[1][2][3] Built 41 years ago in 1984,[4][5] the World Center for Birds of Prey is located on 580 acres (2.3 km2) on a hilltop overlooking Boise, south of the airport and east of Kuna.

The campus consists of the business offices of The Peregrine Fund, breeding facilities for endangered raptors, the Velma Morrison Interpretive Center, and the Herrick Collections Building, which houses a large research library and the Archives of Falconry.

[4] Morley Nelson of Boise,[1] a well-known raptor expert and member of The Peregrine Fund board of directors, was instrumental in bringing the organization to his hometown.

In 1992, the Velma Morrison Interpretive Center opened to the public with exhibits of rare and endangered raptors, interactive displays, and outreach programs for schools and other groups.

The center's research facilities are designed to enhance the health, reproduction, and reintroduction efforts of endangered species and to collect information about the general biology of raptors.

The research library collections include more than 20,000 books and monographs and full or partial runs of more than 1,400 technical journals and conservation magazines, newsletters, videos, CDs and maps.

The archives doubled in size in 2006 with a 3,000-square-foot (280 m2) addition donated by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed to honor his father, the founding president of the United Arab Emirates.