Sixty Years of Studying Golden Eagles in Southwestern Idaho: What Have We Learned?

Mike Kochert will present major findings of the long-term studies of Golden Eagle nesting in southwestern Idaho that have continued uninterrupted since 1966.  He will discuss overall Golden Eagle biology, eagle-prey-habitat relationships, and the responses of the nesting eagle population to massive habitat and environmental changes that have occurred in the southwestern Idaho during the last 45 years.  He will also relate these changes to conservation challenges facing managers of the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area in southwestern Idaho where he has worked for 55 years.  He will also share some of his experiences while studying Golden Eagles during the last half century.

Time & Location

Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Cost: Free

Doors open: 6 p.m.

Presentation starts: 6:30 p.m.

Location: Rick Allen Room in the Herrett Center, Twin Falls, ID

Presenter

Mike Kochert is a Scientist Emeritus with the U.S. Geological Survey in Boise Idaho.  He is also an Affiliate Faculty member at Boise State University.  He has been studying birds of prey for the last 55 years, mostly in the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area (NCA).  He received a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University in Wildlife Management and a master’s degree in Wildlife Science at the University of Idaho where he studied nesting Golden Eagles in southwestern Idaho.  The Bureau of Land Management hired Mike in 1972 as the first biologist for what is now the NCA.  He lead the research that provided the biological basis for establishing the NCA.  Over the years, he has worked for the Bureau of Land Management, the National Biological Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey, focusing on the raptors in the NCA, especially Golden Eagles.