About the Founder

Scott Artis, M.A.

Founder, Urban Bird Foundation | Conservationist, Wildlife Advocate & Bird Rescuer

For nearly two decades, Scott Artis has worked to protect birds, restore wildlife habitat, and give a voice to species too often overlooked in the face of development and environmental change.

In 2008, Scott founded what would become Urban Bird Foundation, a grassroots conservation organization built on the belief that meaningful change doesn’t require a large institution, just determination, persistence, and a willingness to take action. What began as one person’s efforts to protect threatened burrowing owls grew into a conservation movement involving community members, scientists, volunteers, and advocates.

Scott’s work has taken him from active construction sites and threatened owl burrows to legislative hearings, scientific conferences, and meetings with government agencies. His efforts have included undercover investigations, wildlife rescues, habitat restoration, public education, and campaigns to strengthen protections for vulnerable bird species. Along the way, he helped mobilize communities, challenge harmful development practices, and advance conservation policies designed to protect birds and the places they call home.

Beyond Urban Bird Foundation, Scott has held leadership positions with several conservation organizations including several NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council appointments as well as Vice Chair of the Open Space, Active Transportation, and Sustainability Commission of the City of American Canyon. His broader conservation career spans wildlife protection, endangered species advocacy, fisheries conservation, habitat restoration, and environmental policy.

In 2025, Scott and his wife, Heather, traded California for the wide-open prairie of northeastern Wyoming, where they established their home on the Great Plans. Surrounded by native wildlife, Scott continues his lifelong interest in birds through wildlife observation, habitat restoration, conservation advocacy, and hands-on efforts to assist animals in need.

Although Urban Bird Foundation concluded its formal nonprofit operations in 2026, Scott’s commitment to protecting birds continues. This website preserves the organization’s history, accomplishments, and the stories of those who helped make its work possible, while providing a place to share new experiences and conservation efforts.

Because protecting wildlife was never simply a job or an organization. It was, and remains, a way of life.