The deep canyon of the Snake River, with its crags and crevices and thermal updrafts, is home to the greatest concentration of nesting birds of prey in North America and perhaps, the world. The BLM's mission at the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area (NCA) is to preserve this remarkable wildlife habitat, while providing for other compatible uses of the land. Some 800 pairs of hawks, owls, eagles and falcons come each spring to mate and raise their young. The NCA encompasses 485,000 acres of "nature in the rough" along 81 miles of the Snake River in southwest Idaho., The birds and their unique environment offer rich rewards to those willing to experience the NCA on its own terms and who have patience to fit into the natural rhythms of life in this special place.