Can you imagine looking up in the sky and seeing the largest flying bird in North America, soaring above you with a wingspan of almost 10 feet? Well, this was a normal occurrence as condors are documented to be around dating back forty thousand years. However, in 1967, the condors were added to a long list of endangered animals due to lead poisoning. At this time, the use of lead bullets was common for hunters, however, lead bullets splinter off into many pieces on impact. These tiny pieces of lead would stay in the animal’s dead carcass, and when the condor went to clean up the scraps it would contract lead poisoning and die. Ingestion of pesticides, along with the lead, also caused the condors' reproduction rate to greatly decrease. The condors would only lay one egg every 2 years as it was, but lead and pesticides caused these eggs to have no outer shell. The outer shell is the only protection for the condor chick, so without the outer shell, the eggs would crack, leaving the chicks dead. By 1982, there were only twenty-three condors left in the wild, so in 1987, every wild condor was taken into captivity to be bred. But these massive birds could not stay in captivity forever, so in the early 1990s, the condor recovery program started to release the birds back into the wild. Before these amazing winged giants were endangered, they could be found from California all the way to New York and Florida. Now, these condors only have a select few places to live. These locations are mostly in California, but also in other states such as Arizona and Utah. One place, in particular, is the Yurok Reservation, located in northern California. The Yurok Reservation has been working on this program “since 2007 or 2008” according to Yurok Tribe Vice-Chairman, Frankie Myers. The Yurok Tribe, along with many other indigenous people, consider the condor a sacred animal: “Condors are an extremely important part of our culture and through our oral history teach us how to be humble and to take care of one another” (Yurok Tribe Vice-Chairman, Frankie Myers). These condors also play an important role in our ecosystems. As the largest scavenging bird, the condor helps to rid ecosystems of large rotting carcasses. The condors have immunity to the diseases found in these rotting carcasses. These diseases would otherwise be contracted by other animals or even humans, resulting in sickness or even death. The condors reintroduction will also help the Yurok tribe as a whole, “The reintroduction of Condors back into our ecosystem is a key part of our society being restored and as native people, we feel a part of who we are both as individuals and as a tribe is also being restored” (Yurok Tribe Vice-Chairman, Frankie Myers). The Yurok Tribe is the largest indigenous tribe in California. They are extremely active in many projects involving many different things. Their projects are an important part of who they are as a tribe: “Condor reintroduction marks another key piece of who we are coming back to the tribe right along with dam removal and land restoration” (Yurok Tribe Vice-Chairman, Frankie Myers). Another way the condor helps clean the environment is by getting rid of harmful bacteria and toxins such as anthrax, botulism, and cholera, which are found in the rotting carcasses that they eat. These bacteria and toxins would otherwise harm the other animals in the environment. These magnificent animals should not be spread so thin in numbers just because of humans. These animals, which play a major role in keeping our environment clean, should be everywhere and in healthy numbers. Everyone should follow in the Yurok Tribes' footsteps to ensure the rebirth of the condor species. Now, although these animals are obviously in need of help, logging companies think that these projects are bad for business: “There is simply no place for commercial logging in condor country,” said Los Padres ForestWatch Conservation Director Bryant Baker (The Smokey Wire: National Forest News and Views). In 2019 the USFWS (US Fish and Wildlife Service) approved a logging project that would destroy nearly 50 condor roost sites. This was a lot considering the condors’ already scarce numbers. The USFWS, however, has made up for this by teaming up with the Yurok Tribe and the National Park Service to help bring back these condors. They have been working on a facility for the condors to hopefully take them off the endangered list. As has been repeatedly stated throughout, The condors need help and the Yurok Tribe, along with all of the other people who have been a part of the Condor Restoration project, are actually helping. We need more groups across the country to start this program in their local communities. The condors need to be restored back to healthy numbers across the country because of their positive effect on the environment and their spiritual importance to some indigenous tribes.

Bibliography:

“Yurok Condor Restoration Program.” Yurok Tribe,

https://www.yuroktribe.org/yurok-condor-restoration-program.

Myers, Frankie. “Yurok Condor Restoration Program.” 18 Jan. 2022.

Myatt, Jon. “Pacific Southwest Region: California Condor Recovery Program.” National

USFWS Website, https://www.fws.gov/cno/es/calcondor/condor.cfm.