CONDOR RECOVERY

Condors and Pinnacles

California condors are the largest birds in North America, with wings spanning nine-and-a-half feet. They remain one of the rarest birds in the world, with a current world population of 320. Eighty-six birds are flying free in California. Pinnacles National Monument was selected as a California condor release area due to documented presence of condors in the area, good cliff nest sites and the large area of intact habitat. Five groups of condors have been released at Pinnacles, totaling 23 birds.
 
In addition to condor releases at several California locations, flocks are being established in the Grand Canyon area and Baja California. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Plan aims to eventually establish a population in California of 150 or more condors with at least 15 breeding pairs.
          
After more than a century of steady population decline, only 22 California condors remained by 1982, when the remaining wild birds were captured in an attempt to rescue the species from extinction.
 
As with Condor 303, the primary threat to California condor recovery is lead poisoning. Condors can inadvertently ingest lead bullet fragments from animal carcasses and gut piles left in the landscape. As a result, the California Legislature has outlawed use of lead ammunition for big game hunting and depredation throughout the condor’s range. Further information is available at www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/condor.
 

Condor Recovery Partners

The effort to re-establish California condors at Pinnacles is a cooperative endeavor involving the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Ventana Wildlife Society, the Institute for Wildlife Studies, Pinnacles Partnership, and private entities such as the RS Bar Guest Ranch, in collaboration with the California Condor Recovery Team. The San Diego Wild Animal Park, Los Angeles Zoo, the World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho, and the Oregon Zoo breed condors destined for wild release.
 
Further details on the Pinnacles National Monument program are available by visiting the website nps.gov/pinn/ or by contacting Condor Program Manager Daniel George at 831-389-4485 ext 255.
 
Information on Ventana Wildlife Society’s condor recovery efforts are available on the web at ventanaws.org or call Executive Director Kelly Sorenson at (831) 455-9514.
 

Site Visits for Public Viewing

On April 22, 2009, Stan Pura—one of the owners of the RS Bar Guest Ranch—met with Mark Paxton and Paula Grace of Pinnacles Partnership to formalize an agreement to allow the public to visit the nest site, and observe the nest from a nearby ridge. Public viewing will be offered by reservation only. Provision can be made for overnight accommodations and a series of visitor events is planned. “The site is perfectly situated for viewing the activities of the parents and hatchling without impact to the condors,” said Paxton of Pinnacles Partnership, a nonprofit corporation which supports Pinnacles National Monument. “We regard this as a rare opportunity to view one of the rarest icons of North American wildlife.” The RS Bar Guest Ranch includes vast tracts of managed habitat, and opportunities for other wildlife viewing abound, Paxton said. The RS Bar Guest Ranch is a private lodge specializing in guided hunting and company retreats. More information concerning the services offered by the lodge is available by contacting RS Bar Guest Ranch.

Reservations for public viewing of the nest site may only be made through
Pinnacles Partnership. For information about arranging a visit to the nest site,
contact: Mark Paxton