THE PEREGRINE FUND ANNUAL 2025 REPORT
TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter from Leadership...............................................................................................3 TPF Complete Conservation™ ..................................................................................4 Our 2025 Accomplishments......................................................................................6 Decades of Global Commitment to Save the World’s Vultures..................8 Fifty Years of Collaboration with the United Arab Emirates.......................10 Nurturing Indigenous Leadership In Panama’s Darién....................................12 A Powerful Rebound in Puerto Rico.....................................................................13 Ridgway’s Hawk Positioned for a Conservation Victory...................................14 Saving the California Condor, One Partnership at a Time............................16 Meet Stephanie Ashley: The Falconer Putting Bird Welfare First..............18 Matching the Aplomado Falcon’s Tenacity........................................................20 Madagascar Program Receives Two Major Recognitions..............................22 Telling Conservation Stories Through Film........................................................24 One Biologist’s Unwavering Quest for Raptors...............................................26 EDGE Fellow Partnership Cultivates Future Leaders......................................27 Graduates & Students................................................................................................28 Financial Statement....................................................................................................30 Your Gift Today.............................................................................................................31 2025 Supporters...........................................................................................................32 2025 Board of Directors............................................................................................35 Our Team........................................................................................................................36 Keep Up with Our Work...........................................................................................39
Julio Gallardo
Vultures are among Earth’s most important raptor species for conservation, and The Peregrine Fund has been working to save them for over 30 years. From Asia to Africa to the Americas, our commitment to their survival spans the globe. Read more on page 8.
Become a member and help save raptors:
peregrinefund.org/choose-your-membership
On the cover: The Rüppell’s Vulture embodies Africa’s vulture crisis and our commitment to confronting it. Cover photo by Julio Gallardo
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A LETTER FROM LEADERSHIP Conservation’s greatest victories are never achieved alone
Dear Friends, This year has reaffirmed a truth that has guided The Peregrine Fund since our founding: conservation’s greatest victories are never achieved alone. They emerge from partnerships—forged across continents, sustained across decades, and strengthened by shared purpose. This is the foundation of TPF Complete Conservation™, an approach that bridges scientific knowledge with practical action, uniting communities, governments, and conservationists in the service of species recovery. Throughout 2025, we witnessed the extraordinary power of this collaborative model. Our fifty-year partnership with the United Arab Emirates evolved from its roots in falconry heritage into an active scientific collaboration, advancing cutting-edge climate research and groundbreaking field expeditions that demonstrate how cultural leadership and conservation science can work together across borders. In Madagascar, Dr. Lily-Arison Rene de Roland’s Indianapolis Prize recognized more than an individual achievement; it honored a model of community-centered conservation that has engaged hundreds of Malagasy students, strengthened local partnerships, and established nearly 500,000 acres of protected habitat. In the Dominican Republic, the Ridgway’s Hawk recovery—now positioned for an IUCN downlisting—demonstrates what sustained scientific rigor, national partnership, and decades-long commitment can achieve. This year also marked a meaningful evolution in how we work internally. Our Board of Directors deepened its engagement through working committees and a communications task force, ensuring that strategic governance and operational execution move in lockstep. This alignment has strengthened every aspect of our mission—from financial stewardship and long-term planning to program innovation and how we share our impact with you. We enter 2026 facing both challenges and opportunities. Federal funding has historically supported roughly 30% of our California Condor recovery work. As that partnership evolves, we are actively seeking and securing the private investment needed to ensure the program’s long-term stability.
At the same time, institutional partnerships across the globe are emerging—from the National Geographic Society and the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund to the Mohamed bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund—demonstrating that when science meets collaboration, conservation finds a way forward. Perhaps most significantly, 2025 demonstrated that the most enduring conservation outcomes emerge when communities become stewards. In Tanzania and Kenya, more than 6,500 people learned to build predator-proof enclosures. In Madagascar, 440 community members planted 315,000 seedlings. In the Dominican Republic, a former hawk persecutor became an ecotourism guide, and our education efforts reached more than 53,000 community members. As you read this report, you’ll encounter a recurring theme: none of this work happens in isolation. Your partnership—whether measured in decades of support or a single generous gift—sustains a global conservation movement that transcends borders and generations. For this, we are profoundly grateful. This is the foundation of TPF Complete Conservation™, an approach that bridges scientific knowledge with practical action, uniting communities, governments, and conservationists in the service of species recovery.
With gratitude,
Anne Dixon
Courtesy of TPF
Chris N. Parish President & CEO
The Honorable Dirk Kempthorne Board Chairman
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the peregrine fund
TPF Complete Conservation™: Our Blueprint for Species Recovery In the vast world of wildlife conservation, The Peregrine Fund (TPF) stands out as a beacon of hope for raptors, driven by a vision that extends far beyond traditional conservation efforts. Our journey began with an audacious mission to repopulate a continent with Peregrine Falcons, but quickly evolved into a comprehensive approach we now call “TPF Complete Conservation™.” The Peregrine Fund has built a unique bridge between scientific knowledge and practical action. We recognize that saving a species isn’t just about counting birds or protecting land—it’s about understanding complex ecological systems and the human communities intertwined with them. We extend our hand to everyone, including government officials, local farmers, industry leaders, and local communities. Working across five different continents, we don’t just propose solutions—we design, initiate, and nurture them.
We train local conservationists, build infrastructure, and create economic incentives that make protecting nature something to celebrate. What sets us apart is our holistic view. We understand that a species’ survival depends on managing entire ecosystems and creating sustainable habitats, not just protecting individual birds. Our investment in people runs as deep as our commitment to the birds and their ecosystems. Students we mentor become guardians of the wild, kindling passion that will burn long into their conservation futures. This TPF philosophy has become a powerful model, and the results speak volumes: Peregrine Falcons soaring over cities where they once faced extinction, California Condors once again breeding on the canyon cliffs of Utah and Arizona, and the Ridgway’s Hawk pulled back from oblivion. Each step forward in a species’ recovery is more than a conservation victory—it’s a testament to what becomes possible when science, compassion, and unwavering determination unite.
This is TPF Complete Conservation™. This is hope in action.
Nonpartisanship Courtesy of the North American Lead-Free Partnership
Evidence → Action Brendan Burns
Collaboration Elena Ramella Levis
Community-based Conservation Brian Biamonte
Thought Leadership Jordan Rudeen
Conservation Leadership Courtesy of TPF
Species → Ecosystem Brian Mutch
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1. Evidence to Action Pipeline We make conservation decisions based on the best available evidence through scientific research, monitoring, and adaptive management, with direct communication between researchers and field biologists following Open Standards for Conservation Practice. 2. Non-partisanship We avoid endorsing political candidates or parties, instead collaborating with diverse partners across political and industry spectrums to focus on pragmatic solutions rather than litigation while seeking support from multiple political parties. 3. Collaboration We work across international, national, sub-national, and local scales by empowering local partners to avoid “parachute conservation,” engaging with communities, governments, and individuals while building a global network of researchers and conservationists. 4. Community-based Conservation We prioritize community needs alongside biodiversity conservation by rejecting “fortress conservation” approaches and developing projects that benefit both local communities and wildlife through infrastructure, training, and economic incentives. 5. Thought Leadership We innovate conservation techniques by developing and sharing new research methodologies, contributing to global conservation priorities, and enhancing scientific information dissemination. 6. Conservation Leadership We invest in formal education, field training, and mentorship to support students and professionals, build capacity in conservation-critical regions, and create a network of trained conservationists. 7. Species to Ecosystem Continuum The organization manages entire ecosystems rather than individual species by addressing broader environmental challenges, considering the impacts of pollution, habitat loss, and climate change, and protecting entire food webs and ecological systems. TPF Complete Conservation™
“Conservation succeeds only when its core pillars are intentionally orchestrated to work together— remove one, and the entire system weakens.”
PEREGRINEFUND.ORG
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OUR 2025 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Courtesy of Embassy of the United Arab Emirates
777 acres of habitat restored and 315,000 seedlings planted in Madagascar
90 students supported across 5 continents
Yverlin Pruvot
Courtesy of TPF
191 nests monitored of 17 raptor species in Kenya
11 vultures tagged in Tanzania
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Eurafrica Conservation Projects – ODV
Macarios Gisberth
17 California Condors released in Arizona
14,650 people reached with environmental education in the Dominican Republic
Rin O’Connell
Bill Saltzstein
14 California Condors hatched at our Propagation Facility
26 wild pairs of Aplomado Falcons counted in South Texas
Chelsea Haitz
David Bontrager
54,505 visitors inspired at TPF’s Education Center
45 Puerto Rican Sharp-shinned Hawks surveyed
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Jordan Rudeen
Anexis Morales
DECADES OF GLOBAL COMMITMENT TO SAVE THE WORLD’S VULTURES
This discovery launched intensive work with governments and local groups to restrict the use of the drug and to recover vulture populations. Today, TPF continues to work closely with SAVE (Saving Asian Vultures from Extinction), a consortium of organizations working to recover Asian vulture populations, and is actively supporting the non-profit organization Himalayan Raptors to monitor and address ongoing threats to vulture populations in Nepal. When vulture populations across South Asia crashed by as much as 99%, TPF raced against time to identify the cause, tracing the collapse to a common livestock medication and launching recovery efforts that continue today.
TPF Complete Conservation™ Pillar
Vultures are among the most vulnerable bird species on Earth. Their numbers have dropped sharply worldwide. For over three decades, The Peregrine Fund has stood at the forefront of vulture conservation, working to understand and address the causes of decline across Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Evidence to Action Pipeline Thirty years of vulture conservation around the world share a common thread: rigorous science informing every decision, from identifying threats to designing solutions.
Africa’s Vulture Crisis: A Comprehensive Response
Africa’s vultures are also in serious trouble. Eight species have declined by as much as 97% in recent decades, and six are listed as Critically Endangered or Endangered. The primary threat is poisoning , including retaliatory poisoning meant to kill predators after livestock losses, and deliberate poisoning tied to poaching and belief-based practices. Because vultures feed together in large groups, one poisoned carcass can kill many birds at once. Across Africa, TPF is working with communities to stop these losses . In Kenya, our Coexistence Co-op, a partnership with Lion Landscapes, collaborated with more than 6,500 people to build predator-proof livestock enclosures. More than 3,200 of these protective enclosures, or “bomas”, are now in place within our impact area in northern Kenya, where the number of lions poisoned has dropped by approximately 77%.
The Asian Vulture Crisis: Solving an Ecological Mystery
In the 1990s and early 2000s, vulture populations across South Asia crashed. In some areas, numbers dropped by as much as 99% in less than two decades, and for years, no one knew why. TPF raced against time with partners in Nepal, Pakistan, and India to solve this ecological mystery. In 2003, the breakthrough came: diclofenac , a common livestock pain medication, was killing vultures that fed on treated animal carcasses, causing fatal kidney failure.
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Across eastern and southern Africa, the Eye in the Sky Program, a major partnership with the Endangered Wildlife Trust and North Carolina Zoo, helps detect poisonings early by fitting vultures with GPS trackers. The team can see where birds gather and quickly spot unusual patterns that may signal a poisoning event. As a collective, this program brings together data from over 300 tagged vultures flying across 16 African countries and provides coverage over nearly 30% of the African continent. This is the scale at which we need to operate to save these wide-ranging scavengers. For instance, when a recent poisoning event was detected near a watering hole in Tanzania, rangers trained by our program moved quickly—cleaning the site, gathering evidence, and saving 15 vultures. Today, more than 425 rangers across Tanzania have been trained by our team to recognize and respond to wildlife poisoning incidents, helping stop deadly events before they spread further.
Ranked the #3 priority raptor species for conservation in the world, the California Condor’s recovery mirrors the lessons learned in Asia and Africa. For the full story of three decades of condor recovery, see Page 16.
Nancy Arehart
California Condors: A North American Parallel
In North America, the California Condor faced a different toxic threat: lead. By the 1980s, only 22 California Condors remained. Through captive breeding, hands-on field work, and partnership with hunting groups and wildlife agencies to voluntarily reduce lead on the landscape, the population has rebounded to more than 560 birds, with over 360 flying free across Arizona, Utah, California, Oregon, and Mexico. This lesson is the same one we’ve learned in Africa and Asia: when we understand what’s killing vultures and work together to address it, recovery is possible. But it requires long-term commitment. One Global Mission From Asia to Africa to the Americas, vultures have faced—and continue to face—steep declines. TPF’s response has been steady and consistent. First, we work to understand what’s harming them. Then we partner with local communities, organizations, and governments to fix it. Whether doing research to identify the hidden drug killer in Asia, partnering to voluntarily decrease the use of lead ammunition in Arizona, or educating pastoralists on safe livestock management practices in Kenya, the approach remains the same— find the problem and work together to solve it. These are your dollars at work.
Noah Mchafu
Across Kenya and Tanzania, our teams are working with communities and rangers to combat vulture poisoning. Critical support from the National Geographic Society is helping us expand that work in Kenya and advancing new research on threats to raptors across Africa.
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FIFTY YEARS OF COLLABORATION WITH THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
exhibit exploring traditional Arabian falconry and the conservation legacy of His Highness Sheikh Zayed. Building on this foundation, the Mohamed bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund has committed three years of support to TPF’s Gyrfalcon and Climate Change Program, addressing challenges polar raptors face as warming temperatures reshape Arctic habitats. Expanding Collaboration In January 2025, TPF and key raptor partners in the United States were invited by the UAE Embassy to attend a learning exchange delegation. Our leadership joined colleagues from The Archives of Falconry, Boise State University, and HawkWatch International for meetings with the CMS Raptors MOU Secretariat, the Environment Agency–Abu Dhabi, and the Ministry of Climate Change and the Environment.
TPF Complete Conservation™ Pillar
Collaboration The most enduring conservation victories are built on relationships—and five decades of partnership with the United Arab Emirates show exactly what’s possible when collaboration spans continents and cultures.
Fifty years ago, a single invitation changed everything. In 1976, His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan invited The Peregrine Fund founder Dr. Tom
Cade and The Archives of Falconry founder Kent Carnie to the first International Conference on Falconry and Conservation. This conference sparked a bond,
and a partnership took shape—one rooted in shared
Conservation in Action In March 2025, our Madagascar Program
partnered with the Mohamed bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund on an expedition to study the Sooty Falcon. The team trapped and tagged Sooty Falcons with satellite transmitters and collected genetic data.
reverence for raptors and a commitment to
ensuring their survival for generations to come. That partnership has not only endured; in 2025, it reached remarkable new heights.
Heritage and Hope In 2006, with Abu Dhabi’s support, The Archives of Falconry opened the Sheikh Zayed Heritage Wing at the World Center for Birds of Prey, a dynamic
Migration paths revealed that these birds travel to vastly different summering grounds—from Iran and Saudi Arabia to Ethiopia and Somalia—providing insights that will inform conservation strategies across multiple countries.
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Haitham Al Mussawi: Embassy of the UAE
Haitham Al Mussawi: Embassy of the UAE
Embassy of the United Arab Emirates
Embassy of the United Arab Emirates
TPF is celebrating 50 years of partnership with the United Arab Emirates—a collaboration rooted in a shared reverence for birds of prey that has spanned continents, cultures, and generations.
An Evening of Recognition This past fall, the UAE Embassy in Washington, D.C. graciously hosted TPF’s Board of Directors, where we honored His Highness the President of the United Arab Emirates and Congressman Mike Simpson for their steadfast and significant contributions to raptor conservation. The event was attended by global partners and diplomats from nations where we work. Gratitude We extend our deepest gratitude to His Highness the President of the United Arab Emirates, the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, the Mohamed bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund, and the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund for their generosity, vision, and partnership. Together, we are writing the next chapter in raptor conservation history.
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NURTURING INDIGENOUS LEADERSHIP IN PANAMA’S DARIÉN
TPF Complete Conservation™ Pillar
Community-based Conservation Lasting conservation in Panama’s forests isn’t imposed from the outside—it’s grown from within, one indigenous leader at a time.
Deep within the Indigenous territories of Darién, Panama, The Peregrine Fund is partnering with Fundación Rapaces y Bosques de Panamá to train a new generation of conservation leaders. Fifteen young people from the Emberá and Wounaan communities are being trained as bird monitors. They are learning how birds of prey are indicators of forest health, combining science with traditional ecological knowledge passed down through generations. This program is community-led and deeply empowering. Leisa Berrugate, a young Emberá mother, put it simply: “I used to know only the birds that came to my garden. Now I can recognize more than 100
Alongside field training, youth mentors use Stories of the Bagaras in Emberá Culture —a bilingual book with stories by local children—to lead outdoor lessons in native Emberá and Wounaan languages. In
these lessons, the forest becomes the classroom, and students connect what they observe to family stories passed down by elders. This work is built on a simple truth: the people who live in the forest are its best protectors. By investing in indigenous youth and honoring traditional knowledge alongside science, the program is helping to build lasting stewardship in one of the most unique and biologically important landscapes on Earth.
species.” For participants like Leisa, this knowledge also opens doors to jobs in ecotourism.
I used to know only the birds that came to my garden. Now I can recognize more than 100 species. – Leisa Berrugate
Evan Buechley 12
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A POWERFUL REBOUND IN PUERTO RICO
This year brought an uplifting breakthrough. During the breeding season, our team carefully collected 12 eggs from wild nests, each one a fragile promise of recovery. Nine
TPF Complete Conservation™ Pillar
Not long ago, the Puerto Rican Sharp-shinned Hawk stood on the edge of extinction. After Hurricane María devastated the island in 2017, only 19 hawks were known to have survived. Found nowhere else on Earth and listed as Endangered under the United States Endangered Species Act, this small, forest-dwelling raptor is far too unique and important to lose. Since that storm, our Puerto Rico team has spent years trekking through dense, trail-less Evidence to Action Pipeline The Puerto Rican Sharp-shinned Hawk’s recovery has been shaped by a willingness to pause, reassess, and change course whenever the evidence demands it.
hatched and thrived under expert care in our new propagation facility. And for the first time since 2021, we released young hawks into the wild again, with nine hand-reared birds taking flight into the dense Puerto Rican forests. At a new release site built deep in the forest— with better light, airflow, and shelter—the young hawks strengthened their wings and learned to hunt. Every single bird that hatched in our care survived and eventually left the release site, marking a major step forward for the species. Today, we know of 45 Puerto Rican Sharp- shinned Hawks occupying 13 territories on the island, indicating a powerful rebound from the 19 observed after the 2017 hurricane. In total, 82 hawks have fledged under our care since 2018. In 2025, our work also expanded to help another hawk in crisis: the Puerto Rican Broad-winged Hawk. Through partnerships with Puerto Rico’s Department of Natural and Environmental Resources and community allies, including the non-profit Casa Pueblo, both species now have renewed hope for recovery.
terrain to find, monitor, and protect these elusive birds. Each nesting season means clearing paths by machete through steep forested slopes, working in intense heat and humidity, and fending off nest flies and invasive predators. The Puerto Rican Sharp-shinned Hawk is making a powerful comeback, with 2025 marking the restart of propagation efforts on the island.
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Hana Weaver
RIDGWAY’S HAWK POSITIONED FOR ONE OF CONSERVATION’S RAREST VICTORIES
TPF Complete Conservation™ Pillar
Evidence to Action Pipeline The Ridgway’s Hawk recovery is a story of adaptive conservation at its best. Every new finding—from parasitic nest flies to rediscovery in Haiti—has reshaped the approach and accelerated the path to recovery. Twenty-five years ago, fewer than 300 Ridgway’s Hawks were counted. They were only known to occur in one small forest in the Dominican Republic, and the species was close to disappearing forever. Today, thanks to long-term support from donors of The Peregrine Fund, this Critically Endangered hawk is close to a rare conservation success: a downlisting on the IUCN’s Red List. A downlisting would be a recognition that conservation efforts have measurably reduced the risk that the species could go extinct. Such an achievement would be a flagship example of how science-driven conservation can work. Supporters of TPF have been part of this journey from the beginning. Your investments helped turn a story of possible extinction into one of the world’s most compelling conservation recoveries. The hawk population has more than doubled and now occurs in four populations across Hispaniola, thanks to the work of scientists, local communities, and conservation partners working together to fight extinction.
A Breakthrough for the Hawks When scientists discovered that parasitic nest flies were killing nestlings, donor support made it possible to identify a treatment, increasing fledging success by 179%. When people were harming the hawks, your contributions helped create an education program that has reached more than 53,000 community members. As part of our partnership with Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), we’ve also created the Women in Conservation Fellows program, hiring and training local women to conduct environmental education in communities. Through this program, community engagement quadrupled in 2024. Perhaps most significantly, steady funding helped create new hawk populations through carefully planned releases. Since 2008, young hawks have been released in several protected areas, leading to a growing number of breeding pairs and hundreds of wild hawks.
Russell Thorstrom 14
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Carlos Suárez
From Plan to Progress Work to implement the plan is already underway. A team of 33 local biologists is monitoring hawk populations and protecting nests across all sites. Education programs are reaching new communities, local leaders are being trained, and hawks
These new populations continue to grow, and scientists even discovered a small surviving population in Haiti, boosting hope for the species’ future. A Turning Point in Recovery With major support from CEPF, TPF completed a comprehensive ten-year Species Conservation Action Plan. This plan is a roadmap that explains how to recover and downlist the Critically Endangered Ridgway’s Hawk and reduce threats. The Species Conservation Action Plan was completed in collaboration with eight Dominican organizations and key stakeholders, including the Dominican Ministry of the Environment. This plan represents the culmination of decades of learning and collaboration.
are being safely translocated and released to strengthen connections between populations. Together, these efforts help the population grow, reduce conflict with people, and build long- term relationships. The next five years are critical. Continued support is needed to reduce threats, strengthen
populations, and deepen community engagement so the Ridgway’s Hawk can survive on its own. This is the outcome conservation aims for: a species recovering,
communities leading the work, and a proven model for success. With sustained partnership, the Ridgway’s Hawk’s recovery and future downlisting are now within reach.
After 25 years of science-driven conservation, the Critically Endangered Ridgway’s Hawk is on the brink of one of conservation’s rarest victories: a downlisting on the IUCN Red List.
Russell Thorstrom
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SAVING THE CALIFORNIA CONDOR, ONE PARTNERSHIP AT A TIME
TPF Complete Conservation™ Pillar
Nonpartisanship The California Condor’s recovery proves that the hardest conservation battles yield not to politics, but to pragmatic partnerships built on common ground.
When only 22 California Condors remained in the 1980s, extinction seemed inevitable. Today, thanks to your unwavering support, a population soars over Arizona and Utah—a testament to what’s possible when science, dedication, and partnership converge. Since our first condor release in Arizona in 1996, we’ve been working every day to help the population flourish. Our field team has weathered wildfires, responded to disease outbreaks, and rescued birds from devastating storms. We’ve celebrated young birds taking their first flight and mourned losses that reminded us how fragile this recovery remains. Through it all, one threat has persisted above all others: lead poisoning. Our approach is multi-dimensional. We propagate condors for wild release with meticulous care. We manage every wild bird in the Southwest population with boots-on-the-ground vigilance. But we also recognize that releasing condors without addressing the threats they face would be an exercise in futility. So, we co-founded the North American Lead- Free Partnership because saving a species requires addressing manageable threats. For three decades, this model has defined our work. Propagation builds the population. Field teams identify and respond to threats in real time. Threat mitigation addresses root causes. Without all three, progress unravels. A Critical Turning Point For decades, our federal partners, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, and others, have stood alongside us in one of the most ambitious wildlife restoration efforts in North America. Their commitment, expertise, and investment have helped bring the California Condor back from the brink. We are deeply grateful for that partnership and what we have accomplished together.
Beginning in 2026, federal funding that has supported core field operations will be significantly reduced. But the condors’ needs have not changed. The threats they face have not diminished. What gives us confidence in the next chapter is you. Our most steadfast partners understand that conservation is a generational commitment. You’ve stood with us through disease outbreaks, wildfires, and urgent field responses. You’ve made it possible for us to act when a condor needs treatment or protection. We will not walk away from three decades of progress and birds who depend on us. Instead, we’re intensifying our commitment to this work, and we’re asking you to stand with us once again. Your partnership has proven that extinction is preventable when people care enough to act. Together, we’ve defied extinction for thirty years. With your continued partnership, we will ensure California Condors continue to take flight for generations to come. Thank you for making this work possible. Thank you for believing in what we can accomplish together.
We are honored to have been chosen by WECAT to support condor recovery for the next 15 years. It is the perfect example of a public-private partnership for conservation success.
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Courtesy of North American Lead-Free Partnership
Rin O’Connell
Kelsey Tatton
Lead poisoning remains the California Condor’s most persistent threat. For three decades, the dedication of our partners has made it possible for us to keep fighting for the species every step of the way.
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Andrew Orr
MEET STEPHANIE ASHLEY: THE FALCONER PUTTING BIRD WELFARE FIRST
That standard is not just a talking point. Under Stephanie’s leadership, the Education Center earned USDA certification on its very first inspection, a distinction that many facilities struggle to achieve. TPF also adopted its first formal animal welfare statement, a foundational document that now applies to ambassador birds across programs. These aren’t small accomplishments. They’re the result of years of deliberate, disciplined work by someone who holds herself and her team to an exceptionally high standard. What makes Stephanie’s perspective so distinctive is the breadth of experience behind it. She began her career at Tracy Aviary in Utah, built expertise through years of professional bird training, and carries a credential that a relatively small percentage of people in the world hold: she is a master falconer. Falconry is one of humanity’s oldest partnerships with a wild animal, a tradition that demands extraordinary patience, skill, and mutual trust. It is also a field historically and overwhelmingly dominated by men. Stephanie is a female falconer, and that matters. Not because her gender changes the way she reads a bird or flies a hawk, but because representation in specialized, tradition-bound fields sends a message. It tells the next generation of young women interested in raptors, in wildlife, in conservation that there is a place for them at the highest levels of this work. TPF is proud that she carries our tradition in falconry forward in so many ways. Her approach to the public-facing side of the Education Center is just as thoughtful as her approach to bird care. Research consistently shows that direct contact with an ambassador animal makes people more inclined to support conservation. But Stephanie knows that getting people to care requires more than just proximity to a bird. She and her team have leaned into a different strategy: empathy. Stephanie Ashley carries forward the falconry tradition at the heart of TPF— channeling the craft’s deep reverence for raptors into a welfare- first philosophy and a belief that empathy is a powerful tool for inspiring the next generation of conservationists.
TPF Complete Conservation™ Pillar
There’s a moment that happens regularly at The Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho. A visitor—maybe a child, maybe a skeptical adult who’s “not really a bird person”—comes face to face with one of the raptors at the Education Center. Something shifts. The bird looks back. And suddenly, conservation isn’t an abstract concept anymore. It’s personal. That moment doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because of Stephanie Ashley and her team of Thought Leadership By putting bird welfare and human empathy at the center of every public encounter, Stephanie Ashley is redefining what a conservation education program can be and proving that the next generation of conservationists is won one visitor at a time.
dedicated staff members and volunteers. As Curator of Birds at TPF, Stephanie is the architect of every raptor encounter at the Education Center and the philosophy behind it. She oversees a team of three staff, a dedicated crew of Raptor Care volunteers, a veterinary care plan, and 20 ambassador birds representing some of the most magnificent raptors on the planet. Every routine, every training session, every interaction with the public flows through a single guiding question she has built our program around.
“Welfare ends up being our true north,” she says. “ Every decision we make involving ambassador birds has to run through the filter of: is this good for the bird? ”
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If we can help people fall in love with our individual birds, then we can give them some very specific, easy things that they can do to support conservation. –Stephanie Ashley, Curator of Birds
Jim Shane
“If we can help people fall in love with our individual birds,” she explains, “then we can give them some very specific, easy things that they can do to support conservation.” The goal is for every visitor to leave seeing each raptor not as a symbol or a statistic, but as a living, thinking individual. That emotional connection is the seed. What grows from it—the behavior changes, the next generation of conservationists, the donations—is the harvest. Stephanie’s influence has also extended well beyond Boise. When TPF’s Ridgway’s Hawk Program in the Dominican Republic needed support for their growing ambassador bird program, Stephanie traveled there to consult on training, care, and program management, helping empower a team doing remarkable work to continue moving forward. It’s the kind of quiet, unglamorous leadership that rarely makes headlines but shapes everything. Stephanie Ashley is building something that will outlast any single bird or any single visit: a culture of care, rigor, and genuine connection that reflects the best of what TPF stands for. Looking ahead, Stephanie sees the Education Center continuing to grow: more birds, stronger programs, and a deepening investment in the conservation leaders who will carry the work forward. Change, she has learned, comes slowly. But the distance covered is unmistakable.
Carlos Suárez
Carlos Suárez
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MATCHING THE APLOMADO FALCON’S TENACITY
TPF Complete Conservation™ Pillar
Species to Ecosystem Continuum Restoring the Aplomado Falcon to the Texas coast means restoring the habitat that sustains it, proof that saving a raptor and saving an ecosystem are never two separate goals.
Northern Aplomado Falcons are fierce hunters—agile, bold, and built for powerful flight across the harsh grasslands
Despite heavy rains and flooding, the team documented breeding pairs across barrier islands and Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. On Matagorda Island, where Hurricane Harvey wiped out nearly half of the falcons observed there in 2017, 11 pairs nested this year, a sign of near-full recovery. But the most exciting discovery requires backstory. In 2021, six falcons were experimentally released on North Padre Island, but none stayed to breed. One male moved to Mustang Island and has raised young there since 2024. This past spring, biologists discovered his son had flown back to North Padre Island, found a mate, and successfully produced two offspring—the first documented Aplomado Falcon nest ever recorded on North Padre Island. This kind of work requires decades of dedication. After surviving hurricanes, drought, and predators, these resilient falcons are staging a remarkable comeback on the Texas coast.
of Texas. Yet by the early 1950s, they had disappeared from the American Southwest, victims of overgrazing, fire suppression, expanding agriculture, and the spread of brush into their habitat. The same tenacity that defines these falcons is shared by the people working to bring them back. The Peregrine Fund’s Aplomado Program Director, Brian Mutch, and Vice President of Domestic Conservation, Paul Juergens, bring over 50 years of combined field experience and innovative leadership. Building on the recovery success of the Peregrine Falcon, TPF began breeding Aplomado Falcons in captivity in 1988 and has since released more than 900 young falcons in southern Texas. This year, our team counted 26 breeding pairs in Texas and celebrated banding the 675th wild nestling since recovery began.
Paul Juergens
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After disappearing from the American Southwest in the 1950s, the Aplomado Falcon is staging a remarkable comeback on the Texas coast, with 2025 bringing new milestones in our decades-long recovery effort.
Angel Montoya
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Paul Juergens
Brian Mutch
MADAGASCAR PROGRAM RECEIVES THE INDIANAPOLIS PRIZE AND UNESCO BIOSPHERE RESERVE RECOGNITIONS
(a duck thought to be extinct until 2006) and publishing over 80 scientific publications. Our community-
TPF Complete Conservation™ Pillar
Conservation Leadership Every protected area, planted tree, and scientific publication produced by our Madagascar Program reflects a foundational conviction: that conservation leadership, grown locally, creates impact that endures. In September 2025, Dr. Lily-Arison Rene de Roland, Director of The Peregrine Fund’s Madagascar Program, won the 2025 Indianapolis Prize, the world’s most prestigious wildlife conservation award. The $250,000 prize, the largest individual monetary award in the conservation field, will help fuel the expansion of one of our most transformative programs. Madagascar, often called the “eighth continent,” hosts 14 raptor species found nowhere else on Earth. The program’s holistic approach combines scientific research, habitat protection, species monitoring, and deep community engagement—creating a blueprint now replicated in conservation programs worldwide. Dr. Rene de Roland has led the Madagascar Program since 2004, achieving remarkable milestones including rediscovering the Madagascar Pochard
centered approach has transformed villages into conservation stewards, establishing locally-managed projects with lasting impact. The Indianapolis Prize recognition will help the program scale proven conservation strategies. Our community-based conservation partnerships have helped establish four protected areas totaling nearly 500,000 acres. In 2025, one of those areas, the Tsimembo Manambolomaty Protected Area, was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, a global recognition of the site’s ecological significance. Habitat restoration efforts have planted more than one million trees, with 315,000 seedlings planted in 2025. The mentorship program has supported more than 150 Malagasy graduate students, including six students in 2025, pursuing degrees in biology, conservation, botany, sociology, and veterinary sciences. From a duck once thought lost forever to a million trees planted, the Madagascar Program shows what’s possible when science, community, and commitment work as one.
Tolojanahary Andriamalala
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Dr. Lily-Arison Rene de Roland, Director of our Madagascar Program, won the 2025 Indianapolis Prize, the world’s most prestigious conservation award.
Courtesy of Indianapolis Zoo
Tolojanahary Andriamalala
Russell Thorstrom
Russell Thorstrom
Lily-Arison René de Roland
In 2025, the Tsimembo Manambolomaty Protected Area, was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, a global recognition of the site’s ecological significance.
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Stéphanie Razakaratrimo
Evan Buechley
TELLING CONSERVATION STORIES THROUGH FILM
In September, the acclaimed Fin & Fur team released the award-winning film The American Southwest —a breathtaking journey down the Colorado River that weaves together stunning cinematography with an urgent conservation story. Narrated by Quannah Chasinghorse and made in association with Natives Outdoors and American Rivers, this family-friendly film captures the region’s magnificent wildlife—including a young California Condor from our Arizona flock—while confronting the ecological toll of dams and water overuse. It’s filmmaking that moves hearts and minds. We’re grateful to Ben Masters and the team at Fin & Fur Films for their artistry and dedication to conserving wildlife and wild places.
TPF Complete Conservation™ Pillar
Collaboration The best conservation stories deserve to be told, and the right creative partnership can deliver them to new audiences. It’s been nearly a decade since filmmaker Ben Masters reached out to The Peregrine Fund with an idea: spotlight our conservation work through documentary filmmaking. That conversation sparked a collaboration that brought two impactful films to audiences in 2025. This year’s production began with Lead It Go , a 30-minute film released in February, which follows TPF President & CEO Chris Parish’s mission to prevent unintentional lead poisoning in wildlife. Through research conducted at TPF, Chris helped discover that lead fragments from ammunition left in the remains of shot animals are often consumed by eagles, condors, and other scavengers. As a lifelong hunter, Chris co- founded the North American Lead-free Partnership, working with hunters to voluntarily remove lead from the food chain. The story is told through a deer hunt with Ben and showcases hunters respectfully taking the lead on this important issue.
Watch Lead It Go
Watch The American Southwest
www.youtube.com/ watch?v=sxS6mNzWIzQ
theamericansouthwest. film/watch
For more TPF videos, visit our YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@ThePeregrineFund
Courtesy of Fin & Fur Films
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TPF partnered with Fin & Fur Films to bring two of our conservation stories to audiences around the world.
Jane Naillon
Courtesy of Fin & Fur Films
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Courtesy of Fin & Fur Films
Courtesy of Fin & Fur Films
ONE BIOLOGIST’S UNWAVERING QUEST FOR RAPTORS
advanced our understanding of threatened raptor populations worldwide. These efforts have also led to innovative conservation strategies, including the establishment of major TPF programs in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Our Vice President of Conservation, who oversees International Programs, Dr. Evan Buechley, works closely with Russell. “Russell has had an illustrious career as a prolific scientist and an exemplary conservation biologist. His focus and commitment have always been in the field with the species, landscapes, and people that drive his passion for conservation,” says Evan. “He is soft-spoken and never in search of the spotlight, but those who have had the pleasure of working alongside Russell recognize him as one of the eminent conservationists of our time.” TPF is proud of Russell’s extraordinary dedication to conserving raptors worldwide.
TPF Complete Conservation™ Pillar
Thought Leadership Russell Thorstrom’s career is a testament to what thought leadership looks like in the field: decades of rigorous science in the world’s most remote landscapes, quietly advancing conservation.
In 2025, the Raptor Research Foundation presented our Madagascar & West Indies Conservation Director, Russell Thorstrom, with the Tom Cade Award. This award, named in honor of our founder, recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the conservation of raptors.
Throughout his career with The Peregrine Fund, Russell has demonstrated unwavering dedication to protecting birds of prey in some of the world’s most challenging and biodiverse regions. From searching for lost species in Madagascar and Brazil to gathering critical natural history data on poorly studied raptors in Guatemala through our Maya Project, his work has He is soft-spoken and never in search of the spotlight, but those who have had the pleasure of working alongside Russell recognize him as one of the eminent conservationists of our time. –Evan Buechley, Vice President of Conservation – International Programs
Courtesy of TPF
Russell (far right) in Tikal National Park, Guatemala with members of the Maya Project during that project’s first season in 1988.
Courtesy of TPF
Russell and a TPF collaborator tracking radio- tagged Ridgway’s Hawks in the Dominican Republic in 2005.
Evan Buechley
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EDGE FELLOW PARTNERSHIP CULTIVATES FUTURE LEADERS
championing the Critically Endangered White-rumped Vulture , a species that experienced a devastating population decline of more than 99% during the Asian Vulture Crisis. Her work in the Himalayan foothills has already yielded impressive results. The team has discovered 14 vulture nest sites, mapped priority conservation areas, established vulture-safe carcass disposal sites, and launched community awareness campaigns, including a vibrant vulture festival. Waruni is dedicated to the elusive Serendib Scops-owl in Sri Lanka’s rainforests, a species first described by science in 2004. She has developed innovative field survey methods, engaged local stakeholders, and begun producing a documentary to share this rare owl’s story with the world. Both fellows completed intensive training in Thailand, gaining skills in conservation practice and leadership development. Through mentorship, technical training, and hands-on fieldwork, we’re not just conserving raptors—we’re cultivating the conservation leaders of tomorrow.
TPF Complete Conservation™ Pillar
The Peregrine Fund proudly partnered with the Zoological Society of London’s EDGE of Existence Programme in 2025 to support two early-career conservationists focused on threatened Asian raptors. This initiative embodies our commitment to conservation leadership—investing in tomorrow’s leaders today to ensure the work you fund is sustained far into the future. Through a competitive selection process, we welcomed EDGE Fellows Malyasri Bhattacharya from India and Waruni Tissera from Sri Lanka. Malyasri is Conservation Leadership By investing in early-career conservationists working on the world’s most threatened raptors, TPF is ensuring that the work carries forward long after today’s victories are won.
In 2025, TPF supported EDGE Fellows Malyasri Bhattacharya and Waruni Tissera, studying the White- rumped Vulture in India and the Serendib Scops-owl in Sri Lanka.
Courtesy of ZSL EDGE of Existence Programme
Kratzra; licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
Courtesy of ZSL EDGE of Existence Programme
Dulan Vidanapathirana
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2025 GRADUATES & STUDENTS
MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA, & THE CARIBBEAN Therese Arstrand (MSc) | University of Stockholm (Sweden) Jairo Bailarin (BSc) | UMECIT University (Panama) David Bejerano (BSc) | Isthmus University (Panama) David Bontrager, MSc (Post-thesis) | Boise State University (U.S.A.) To date, students supported by TPF have earned 189 advanced degrees, including 46 PhD and 143 MSc or equivalent degrees. Additionally, The Peregrine Fund has supported students pursuing BSc degrees. Below are the students who were either pursuing degrees or who graduated in 2025 with direct support from The Peregrine Fund.
TPF Complete Conservation™ Pillar
Conservation Leadership Since 1970, The Peregrine Fund has supported students across the globe through training, mentorship, and direct funding with scholarships.
DEGREES EARNED WITH SUPPORT FROM THE PEREGRINE FUND: MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA, AND CARIBBEAN Pierrot Drossart, MSc | University of Liege (Belgium) NORTHEAST AFRICA Michael Bode Agunbiade, PhD | Bradenburg Technical University (Germany) Ivan Oruka, MSc | Gulu University (Uganda)
Darisnel Carpio (BSc) | Isthmus University (Panama) Yilianis Chamarra (BSc) | ISAE University (Panama) Argelis Cortez (BSc) | ISAE University (Panama) Fabio Diaz (PhD) | Boise State University (U.S.A.) Gladilsa Dogirama (BSc) | UMECIT University (Panama) Edy Grajales (BSc) | UMECIT University (Panama) Juan Grajales (BSc) | University of Panama (Panama) Romario Grajales (BSc) | ISAE University (Panama)
NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA Caetano Mourão, MSc | University of São Paulo (Brazil)
SOUTHERN AFRICA Vainess Laizer, MSc | Sokoine University of Agriculture (Tanzania) Plaki Msalilwa, MSc | University of Glasgow (Scotland) Tom Riffel, MSc | University of Kent (UK) Andrianirina Mamison Niasitera, BSc | University Of Fandriana (Madagascar) Rajesison O’cland Mampionona, BSc | University Of Fandriana (Madagascar) Randriantsoa Andonaina Harivelo, BSc | University Of Fandriana (Madagascar) Rasoarizafy Victorine, MSc | University Of Toliary (Madagascar) Ratsirahonana Kotoniaina Pascal, BSc | University Of Fandriana (Madagascar) Manandahy Zafison Raymond, MSc | University Of Toliary (Madagascar) Razafiherison Radoniaina, PhD | University Of Toliary (Madagascar) Safidinandrianina Tsiory, MSc | University Of Antananarivo (Madagascar) Tiambelo Ruberot, MSc | University Of Mahajanga (Madagascar)\ STUDENTS PURSUING DEGREES WITH SUPPORT FROM THE PEREGRINE FUND: EAST & SOUTH ASIA Hemanta Dhakal (PhD) | University of Oviedo (Spain) Sandesh Gurung (PhD) | Wageningen University (Netherlands)
Danitza Membache (BSc) | University of Panama (Panama) Yeiselanis Membache (BSc) | ISAE University (Panama) Alan Monroy, MSc (Post-thesis) | Universidad Veracruzana (Mexico) Manuel Mosquera (BSc) | ISAE University (Panama) Indelira Rito (BSc) | ISAE University (Panama)
NORTH AMERICA Sage Dale (MSc) | Boise State University (U.S.A.)
Carolina Granthon (PhD) | Boise State University (U.S.A.) Michael T. Henderson (PhD) | Boise State University (U.S.A.) Tom Hudson (MSc) | Virginia Tech (U.S.A.) Hannah Rudd (MSc) | Boise State University (U.S.A.) Rebecca Thomas-Kuzilik (PhD) | Boise State University (U.S.A.) NORTH & CENTRAL ASIA Nicole Ibrahim (PhD) | University of Maryland (U.S.A.) Aigerim Olzhayeva (PhD) | Oregon State University (U.S.A.) Eden Ravecca (PhD) | Boise State University (U.S.A.) NORTHEAST AFRICA Faith Achieng (MSc) | Nazarene University (Kenya) Jonathan Eveso (PhD) | University of Konstanz/Max Planck Institute (Germany) Bruktawit Gezahegn (PhD) | Jimma University (Ethiopia) Elena Ramella Levis (PhD) | Wageningen University (Netherlands) Brian Ochieng (MSc) | Karatina University (Kenya)
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