Little Traverse Bay Bands seek funding for tribal eagle‑rehabilitation aviary and education programs

Representatives of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians asked the subcommittee to consider funding the third phase of an eagle rehabilitation and education project that tribal officials have developed since 2021.

"This facility has been in development since 2021," Douglas Craven, the tribe’s natural resource director, told the committee, describing a multi‑phase project in northern Lower and Upper Peninsula service areas. He said the committee is being asked to consider funds for an aviary to house non‑releasable eagles and to expand education programming tied to a sturgeon‑in‑the‑classroom curriculum and school partnerships.

Craven said the first two phases — a rehabilitation museum and an animal lab/clinic — are complete and that the third phase would both allow tribal staff to hold non‑releasable birds and provide a front‑facing space for controlled public interaction and educational tours. The total project cost is "a little over $3,000,000," and the request for phase three was described in the hearing as roughly $1,000,000.

Committee members asked about the project location and about partnerships. Craven said the site is near Pellston (off Van Road northeast of Pellston) and that the tribe is working with local schools and existing programs such as Sturgeons for Tomorrow to expand curricular offerings. Presenters emphasized that this would be the first tribally run facility of its kind east of the Mississippi and that an educational component designed for ninth‑grade standards is central to the project.

No formal action was taken on the request during the hearing; presenters left materials with the committee and answered follow‑up questions about public access and animal management.