who were forcibly removed by the U.S. government in the 1850s, and whose descendants are citizens of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.

Exhibits and habitats

Visitors tour the site on a self-guided route past the enclosures of the resident birds, which the center describes as permanent ambassadors for their species. Its Resident Birds page lists the birds by name, among them Aesop, Atlas, Banjo, Hoku, Lorax and Valentino. The site is outdoors in a wooded area, and the center's program pages advise dressing for variable, often cool, weather and steep, unpaved terrain.

Wikipedia reports that, as of March 2025, the permanent residents numbered 30 birds from 21 species, representing most of the raptor species found in Oregon. Its species list includes barn owl, barred owl, great horned owl, western screech owl, turkey vulture, bald eagle, golden eagle, ferruginous hawk, northern goshawk, northern harrier, red-tailed hawk, Swainson's hawk, American kestrel, merlin, gyrfalcon and peregrine falcon, along with two non-native species, the Eurasian eagle-owl and the saker falcon.

Conservation and programs

Rehabilitation is the center's core conservation work. Wikipedia describes the center as specializing in rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing sick, injured and orphaned birds back to the wild when possible, and providing long-term homes for birds that cannot be released because of their injuries or imprinting on humans. The website lists a wildlife emergency hotline and asks people to call before bringing in birds. It also lists pages on avian influenza, reporting illegal poaching, and veterinary externships.

The center books private educational programs for groups of all ages year-round, normally with at least two weeks' notice, on themes such as raptor adaptations, raptor senses and ecosystem services. From October through February it offers a standard offsite program, with one bird, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Private staff-guided tours are available for groups of up to five or up to 12 people, and include meeting a resident bird outside its enclosure; the center does not allow direct physical contact between guests and raptors.

Supporters can become members, adopt a raptor or volunteer. The center's largest annual event, Flights of Fancy, is a 21-and-over benefit held in 2026 on September 11 at Sweet Cheeks Winery.

Planning your visit

As listed on the center's website, regular visitor hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Mondays except Memorial Day, and closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The center may close for hazardous conditions such as heavy ice, extreme heat or poor air quality, and announces closures on its website and social media. Check the website for the reopening date after the fall 2026 closure.

Tickets can be bought at the visitor center on arrival or online in advance; online tickets are not required. The center participates in Museums for All, offering free admission to EBT cardholders and their households. Ticket details are on the center's website. No dogs are allowed on site, even in cars; the center has a separate service animal policy. For groups, the center asks visitors to carpool and park along Christensen Road across Fox Hollow Road, since its own parking is limited and has no turnaround room for buses.