The “House of Bald Eagle” is nestled in the woods just outside St. Maries. It smells like dead fish and bird calls echo through the trees.

The new eagle aviary, owned by the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, is the first tribal eagle aviary in the Pacific Northwest.

After two years of research, planning and building, the Tribe was presented the proper permits Wednesday morning by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to start receiving injured eagles that will never be able to live on their own.

The Tribe’s aviary, which is on the Birds of Prey Northwest property, consists of two 50-foot by 10-foot enclosures that can each host up to three eagles.

“We’re culturally associated, directly, with these animals,” said Alfred Nomee, the Tribe’s director of natural resources. “We will be able to gather dropped feathers for cultural purposes.”

Eventually, the Tribe hopes to move the aviary to a more central location on the reservation so it can be used for cultural and conservation education. But for now, it is not open to the public, only the tribal employees who will be working at the aviary.

Jane Veltkamp, the owner and operator of Birds of Prey Northwest, has worked with the Tribe to make the aviary happen. She has offered to continue to mentor the tribal members working there about how to take care of the birds that come to them.

To thank her for her work, the Tribe presented Veltkamp with a pendleton blanket with the Tribe’s seal on it.

The nation is seeing an increase in bald eagle populations, according to Matt Stuber, an eagle coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Greater populations equate to a greater number of injured birds.

Rehabilitation centers do what they can for the injured birds, but sometimes birds are too hurt or tainted by human interaction to be able to live on their own. Rehab centers then seek permanent homes for these birds.

The permanent homes for injured birds are filling up, so the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is glad to have another place for eagles in need.

“The eagle showed us where the fish was, it could feed us during hard times,” said tribal member Marlene Sproul. “To me, the eagle protected us, and now we are protecting the eagle.”