World Center For Birds of Prey - History

History

The Peregrine Fund's original breeding facilities were established at Cornell University in 1970 and at a Colorado Division of Wildlife facility in Fort Collins in 1974. They were moved to Boise after the organization established the World Center for Birds of Prey in 1984. Morley Nelson of Boise, a well-known raptor expert and member of The Peregrine Fund board of directors, was instrumental in bringing the organization to his hometown.

The first buildings at the new site were an office for The Peregrine Fund administration and barns for the captive breeding program. The organization's first climate-controlled breeding barn (the Gerald D. and Kathryn Swim Herrick Tropical Raptor Building) was constructed in 1986. In 1992 the Velma Morrison Interpretive Center opened to the public with exhibits of rare and endangered raptors, interactive displays, and outreach programs for schools and other groups. In 1993 the first of what would be three California Condor breeding barns was constructed. In 2002 the Gerald D. and Kathryn S. Herrick Collections Building opened with space for The Peregrine Fund's research library, scientific specimen collections, and the Archives of Falconry.