The Teton Raptor Center has made a sizeable donation to Bridger-Teton National Forest that promises to save owls and other birds from horrible deaths by getting trapped inside public toilets.
The 50 screens given to the agency will cover the tall stacks of its vault toilets. It’s the latest in a series of successes for the Poo-Poo Project
The Poo-Poo Project is the short name of the Porta Potty Owl Project, one of the Teton Raptor Center’s main conservation initiatives for the last 15 years. It’s saving owls and other birds from a fate worse than death that eventually leads to death.
“In our complicated times of complex problems, this is an issue for wildlife with a simple, affordable solution,” said Teton Raptor Center CEO Amy McCarthy. “It's making a difference that has led to the safety of thousands of wild creatures, one toilet at a time.”
Owl Movement
The Poo-Poo Project started with a sad photo. In August 2009, someone found an arboreal owl trapped in a vault toilet in Bridger-Teton National Forest.
“We received a photograph of a very sad-looking boreal owl covered in the muck you might find in the pit of these vault toilets,” McCarthy said. “That image evoked emotion and inspired ingenuity to think about a preventative path to ensuring that that doesn't happen for other cavity-nesting wildlife.”
The boreal owl was rescued, but it represented a larger problem that the Teton Raptor Center decided to fix.
Owls aren’t drawn to vault toilets, but they are drawn to cavities. McCarthy said the pipes towering over vault toilets are reminiscent of the hollow spaces where many birds like to nest and roost.
“Open pipes on the landscape can be attractive because they're so reminiscent of something familiar to them,” she said. “The attraction isn’t the pipe, it’s the open cavity. If it were a tree, that natural cavity would be a safe space for them.”
When owls and other birds attempt to fly into the vault toilet’s open pipe, they fall into the cesspool below. Unable to escape, they’re doomed to die of bacterial infection or starvation unless someone manages to rescue them.
Open pipes without protection were luring owls and other birds to needless death. So, the Teton Raptor Center decided to find a solution.
A photo of a boreal owl trapped in a vault toilet in Bridger-Teton National Park. This owl was rescued in 2009, and it inspired the Teton Raptor Center to pursue a solution to prevent owls and other animals from getting trapped in open pipes. (U.S. Forest Service) 
The Teton Raptor Center donated 50 of its newest Poo-Poo Screens to Bridger Teton National Forest. They'll be installed on vault toilet pipes throughout the forest to protect owls and other animals from a fate worse than death. (Friends of Bridger-Teton) 
Left, Cosmo, a barn owl at the Teton Raptor Center, stands on one of the Teton Raptor Center's Poo-Poo Screens. As of 2025, over 21,000 screens have been installed in 50 states, Canada, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Right, A photo of a boreal owl trapped in a vault toilet in Bridger-Teton National Park. This owl was rescued in 2009, and it inspired the Teton Raptor Center to pursue a solution to prevent owls and other animals from getting trapped in open pipes. (Teton Raptor Center) 
An owl spreads its wings and feathers to dry off after being rescued from a vualt toilent in a national park. (Bureau of Land Management)
Poo-Poo Screen 1.0
In 2010, the Teton Raptor Center received a grant from the non-profit 1% for the Tetons to pursue the newly developed Poo-Poo Project. They purchased over 100 rock vent screens to install on vault toilet pipes in Bridger-Teton National Forest.
“It was a screen that would cover the open pipe on the vault toilet, preventing a cavity-nesting creature from entering it,” McCarthy said. “We did an initial distribution and installation on as many vault toilets as possible in the Jackson area.”
There are thousands of vault toilets throughout Wyoming, and each screen cost $100. The solution to the pipe problem was still attainable, but a more economical implementation was needed.
So, the Teton Raptor Center worked with a steel fabricator in Rexburg, Idaho, to develop what McCarthy called the “Poo-Poo Screen Version 1.”
“The original screens were designed to keep rocks out of the vault toilets, since people like to toss rocks into the pipes like shooting hoops,” she said. “At $100 each, the only way to proliferate this as a solution was to make it more affordable.
“So, a combination of our staff and innovative board members came up with and tested a different design and had them fabricated.”
The original rock vent screens sat flush against the top of the vault toilet’s pipe. The Poo-Poo Screen was attached to the top of the pipe, but had pieces of metal that lifted it higher, leaving a small gap between the pipe and the screen.
McCarthy said the reason for the updated design was simple: air flow. The screen might have stopped rocks, but it also allowed for snow, leaf litter, and other debris to accumulate over the top.
“The pipe is there for airflow,” she said. “These toilets are also known as ‘sweet smelling technology,’ and the vent pipe is a critical component of keeping those toilets smelling the best they can. Occluding that airflow isn't good, so we came up with a design that lifted it.”
The Teton Raptor Center’s Poo-Poo Screens were released in 2013. In the 12 years since, over 21,000 screens have been distributed to over 650 partners in all 50 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Canada.
“It is legitimately an international project at this point,” McCarthy said. “Now, when people visit a vault toilet in western Wyoming, they’re less likely to see owl eyes looking up at them.”
Poo-Poo 2.0
Earlier this month, the Teton Raptor Center donated 50 Poo-Poo Screens to Bridger-Teton National Forest.
“It’s been 15 years since some of the original screens were installed,” McCarthy said. “We’re in the process of replacing screens in areas where they’re dated and may have lost some of their integrity.”
These screens are the latest in vault toilet pipe screen technology: the Poo-Poo Screen Version 2.0. They are made of stainless steel for enhanced durability and longevity and cost $44.50 per screen.
McCarthy said it’s gratifying that Bridger-Teton National Forest will be the first to benefit from the newest version of the Teton Raptor Center’s Poo-Poo screens.
“This is where the project started,” she said. “These are our neighbors. This is our backyard. Our next-door neighbor. It makes complete sense to make sure all of the toilets across Bridger-Teton are owl-safe.”
Vault Into Success
The Poo-Poo Project earned the Teton Raptor Center a Wings Across the Americas Award from the U.S. Forest Service. McCarthy said there hasn’t been a scientific evaluation of the success of their Poo-Poo Screens, but the anecdotal evidence of their impact is compelling.
“As the knowledge of this project has expanded, we have received a lot of anecdotal evidence that a broad spectrum of raptors have been found trapped in the pipes of vault toilets, mining claims, and similar open spaces,” she said. “Studies from other agencies have gone out and counted the number of skeletons or dead birds found in these other types of pipes, and the spectrum of species impacted by open pipes has expanded beyond what one would traditionally think of as cavity-nesting animals.”
McCarthy said it’d be great to back up the anecdotal success of the Poo-Poo Project with a vetted scientific study. All that’s needed is to find the right graduate student looking for a master’s thesis.
In the meantime, the Teton Raptor Center will continue fabricating, installing, and distributing their Poo-Poo Screens wherever there’s an open pipe where an owl or some other animal could lose its life.
“The Poo-Poo Project has become really resonant with people since we launched it,” McCarthy said. “It’s an extremely tangible conservation project making a difference, one toilet at a time.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
