Join agency partners in “Working toward Resilience” site enhancement project as California condors regain strength in recovery
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VERMILION CLIFFS, Arizona – To support California condors, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Vermillion Cliffs National Monument is sponsoring a Public Lands Day service project to improve the California condor (condor) viewing site. Due to the effects of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza on the Arizona/Utah condor flock, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, The Peregrine Fund, Bureau of Land Management, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, and other Southwest Working Group condor partners, have determined, for the health of the condors, not to hold the annual release. Instead, the BLM and partners will host a site improvement project, Saturday, September 23, 2023, at 9 a.m. MST, northern-Arizona Condor Time (10 a.m. MDT/Utah time). The event will be a service project that will allow public land and condor enthusiasts to work with biologists and field staff from the Southwest condor working group to improve the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument condor release viewing site in preparation for the highly anticipated 2024 condor release.
As the Southwest Condor Working Group continues to support the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s Incident Command Team and partners in development and implementation of conservation strategies, such as the vaccine trials, to aid California condors considering Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, the site improvement project provides the public with the opportunity to gather with friends, fellow condor enthusiasts, and agency specialists to continue to celebrate the ever-resilient condor.
“While we were deeply saddened by the losses the Arizona/Utah flock suffered from the spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza this spring, The Peregrine Fund and its partners have a renewed passion, vigor, and dedication to our collective goal and have been working tirelessly throughout this incident to manage the situation by caring for birds, monitoring the flock and improving our facilities to better accommodate birds if HPAI returns in the fall.” said Condor Reintroduction Program Director for The Peregrine Fund, Tim Hauck.
“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and our partners are committed to condor recovery and conservation, and we appreciate the BLM’s efforts to continue to provide the public opportunities to observe our cooperative efforts to re-establish the free-flying condors to the southwest,” said US Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Shaula Hedwall.
“The BLM is excited to work side by side with enthusiasts who have supported this event and championed the recovery of the condor with us for the past 27 years. This site project work will give the SW flocks the opportunity to continue to distance as vaccine trials continue,” said Vermilion Cliffs National Monument manager Bob Bate.
By 1982, only 22 California condors survived in the wild, in an effort, to avoid extinction of the species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and partners began to capture the remaining wild condors. Five years later, all remaining wild condors were in captivity and a captive breeding program to save the species was underway.
As of July 2023, there are nearly 100 condors free flying Arizona skies. The world population of endangered California condors (captivity and the wild) numbers more than 550 individuals, with more than half flying free in Arizona, Utah, California, and Baja, Mexico.
The Arizona-Utah California Condor conservation effort part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s larger recovery strategy for the species and is a cooperative program with federal, state, and private partners, including The Peregrine Fund, the Arizona Bureau of Land Management’s Vermilion Cliffs National Monument and BLM Utah’s Paria River District, Arizona Game and Fish Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Grand Canyon and Zion National Parks, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, and Kaibab and Dixie National Forests among many other supporting groups and individuals.
Follow BLM Arizona on Facebook for event updates and further details.
Attending the in-person event:
- Logistical preparation for working volunteers: Volunteers will receive a free public lands access pass upon project completion. Volunteers are responsible for their own sun protection including sunscreen, long sleeve shirt, hat, ample water for the day (at minimum 1 gallon per person), electrolytes, snacks, and a lunch if desired as the closest facilities to obtain supplies are 40 minutes away from the remote release site.
- Driving directions: Take Highway 89A from Kanab or Page to the Vermilion Cliffs (from Flagstaff take Highway 89 to Highway 89A). Turn north onto BLM Road 1065 (a dirt road next to the small house just east of the Kaibab Plateau) and continue almost 3 miles. If traveling from Utah, please note the differences between time zones as the event begins at 10 a.m. MDT (9 a.m. MST, northern-Arizona Condor Time).
- Details: Informational kiosk, shade structure, and restroom at the site.
- Map: https://on.doi.gov/3dW2f4m Learn more about the California Condor recovery project with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and The Peregrine Fund.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.