HELENA — On Wednesday, November 5, 2025, Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, and donors celebrated the groundbreaking of Montana Wild’s new avian building.
Montana FWP director Christy Clark said, “It is kind of the unsung hero, but is such an important part of stewarding wildlife, and the education piece is huge, and Montana Wild is such a bright light.”
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Montana Wild’s 13 ambassador raptors reach thousands of people every year, from students to visitors, to programming across the state.
“With this build, the public is going to have interpretive signage and be able to see these birds as they come through,” Ali Pons, the wildlife rehabilitation program manager at Montana Wild, said.
The new building will allow visitors to view raptors on the west side without having to come for special programs.
The east side will provide more rehabilitation space for the nearly 200 injured and orphaned birds Montana Wild takes in each year.
“It provides a weathering area where they can be out in the snow and the rain if they choose, get a lot more sunlight rather than being in more enclosed areas, and helps with their enrichment by giving them a lot more things to look at,” Pons said.
It took a long time to get to this moment; the project cost around $860,000, and was authorized by the 2021 and 2023 legislatures.
Much of the project was funded by private and business donations through Montana’s Outdoor Legacy Foundation and Foundation for Animals.
“This project is just an exciting time to have the ground being turned here and get this project underway because it has taken five years to get to this point,” Montana Outdoor Legacy Foundation director Mitch King said.
As for how the raptor residents are feeling about the construction and move, “They have been really resilient in having to move to different enclosures and different spaces, and I just admire the fact that they have handled it so well,” Pons said.
Work will continue through the spring of next year.
