As predators, raptors are important members of their ecosystems. The Urban Raptor Monitoring Initiative (URMI) will address questions regarding raptor habitat use and population trends in Northwest Arkansas, an area with rapid human population growth.

This study will involve inventorying raptors at study sites along an urban to rural gradient, assessing trends in habitat use, survival, and co-occurrence dynamics–important insight into how different species coexist together. 

Using study sites in areas ranging from urban to rural will allow us to see how factors like habitat structure, human disturbance, and even socioeconomic status relate to raptor land use and population dynamics.

This long-term project will involve citizen science, partnerships with private land owners, and collaboration among conservation organizations and state agencies. It will inform raptor management and conservation needs in regions with high human inputs.