Urban Raptor Case Studies: Lessons from Texas

The presence of raptors in cities brings up many questions for wildlife managers and agencies and raises some fundamental questions about how to respond to emerging demands for limited wildlife conservation budgets. According to population estimates, a major demographic shift in the world’s human population occurred in May 2007 when we, as a species, became more urban than rural.1 This rural to urban shift happened in the United States around the late 1910s.1 In Texas, this shift occurred in the 1940s.2 As of the time of this writing, the US Census Bureau estimates that more than 80 percent of the US population lives in urban areas. However, the vast urban population of the United States resides on just 3 percent of the land area.3 This juxtaposition serves as the foundation for one of the most critical issues being debated today in state wildlife agencies regarding the future of wildlife conservation. Where and how should we allocate our limited wildlife conservation resources? Similarly, how are state wildlife agencies to remain relevant to the vast urban public given that 97 percent of the land is rural?