Release Sites for the California Condor

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An environmental summary by the ENVS 560/L Watershed Systems class at CSUMB.

Overview

Release Sites for the California Condor have been established through the California Condor Recovery Program, a cross-agency effort to release captive-bred condor juveniles into the wild to restore the wild population abundance of the California Condor. Federal and state public land management agencies collaborate with private and nonprofit breeding institutions to acclimate captive-bred condors in the wild with the help of field biologists and public land situated in the Range of the California Condor. Federal land management agencies involved in condor acclimation include the National Park Service, US Forest Service, and the US Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Release Sites by State

California

Arizona

  • Vermillion Cliffs National Monument

Site Management Information

Pinnacles National Park

Pinnacles National Park is part of the California Condor Recovery Program and operates a California Condor Release Site where juveniles are transferred from captive breeding facilities and released. Condors are bred at captive facilities like the Los Angeles Zoo, San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, Oregon Zoo, and World Center for Birds of prey until they are 18 months old. Juveniles are transported to Pinnacles National Monument where flight pens are used in remote areas to acclimate the birds to the new environment for a minimum of 2 months. While acclimating in the flight pens, birds are monitored by biologists and have interactions with the wild flock through the flight pen mesh.

Ventana Wildlife Society

The Ventana Wildlife Society purchased 2 80-acre parcels of land located in Big Sur and San Simeon on the Central Coast of California. Both sites were purchased from private sellers with funding from private citizens and funding organizations like the Hind Foundation. Juvenile Condors are bred in captivity are released from the sites utilizing tracking tags and nest cameras to monitor the Condor transition from captivity to the wild. They are the only nonprofit releasing condors in California and work in collaboration with state and federal agencies that manage public land. The success of the Big Sur and San Simeon release sites led to a collaboration between the Ventana Wildlife Society and the National Park Service and resulted in the Condor Release Site at Pinnacles National Park.

Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge

The Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge is part of the California Condor Recovery Program and the condor release site is managed by the US Fish & Wildlife Service in Southern California. The USFWS works in collaboration with condor breeders like the Los Angeles Zoo, San Diego Zoo, Zoological Society of San Diego, World Center for Bords of Prey, The Peregrine Fund, the Oregon Zoo, The Mexico Zoo, Ventana Wildlife Society, and the Santa Barbara Zoo. These breeders provide juvenile birds to the USFWS where they are naturalized to wild habitats by field biologists and monitored using GPS tracking tags.

Upcoming Northern California Release Site

A Northern California Release Site is currently under negotiation between the Yurok Tribe and the National Parks Service.

Links

Disclaimer

This page may contain student work completed as part of assigned coursework. It may not be accurate. It does not necessary reflect the opinion or policy of CSUMB, its staff, or students.