DONORS:

William Satterﬁeld, Steve Sherrod, Ralph Rogers, William and Joan Mattox, Samuel

and Marcia Lindberg, Robert and Carol Berry, Mike and Karen Yates, Paul and

Linda Mascuch, Kurt and Jennifer Burnham, Phil Vance, Toni Marosok, Patricia

Burnham, Bob Collins, The Barnes Family, Ruth and Brian Mutch, Carl Thelander,

Montana Falconers Association, North American Falconers Association, and an

Anonymous Friend in Science

Tom’s interest in falconry and birds of prey was kindled in his early teen years, and quickly became a passion that

raged within him until his passing at the age of 58.

By the time he unexpectedly left us in December 2016 Tom had become

a talented and respected falconer, hood maker, falcon breeder and biologist, an internationally recognized authority on tundra

peregrine falcons, a devoted husband and father, and a treasured friend to many within and without the falconry community.

Tom’s boyhood home in Geneva, Illinois was convenient to some of American falconry’s ﬁnest practitioners. He sought out those (like

Jack Oar and Jim Weaver) who could help him learn and excel at falconry, and was delivered to their homes by his mom before he could

drive. It was quickly apparent that not only was he born to the art of falconry, but that he would attack it and his every other undertaking

wholeheartedly. Lifelong friend and hawking partner Sam Lindberg recalls a cold Illinois day when Tom’s red-tail caught a cottontail that had

run across a frozen quarry pond, and the pair broke through the ice. Without hesitation Tom not only retrieved them by breaking ice until

immersed to the armpits, he humanely dispatched the rabbit during his return to shore while uttering a whole lot of words his mother never

taught him. Tom and Sam traveled west after high school graduation, crossing the Bighorn Mountains to the area east of Cody and meeting

other falconers on their western tour. Tom would come to call Sheridan, Wyoming his permanent home base before long. Tom and Sam

volunteered as hack site attendants for Peregrine Fund release sites along the Mississippi, honing their rappelling skills on local rock faces.

In 1981 Tom was elated at being invited to participate in the Greenland Peregrine Falcon Survey. During the ensuing 18 summers he

would prove to be one of its most essential assets. Fearless, tireless, knowledgeable, capable and dependable, he was a constant that

everyone relied upon to assure the work was completed successfully and safely. A founding member and later Director of the not-for proﬁt

Earthspan (along with peregrine research colleagues such as Mattox, Seegar, Yates, Fuller and Whitney), Tom participated in or oversaw

many of their projects on peregrines and other species. He directed their Padre Island (TX) Peregrine Falcon Survey for two decades,

conducted ﬁeld work in South America, Mexico, Alaska and Russia, and authored or co-authored numerous scientiﬁc publications.

As a young adult Tom never wanted to own any more possessions (and most of those falconry-related) than he could ﬁt into his pickup for a quick

and clean getaway. All that changed in 1989 when he met Kathy at South Padre Island during the peregrine survey. They were soon married, relocated

to Boise and later welcomed daughter Ireland. Fervent game hawking with falcons and English Setters, innovative ﬁeld research and dedication to

family and friends were the constants in his life. Returning to Sheridan, he created Bighorn Environmental Consultants; its success was attributable

not only to his manifest talents but the fact that everyone who ever knew Tom liked and respected him. He was embraced by the local community,

sat on conservation and wildlife panels, was a spokesperson for environmental issues, ﬂew gyrfalcons at sage-grouse and raised gyrs in captivity.

So many falconers are captured at an early age, marching to a drummer they never sought out and are powerless to

resist. Tom embraced that journey and made it his own, carving out a life we can all admire. Everything falconry and

our natural world gave him he repaid tenfold through his tireless quest to leave it all better than he found it. His was

a life well-lived but far too brief, and Tom’s many friends within our community will forever feel his loss.

Remembering Tom:

A talented & respected falconer

By Mike Yates

Photos above by Bill Sattereld

Of Tom Maechtle’s many areas of interest and activity, other than falconry and hood-

making, one stands foremost: Greenland peregrines. Tom went to Greenland ﬁrst in 1981; he

traveled there each season until the last one in 1998, when the Greenland Peregrine Falcon Survey

ended operations. Bill Seegar took over from Scott Ward in 1979 and was our Army contracting liaison

in Greenland for 18 seasons. Other than Bill’s sterling support and participation in the ﬁeld, Tom’s

record of ﬁeld activity and ﬁdelity to our cause remained unsurpassed among the 90 participants

who volunteered to ﬂy to Greenland and hike the tundra surveying the peregrine’s status.

I co-founded the Survey in 1972, and later came to rely on Tom’s ﬁeld strength and knowledge of routes,

best campsites, nesting locations, and survival techniques. In the ﬁrst seasons he and Jack Oar kayaked

the area of Taserssuaq (North) west to the outﬂow at tidewater. They found most of the nest cliffs on the

north shore of the lake. As the ﬁrst team to ﬁnd nesting falcons in that area they had the privilege of naming cliffs; so we ﬁnd place

names like their wives Kathryn and Connie, as well as descriptors of events or local conditions and people like Lost Knife, Wentland,

Mosquito, and Fitch’s Backbone. In the 1985 season Tom had Greenlander Kâle Siegstad as his kayak partner, so some Danish or

Greenlandic cliff names crept in like Taserssuaq (large lake), Guleklippen (golden cliff), and Kiagtup ûmîve (place where it is easy

to land or launch an umiaq). It was here they were able to climb up the cliff face directly out of the kayak to access the new eyrie.

Near tidewater, almost at the western extent of Tom’s travel, he named Unnga, Helle, and Golgoth. Tom used such local place names

because he had deep appreciation for the culture and rugged landscapes of Greenland. And he knew what the names meant.

In later seasons Tom paddled the shores of Taserssuaq with Mark Haley, Mark Robertson, Ralph Rogers, Bob Rosenﬁeld,

and four seasons with Phil Vance, who spoke in most humorous terms about his adventures with Tom.

After we received Danish and local

government permission to capture

and tag adults at the eyrie, in early

summer of 1983 a so-called “Advance

Team” of Tom, Bill Seegar, Tom

Nichols, and Mike Yates ﬂew in a

helicopter to nest cliffs. After roping

down to the eyrie, Tom placed the

eggs in a padded box, put it in a safe

place near the eyrie, and set a noose

gin over dummy eggs. Then Tom

ascended and found a hiding place

with his radio, rope and climbing

gear. The other team members

spotted, and radioed Tom when the

falcon had returned to the eyrie and

was caught. Then all hell broke loose

as Tom made some world-record

rappels down to the eyrie to grab the

falcon and replace the eggs. One year

he reported tagging and releasing the

falcon at the eyrie. He then started to

climb back up, only to have her stoop

him and get caught on the noose

ring tied to his backpack. So there

he was half-way up the ascent of a

steep rock face, both hands gripping

the rope or ascenders, with a noosed

falcon screaming right in his face.

You just can’t make this stuff up!

Tom’s passion: Greenland Peregrines

by Bill Mattox

Photo above by Bill Sattereld

Left photo above by Bill Sattereld