Finalist 1
“Hands to feathers”: Rescuing Raptors across Nebraska
by Makayla Maxson
50 years ago Betsy Finch started the Raptor Conservation Alliance in Elmwood, Nebraska with the mission to “provide care and support for injured and orphaned raptors in preparation for release; to assist in the management of raptor populations and raptor research; to enlist public support for raptor conservation through educational programs, displays and special events utilizing live raptors as ambassadors for their kind”(Raptor Conservation Alliance pamphlet). Betsy, her husband (Doug Finch) and her team are all volunteers, this allows all the money to go to the birds, so the Raptor Conservation Alliance can help raptors across Nebraska. They work hard to ensure all the raptors are cared for and given a good quality of life, this is a seven day a week job for the couple to ensure their mission is achieved. Betsy and Doug Finch and their team make a difference in the raptor world as they have “treated over 15,000 raptors from Nebraska and surrounding states” (Raptor Conservation Alliance pamphlet).
Betsy Finch, 79, from Elmwood Nebraska enters the Turkey Vulture’s room to console him as Betsy gives a tour of their facilities at the Raptor Conservation Alliance in Elmwood, Nebraska on Saturday, February 21, 2026. Betsy, the director of the Raptor Conservation Alliance, and her team aid birds to health and release them back into the wild when the birds are ready. The Raptor Conservation Alliance is a completely volunteer run organization, “I would rather the money go to the birds” Betsy said.
A Bald Eagle, under five years of age, lays helplessly as the Raptor Conservation Alliance examines the Bald Eagle’s hurt wing on Saturday, February 21, 2026, in Elmwood, Nebraska.
As Marcus McCaskill, 22, from Omaha Nebraska, Devon Bands, 29, from Tucson Arizona and Betsy Finch, 79, from Elmwood Nebraska examine the Bald Eagle, the realization sets in that the Bald Eagle’s injury is a death sentence. The Bald Eagle has a fractured wing that is infected and too high in the wing to amputate. The team battles with this thought as the Bald Eagle lays in front of them on Saturday, February 21, 2026, in Elmwood, Nebraska.
Devon Bands, 29, from Tucson Arizona leads down to reason with a Golden Eagle as she tries to help the Golden Eagle become accustomed to human interaction on Saturday, February 21, 2026, in Elmwood, Nebraska. The Raptor Conservation Alliance calls this bird their “puppy dog” as the Golden Eagle runs through the snow to greet us as we approached.
Silene the Saw-whet Owl sits in their bird hospital after losing an eye on Saturday, February 21, 2026, in Elmwood, Nebraska. Betsy Finch, 79, from Elmwood, Nebraska explains that this Saw-whet Owl is used to the camera because Silene is taken out in public.
Betsy Finch, 79, from Elmwood, Nebraska, the director of Raptor Conservation Alliance in Elmwood, Nebraska poses for a portrait in front of the main building of the Raptor Conservation Alliance on Saturday, February 21, 2026, in Elmwood, Nebraska. Betsy Finch helped start the Raptor Conservation Alliance 50 years ago and has helped save over 15,000 raptors in those years.
Devon Bands, 29, from Tucson Arizona holds an American Kestrel as Betsy Finch, 79, from Elmwood Nebraska says goodbye before the American Kestrel is prepared to go to another facility to receive care on Saturday, February 21, 2026, in Elmwood, Nebraska.
Betsy Finch, 79, from Elmwood Nebraska and Doug Finch, 67, from Elmwood Nebraska stand on the porch of their house that is located on the Raptor Conservation Alliance property so the couple can ensure the birds on their property are cared for at all times on Saturday, February 21, 2026, in Elmwood, Nebraska.