A New Global Partnership Takes Flight

In 2024, we took enterprising steps in forging an exciting new partnership with Boise State University (BSU), creating a new PhD position dedicated to researching the Harpy Eagle and rainforest conservation initiatives with our Panama Program. Stepping into this role is Fabio Díaz-Santos, a passionate Nicaraguan researcher who brings over a decade of rich ecological fieldwork experience in Central America. Fabio's impressive background includes forging partnerships with indigenous communities, braving remote tropical forest expeditions, mastering ecological data analysis, wielding remote sensing equipment, and conducting diverse research spanning numerous plant and animal species.

“What’s most exciting about this collaboration is the mutual benefit to all parties from sharing resources, knowledge, and opportunities, and that we can do so on projects worldwide,” said Evan Buechley, Vice President of Conservation—International Programs.

This partnership is in perfect alignment with BSU, home to the world's only Master of Raptor Biology degree. Established in 1987, this one-of-a-kind program operates under the prestigious Raptor Research Center, showcasing the university's unparalleled dedication to birds of prey research.

“For us, it’s really exciting because this opens us up to the international infrastructure at The Peregrine Fund,” said Assistant Professor Jennyffer Cruz, who is advising Fabio alongside Associate Professor Trevor Caughlin. “They have all these cool projects around the world that now, potentially, our students can go and work on.”

Fabio joined our Panama Program team in October, immersing himself in the local landscape, cultivating meaningful relationships with communities, and launching data collection for his project. His academic journey at BSU begins this spring, with regular field expeditions back to Panama to continue his vital research.

While our collaboration with BSU has flourished for years domestically, this marks our first global venture together—and we're just spreading our wings! We envision this partnership growing even further with a potential for additional global program positions in the future.