WASHINGTON— Today, Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson wrote an op-ed highlighting the importance of Community Project Funding and its role in providing critical support for Idaho’s Second Congressional District. One such priority is providing workforce housing and infrastructure improvements for the Peregrine Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho.

Investing in the Future of Birds of Prey

By Rep. Mike Simpson 

The full op-ed is available below.  

Working in Congress in the current political climate is challenging, but one of the most rewarding parts of this job is watching Idaho success stories unfold. One of my favorites is The Peregrine Fund. Through consistent, steady, and optimistic work, The Peregrine Fund has changed the paradigm of endangered species recovery, transforming it from a tale of discouragement into one of hope. Stories like this deserve highlighting, and I am pleased to use the Community Project Funding (CPF) program to provide the infrastructure The Peregrine Fund needs to continue the species recovery work of which Idahoans can be proud.   

In the mid-1980s, The Peregrine Fund began breeding endangered Peregrine Falcons in captivity in Boise. By the 1990s, the operation had become so successful that the peregrine was taken off the Endangered Species List in 1999. Idahoans honored this important work by choosing the Peregrine Falcon to appear on the Idaho commemorative quarter. 

Today The Peregrine Fund is building on its successful track record of effective endangered species management through the captive breeding of the California Condor. Boise is home to the largest captive flock of critically endangered condors in the world. Only 22 condors existed in 1982, but since 1994, The Peregrine Fund has raised over 300 condors for release into the wild. They currently maintain 66 condors (39 adults, 13 juveniles, 14 nestlings), which allows them to produce up to 18 young for release annually. This critical work is bringing the condor closer to delisting each year.   

Because species recovery work is an around-the-clock job, The Peregrine Fund provides workforce housing for its propagation staff. Unfortunately, current housing is both dilapidated and in need of expansion. Additionally, the local access road needs milling and repaving. This road provides the only access for emergency medical services and first responders to the World Center for Birds of Prey, where more than 50,000 people visit each year.  

I am pleased that I secured funding for the needed workforce housing improvements and updates for the local access road through the CPF program. This funding will be used to rebuild seven housing units, repair the access road, and purchase the backup generators needed to maintain uninterrupted power to the sensitive systems used to produce condors for release into the wild. These infrastructure investments will ensure that these valuable facilities can continue supporting the work of species recovery and common-sense conservation for the next three to four decades.  

For years, Idaho has taken the lead in species recovery. What we have learned about successful species recovery through the work of The Peregrine Fund should inform how we respond to critical species management challenges in the future. So often, these issues become mired in litigation and politics, but The Peregrine Fund has shown us a different way forward. Idahoans should be proud of the work of The Peregrine Fund and the impact that the World Center for Birds of Prey has on the thousands of visitors who come to learn about common sense conservation and responsible land management. I am proud to support their work by ensuring they have the infrastructure needed to continue making these laudable goals a reality.   

I take seriously my responsibility to advocate for Idaho’s priorities within a responsible federal budget. Projects like the Workforce Housing for Critically Endangered Species Recovery show how a small federal investment has a big payoff for Idaho. I will always fight for impactful, important projects like this that invest Idaho tax dollars into Idaho’s future. If you’d like to learn more about this or any other CPF project, please visit my website, where you can find all the information.