Condors to soar over Pacific Northwest again

The California condor will return to the Pacific Northwest for the first time in a century. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service and the Yurok Tribe plan to create a new release facility to return the endangered raptor to Yurok Ancestral Territory and Redwood National Park in Northern California, at the north end of the species’ historical range. The Northern California Condor Restoration Program, a partnership between Redwood National Park and Yurok Tribe, will operate the facility. The condors (Gymnogyps californianus) will be designated as a “nonessential, experimental population under the Endangered Species Act.” Officials plan to release the raptors this fall or next spring. 

“The California condor is a shining example of how a species can be brought back from the brink of extinction through the power of partnerships,” Paul Souza, regional director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s California-Great Basin Region, said in a news release. “Together, we can help recover and conserve this magnificent species for future generations.”

Read more in the Takoma News Tribune.