Introducing John Howe, who has been chosen to succeed Bob Anderson at Raptor Resource Project

John Howe hanging out near La Crescent (Photo courtesy of RRP)

For the past five years, John Howe has been "hanging out" with Bob Anderson--literally.  The two strapped on safety equipment as they worked on a peregrine falcon camera along the Mississippi River.

Howe and Anderson met in 2004, when Anderson installed a nest box on his family's property north of La Crescent, Minnesota along Apple Blossom Scenic Drive.  The nest box has attracted falcons back each year since.

In 2011, Howe commented to Anderson, "You have a wonderful bald eagle camera broadcasting to Ustream, but your life passion has been falcons. How would you like a falcon cam out on the bluffs of the mighty Mississippi?"

That led to a project in which Howe's son, Jonathon, designed a system, then worked with volunteers laying 1,000 feet of conduit and cables though the woods.  Jonathon Howe and Amy Ries of Decorah did the hard part of hanging across the cliff and mounting the camera and cables to the nest box.

Howe is an environmental health and safety engineer for Land O Lakes in the Twin Cities who has traveled around the Midwest to work on projects with Anderson.  He said, "What an incredible legacy Bob Anderson leaves behind, a legacy I am honored to have been chosen to move forward."