Episode Three: Land of the Prairie Falcon
“We were under a lot of pressure to do a lot in a short time frame, that’s for sure.”
— Karen Steenhof
The 1970s saw the emergence of a truly unique partnership in the Snake River Canyon between scientific researchers and policy makers. Raptor biologists Mike Kochert and Karen Steenhof, at the direction of former Idaho Governor and Secretary of the Interior Cecil Andrus, began conducting research that would determine a biological boundary for a newly expanded protected area along the Snake River. The story behind this research project and how it influenced the dramatic expansion of the Snake River Birds of Prey Natural Area is deeply fascinating and instructive.
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
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).