Episode Two: Protecting the Canyon
“I was in junior high when I decided what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, and that was emulate Mr. Nelson.”
— Andy Ogden
By the late 1960s Morley Nelson had a clear goal - to establish federal protection for the Snake River Canyon. He began to steer his ever growing cadre of falconry apprentices towards conducting the research that was needed to protect the area, while continuing to establish strategic political partnerships. By the early 1970s Morley had befriended the young, newly-elected governor of Idaho, Cecil Andrus, cementing a political alliance that would prove crucial in the establishment of protection for the Snake River Canyon. Morley also brought more attention to birds of prey in Southwest Idaho with the production of a new raptor film starring the daughter of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.
Episode Credits:
Produced by: The Wild Lens Collective and Radio Boise
With Support from: The Bureau of Land Management, The Birds of Prey NCA Partnership, The Peregrine Fund’s Archives of Falconry, a grant from Patagonia
Producers: Matthew Podolsky, Wayne Birt, Steve Alsup
Production Support provided by: Jessica Evett, Leah Dunn, Ragged Coyote
Music by: Like A Rocket, Ragged Coyote, The Great Turtle, John Denver
Archival Interviews recorded by: Kent Carnie and Steve Stuebner - provided courtesy of the Archives of Falconry
Additional Audio provided by: Thomas G. Sander/Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (ML125384), Geoffrey A. Keller/Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (ML105667), Kathleen D. Groschupf/Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (ML57165), David S. Herr/Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (ML50539).