Museum Guide News

The Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association main mission is to conserve birds of prey worldwide by providing leadership in raptor conservation science and education, and by maintaining Hawk Mountain Sanctuary as a model observation, research and education facility.

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, the world’s first refuge for birds of prey, was founded in response to the mass killing of hawks in the early 20th century. In the 1930s, conservationist Richard Pough documented the shooting of migrating hawks on a Pennsylvania mountain, capturing images that caught the attention of activist Rosalie Edge. In 1934, Edge leased the land, hired wardens Maurice and Irma Broun to guard the trails and lookout, and opened it to the public. She later purchased the property and established Hawk Mountain Sanctuary as a nonprofit in 1938, effectively ending the slaughter and creating a safe haven for raptors. While stationed at the lookout, Maurice began tallying the raptors that migrated past the lookout, starting the first official hawk count in the world.

Today, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary has since grown to 2,600 acres, with over 60,000 visitors per year and more than 9,000 members that keep the Sanctuary’s mission alive.

On- and off-site, HMS helps to educate through lectures, workshops, programs and events, while also offering access to its 8+ miles of hiking trails for firsthand learning and observation. For over 90 years, visitors have been able to immerse themselves and experience raptors in this native habitat.

Hawk Mountain uses a local-to-global approach in conservation, seeking to educate the public and conserve raptors in the immediate area as well as across the country and the world. Through its extensive trainee programs, educators and conservationists learn from qualified, dedicated scientists and educators the best methods for research and outreach. By taking on these trainees, the Sanctuary has already helped further conservation programs in Africa, Central and South America, the Arctic, and more. In places like Batumi in the Republic of Georgia, our traineeship graduates have helped establish locations with a similar origin story to ours exchange damaging raptor hunting for eco-tourism.

Our mission soars forward thanks to generous support via visit, membership, or donation, and Hawk Mountain can continue to be a leader in the global wildlife conservation movement. Come and visit us online and learn more about all we are and have to offer!  https://www.hawkmountain.org/