18 Years of Standing Up for Birds. And We’re Not Done Yet.

Reflecting on Urban Bird Foundation’s legacy, the people who made it possible, and the work that continues.

In 2008, Urban Bird Foundation began with a simple belief: protecting birds and the places they call home shouldn’t require a massive organization, a multimillion-dollar budget, or permission to make a difference. Sometimes, all it takes is someone willing to stand up, speak out, and refuse to look the other way.

What began as a grassroots effort to protect burrowing owls grew into something much bigger.

Over the next 18 years, Urban Bird Foundation challenged harmful development practices, investigated threats to wildlife, rescued birds in danger, restored habitat, helped shape conservation policies, and brought people together around a shared commitment to protecting wildlife.

We weren’t always the biggest voice in the room. But we made sure birds had one.

18 Years. A Lasting Impact.

Looking back, the numbers tell part of the story:

• 10,163 acres restored — Helping return habitat to wildlife and the communities that depend on healthy ecosystems.
• 3,710 children engaged — Introducing young people to birds, conservation, and the natural world.
• 210,000 people represented — Bringing community voices into conservation decisions.
• 8,197 calls fielded — Responding to people seeking guidance, reporting wildlife concerns, and asking for help.
• 2 species listed — Contributing to efforts that secured important wildlife protections.

But the real impact goes far beyond statistics.

It’s found in the birds rescued from dangerous situations, the burrows protected from destruction, the habitats given another chance, and the people who discovered that their voices could make a difference.

It’s in the late nights, the difficult conversations, the unexpected victories, and the moments when doing the right thing wasn’t necessarily the easiest thing.

Those are the stories worth remembering.

Closing an Organization, Not Abandoning a Mission

In November 2026, after nearly 18 years, Urban Bird Foundation formally concluded its nonprofit operations.

This decision marks the end of an organizational chapter, not the end of our commitment to wildlife.

The Urban Bird Foundation website will remain online as an archive of the organization’s history, campaigns, accomplishments, and the many people who helped make them possible. Over time, we’ll continue expanding that archive, preserving stories and resources that might otherwise be lost.

And while Urban Bird Foundation will no longer operate as a nonprofit, my own conservation work will continue.

From protecting birds and responding to wildlife in need to restoring native habitat and advocating for the species that too often go unnoticed, I intend to keep doing what I’ve always done: helping wildlife wherever and whenever I can.

These days, much of that work begins on the wide-open prairie of northeastern Wyoming, where a different landscape offers new opportunities to observe, protect, and restore the natural world.

Different place. Same commitment.

To Everyone Who Stood With Us: Thank You.

None of this happened alone.

To the volunteers who gave their time, the donors who believed in our work, the scientists and conservationists who shared their expertise, the community members who spoke up, and the countless people who called because they cared about a bird in trouble—thank you.

You helped turn a grassroots effort into a meaningful conservation movement.

And to everyone who ever stood up for a burrowing owl, questioned a development project, rescued an injured bird, planted native habitat, or encouraged a child to care about wildlife: you are part of this story.

Urban Bird Foundation may have closed its nonprofit chapter, but its legacy lives in the habitats protected, the lives saved, and the people inspired to take action.

Because conservation was never about the name on the organization.

It was about the willingness to act.

Birds. People. Communities. Always.

Scott Artis
Founder, Urban Bird Foundation
November 2026