  The role pulsar wind nebulae play in producing our locally observed cosmic
ray spectrum remains murky, yet intriguing. Pulsar wind nebulae are born and
evolve in conjunction with SNRs, which are favored sites of Galactic cosmic ray
acceleration. As a result they frequently complicate interpretation of the
gamma-ray emission seen from SNRs. However, pulsar wind nebulae may also
contribute directly to the local cosmic ray spectrum, particularly the leptonic
component. This paper reviews the current thinking on pulsar wind nebulae and
their connection to cosmic ray production from an observational perspective. It
also considers how both future technologies and new ways of analyzing existing
data can help us to better address the relevant theoretical questions. A number
of key points will be illustrated with recent results from the VHE (E > 100
GeV) gamma-ray observatory VERITAS.
