About Snake River raptor fest

Snake River Raptor Fest is an annual celebration of the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area (NCA), one of the densest concentrations of nesting raptors in North America. The inaugural festival launched in 2018, marking the 25th anniversary of the conservation area's founding.

Each year since, Raptor Fest has called Indian Creek Winery in Kuna, Idaho home (with one exception: our virtual celebration during the Covid pandemic). Our mission is simple: bring conservation, restoration, and community together in a day that feels easy, inviting, and fun for the whole family.

What to Expect

Guests come for the live music, local food and drinks, and the winery's beautiful garden setting, plus hands-on children's activities. But it doesn't take long before they're pulled into something more: educational and outreach experiences led by nonprofit organizations, land management agencies, educational institutions, and local conservation partners from across the region.

And yes, live ambassador birds of prey are woven throughout the venue all day, courtesy of our partners at the Bureau of Land Management, The Peregrine Fund, the Idaho Falconers Association, and our good friends Monte Tish and Slim the golden eagle.

Why we host this annual celebration

The NCA was designated by Congress in 1993 to protect birds of prey, their prey species, and the habitats they rely on. However, many had begun to see that there was something remarkable about this area long before that. Morley Nelson was the first to notice the unusually high numbers of birds of prey in the Snake River Canyon near Swan Falls Dam in the 1950s, and researchers began documenting the unique assemblage of eagles, falcons, hawks, owls, and other raptor species found here in the 1960s. This research led to the protection of a 26,000 acre "Snake River Birds of Prey Natural Area" in 1971.

The protected area was expanded to roughly 482,000 acres by then Secretary of the Interior Cecil Andrus in 1980. Today, the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area consists of more than 485,000 acres of public lands along an 81 mile stretch of the Snake River Canyon in southwest Idaho, managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

Protecting a One-of-a-Kind Landscape

The NCA hosts one of the densest nesting areas for birds of prey in the world and supports additional raptor species during migration and throughout the winter months. Even so, many area locals and recent transplants to southwestern Idaho aren't familiar with the area's importance for raptors, the hard-fought campaign to protect it, or how they can help ensure this remarkable landscape continues to support healthy raptor populations for years to come.

Threats like frequent wildfires, habitat conversion, irresponsible recreation, illegal shooting, littering, and trash dumping are impacting the landscape in ways we don't yet fully understand. Our hope is that this event changes the lens through which visitors see the NCA and the natural resources it supports, building a stronger sense of appreciation and ownership of this truly unique area of public lands.

Festival Highlights

Live ambassador birds

Children's activity area

Local arts & craft vendors

Live music from you favorite local musicians

Food trucks, ice cream, and non-alcoholic beverage vendors

Wine and beer from our sponsors at Indian Creek Winery & Lost Grove Brewing

Education and outreach activities provided by BOPP and our partner organizations

Short, informal talks from researchers, policy makers, and conservation advocates

Pre-festival field trips to the NCA — birding excursions, native plant walks, and more

Get Involved

We will share ticket, volunteering and vendor opportunities ahead of the 2027 event.

Eventbrite Tickets — There is no charge to reserve tickets. We do ask that everyone register for tickets so that we can track attendance and provide additional event information, including optional field trip details and registration forms.
Volunteer Registration Form — We rely on help from our supporters to host high-quality and well run events.
Vendor Application Form — Do you want to be a vendor at this year’s Raptor Fest?