This large falcon is one of the trademark species of the endangered species movement in North America. Once found throughout North America, its breeding populations disappeared from most of eastern North America in the mid 1900s, apparently due to reduced reproductive success as a result of exposure to pesticides in the environment. Once found nesting on cliffs along the Mississippi River in northeastern Iowa and at a few other places in the state, peregrines disappeared as a nesting bird in the 1960s and is listed as endangered in the state. A program to restore peregrines to Iowa began in Iowa in the late 1980s and continues today. Originally, most of the work centered on releases in urban areas but in recent years more attention has been given to trying to restock peregrines in rural environments. Success has been slow but in the last few years several pairs have nested successfully.
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indicates a designated IBA.