Introducing RaptorMapper: A Tool to Identify and Calculate Key Habitat

We are excited to announce the launch of RaptorMapper, a free online tool created to inform development in Wyoming for the protection of Golden Eagle habitat.

RaptorMapper maps important habitats and calculates the conservation values of land parcels for Golden Eagles across Wyoming. Wyoming is a key area for nesting Golden Eagles in the West and also provides some of the best wintering habitat, and important migration corridors for Golden Eagles that spend the breeding season in Canada and Alaska. The state also has some of the best wind resources and fastest growing renewable wind energy development in the country. In recent years, the overlap of Golden Eagle habitat and wind energy development in Wyoming has led to several major utility companies being prosecuted for eagle fatalities at wind farms and an increase in the number of eagle take permit applications with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. RaptorMapper can help companies assess sites for Golden Eagle habitat value, and avoid developing on important habitat.

RaptorMapper was created by collaborators from Teton Raptor Center, Cal Poly Humboldt, Wyoming Natural Diversity Database at the University of Wyoming, Natural Resource Geospatial, and Gage Cartographics.