Morlan "Morley" Nelson (October 5, 1916 – February 12, 2005) was an American falconer and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. He is best known as a seminal influence on

raptor Raptor or RAPTOR may refer to: Animals The word "raptor" refers to several groups of bird-like dinosaurs which primarily capture and subdue/kill prey with their talons. * Raptor (bird) or bird of prey, a bird that primarily hunts and feeds on ...

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

in the Western

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Early life

Morlan W. Nelson was born in

Barnes County, North Dakota Barnes County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,853. Its county seat is Valley City. In 1872, the Dakota Territory legislature authorized Burbank County (named for governor John A. Bu ...

. He was raised on the

Sheyenne River The Sheyenne River is one of the major tributaries of the Red River of the North, meandering U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 8, 2011 across eastern North Dakota, Uni ...

, north of

Valley City, North Dakota Valley City is a city in Barnes County, North Dakota, United States. It is the county seat of Barnes County. The population was 6,575 during the 2020 census, making it the 12th largest city in North Dakota. Valley City was founded in 1874. Val ...

. His parents were from Scandinavian heritage and raised corn, grain, hay, and cattle on a 1,200-acre farm. Nelson became interested in

s at an early age, especially the

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...

. He graduated from

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

with a degree in

soil science Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the Earth including soil formation, classification and mapping; physical, chemical, biological, and fertility properties of soils; and these properties in relation to th ...

in 1938. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Nelson was a captain in the 87th Mountain Infantry of the

10th Mountain Division The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Formerly designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division was the only one of its size in the US military to re ...

and received a

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

, and a

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

for his bravery and leadership.

Raptor protection

After the War, Nelson continued his work with raptors, and, after relocating to

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

, became interested in the

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of p ...

. In 1958, he influenced the

Idaho Legislature The Idaho Legislature consists of the upper Idaho Senate and the lower Idaho House of Representatives. Idaho is divided into 35 legislative districts, which each elect one senator and two representatives. There are no term limits for either cha ...

to enact a law protecting raptors in that state. He worked with many electrical power companies to modify their

transmission lines In electrical engineering, a transmission line is a specialized cable or other structure designed to conduct electromagnetic waves in a contained manner. The term applies when the conductors are long enough that the wave nature of the transmis ...

to prevent large raptors like the

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

from electrocuting themselves. He worked on numerous films with

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

, including ''Ida, the Offbeat Eagle'' in 1964. In the 1970s, ABC television and

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

produced a one-hour documentary with Nelson on eagles and hawks titled The Eagle and the Hawk. The title song was on Denver's album

Aerie Aerie (a variant of eyrie) is the bird nest of an eagle, falcon, hawk, or other bird of prey. Aerie may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Aerie (Baldur's Gate), Aerie (''Baldur's Gate''), a character in ''Baldur' ...

The documentary so far has not been released, nor can it be found on YouTube. In 1980, he was instrumental in establishing the

Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area The Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area has one of the densest populations of nesting raptors. The National Conservation Area (NCA) is located south of Boise, Idaho along of the Snake River, and is managed by the B ...

. On March 30, 2009, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

signed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009, PL 111–11, section 2301 of which formally recognized Nelson's contributions by renaming the Conservation Area as the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area. Nelson also influenced the establishment of the

World Center for Birds of Prey The World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho, is the headquarters for The Peregrine Fund, an international non-profit organization founded in 1970 that conserves endangered raptors around the world. Built in 1984, the World Center for ...

Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area's ...

. Throughout his life, Morley Nelson rehabilitated injured raptors brought to him, including many exotic species. His home in the foothills of Boise was well known as a place to see and learn about all sorts of

birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators ...

, and he would talk for hours about his passion to anyone who showed interest.''Morley Nelson'' (eaglehunter.co.uk)
/ref>

Partial filmography

Ida, The Offbeat Eagle
a
IMDB

by Idaho Public Television.

PBS

Nature (TV program) ''Nature'' is a wildlife television program produced by Thirteen/WNET New York. It has been distributed to United States public television stations by the PBS television service since its debut on October 10, 1982. Some episodes may appear in s ...

"John Denver: Let This Be a Voice" final program of John Denver 1997.

References

Other sources

*Stuebner, Stephen, ''Cool North Wind: Morley Nelson's Life with Birds of Prey'', Caxton Press (September 10, 2002)

External links

Saving the Peregrine Falcon: An Idaho Story (Foster, Lee)Falconers' Monument and Book of Remembrance
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Morley 1917 births 2005 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army officers North Dakota State University alumni People from North Dakota People from Barnes County, North Dakota American people of Scandinavian descent Recipients of the Silver Star Falconry