Birdingonthe.Net Recent Postings from High Mountain Condor List > Home > Mail > Alerts Updated on Thursday, February 2 at 01:50 PM EST The most recently received Mail is at the top.	Olive-sided Flycatcher,©David Sibley

02 Feb Public Comment re: Calif. Condors (Tejon) [Marcelle ] 1 Feb AC-9 capture movie from 1987 [Paul Andreano ] 25 Jan New Condor Cam [Paul Andreano ] 20 Jan Fw: ScientificAmerican.com: Plight of the Condors ["steve schubert" ] 10 Nov good/bad news from AZ [Marcelle ] 11 Oct bad news for AZ birds [Marcelle ] 9 Oct Hi Mountain bird species list ["steve schubert" ] 8 Oct birding at Hi Mountain ["steve schubert" ] 3 Oct RE: Re: Hi Mtn. open house event - The case of the missing Fire Ecology Cake ["Cooper, Kevin" ] 2 Oct Re: Hi Mtn. open house event - The case of the missing Fire Ecology Cake ["Francis X. Villablanca" ] 2 Oct photos - Hi Mtn. open house event ["steve schubert" ] 28 Sep 4 nice images [Marcelle ] 26 Sep Condor lookout on Dave Congalton's show, today, 3PM. [Chris Arndt ] 21 Sep good news! [Marcelle ] 19 Sep cool - Condor Webcam [Marcelle ] 1 Sep Condor documentary on KCET Sun. 9/4 ["Robert Schwartz" ] 1 Sep Condor documentary on KCET Sun. 8/4 ["Robert Schwartz" ] 29 Aug Hi Mountain Lookout weather on KVEC 8AM every weekday! [Chris Arndt ] 26 Aug Last Intern Update [Hannah Tillmann ] 19 Aug field research projects ["steve schubert" ] 01 Aug Good News! [Marcelle ] 27 Jul Pinnacles trip [Andrew Ruddock ] 20 Jul Hi Mtn Intern Update Week 5 [Hannah Tillmann ] 13 Jul Great! esp. for Pinn/VWS birds [Marcelle ] 13 Jul A day in the life of Hi Mountain Interns 2011 [Hannah Tillmann ] 13 Jul Hi Mountain Intern Update [Hannah Tillmann ] 12 Jul please ignore the previous e-mail I was hacked. [Michaela Koenig ] 12 Jul (unknown) [Michaela Koenig ] 5 Jul recent condor movements ["steve schubert" ] 24 Jun Young Condor "adventure" to Bay Area [Marcelle ] 18 Jun Nice Story about Big Sur birds [Marcelle ] 17 Jun Good news! [Marcelle ] 03 Jun Condor chick born in Mexico [Marcelle ] 31 May sad - when will we stop poisoning our planet? [Marcelle ] 21 May field trip to Hi Mtn. Lookout ["steve schubert" ] 14 May Hi Mtn. 'condor country' field trip ["steve schubert" ] 30 Mar WE knew! [Marcelle ] 19 Mar Hi Mountain Lookout Project donations ["steve schubert" ] 20 Feb Hi Mountain Lookout in the news... ["steve schubert" ] 20 Feb Hi Mtn. Lookout article in the Tribune newspaper ["steve schubert" ] 14 Feb 1st Egg in AZ! Go CACO's [Marcelle ] 13 Feb Hi Mtn. workday summary, 2-12-11 ["steve schubert" ] 03 Feb Can YOU donate to fulfill a need? [Marcelle ] 02 Feb interesting article [Marcelle ] 06 Jan good to know the "other side" [Marcelle ] 3 Jan Hi Mountain Lookout Project donations ["steve schubert" ] 30 Dec Good news [Marcelle ] 21 Dec Article w/ Anthony Prieto & Daniel George [Marcelle ] 20 Dec rain storm ["steve schubert" ] 12 Dec Hi Mtn. workday Dec. 11th ["steve schubert" ] 8 Dec Hi Mtn. workday Dec. 11th ["steve schubert" ] 16 Nov Joe Burnett re: DDT in the news.. [Marcelle ] 09 Nov sad news - where is the "P" in EPA? [Marcelle ] 08 Nov Good News [Marcelle ] 29 Oct Recognition for the Peregrine Fund [Marcelle ] 27 Oct Story (LA Times) [Marcelle ] 24 Oct Hi Mountain Lookout Project donations ["steve schubert" ] 18 Oct Lead... [Marcelle ] 11 Oct Re: Hi Mtn. open house photos [Carolina Van Stone ] 10 Oct resending links for Hi Mtn. open house photos ["steve schubert" ] 10 Oct photos- Hi Mountain Lookout open house event ["steve schubert" ] 07 Oct more good condor news [Marcelle ] 2 Oct Slo Coast Journal - Upcoming Open House Event ["steve schubert" ] 29 Sep Hi Mountain Condor Lookout Project open house schedule, Oct. 9th ["steve schubert" ] 24 Sep good news [Marcelle ] 20 Sep Hi Mtn. Project Facebook page photos ["steve schubert" ] 08 Sep Sept. 25 release [Marcelle ] 23 Aug Hi Mtn in the Tribune [Marcelle ] 02 Aug Condor territory expanding? [Marcelle ] 20 Jun Condor sighting over Santa Margarita, Ca ["Dee" ] 17 May An opposing view [Marcelle ] 15 May Monday, May 17th Hi Mtn. presentation ["steve schubert" ] 14 May Bad News [Marcelle ] 5 May Big Sur fire/condor evacuation on Weather Channel 'Storm Stories' ["steve schubert" ] 3 May May 15th event ["steve schubert" ] 02 May Interesting [Marcelle ] Subject: Public Comment re: Calif. Condors (Tejon) From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:46:32 -0800 *LEBEC, CA (Thursday, Feb. 2,2012 at 9:50 a.m.)---*The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department this morning announced that a _public comment period has opened _regarding Tejon Ranch Company's revised 2009 Tehachapi Uplands Multi Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP). The 90-day comment period lasts until *May 3, 2012.* The document addresses ciritcal habitat concerns for the endangered *California condor*, which has been shown with radio telemetry to be repopulating sections of Tejon Ranch which had previously been intended by the developers to be included in the Tejon Mountain Village resort community, hotels and commercial sectors . Here is the announcement: *U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE ANNOUNCES THE OPENING OF A PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD ON TEJON RANCH ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTS * The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is announcing an opportunity for public input on two draft documents that evaluate and would limit the environmental impacts to threatened and endangered species of planned residential development and ranch activities on Tejon Ranch in southern Kern County, California. The documents - a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) and the Draft Tehachapi Uplands Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan (MSHCP) - are available for public review and comment until May 3, 2012. The SDEIS updates the analysis presented in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and MSHCP that the Service released in February 2009. The revised SDEIS addresses public comments we received on the 2009 Draft Environmental Impact Statement, and considers a 2010 analysis by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) on occurrence of California condors in and around lands proposed to be covered by the MSHCP. The Service received an application from Tejon Ranch Company for an incidental take permit covering 27 listed and unlisted species, including the California condor, which may be taken or otherwise affected by on-going ranch activities and proposed low-density residential and commercial development activities on a portion of Tejon Ranch. Take is defined in the Federal Endangered Species Act (Act) as to harass, harm, pursue, wound, kill, hunt, capture, shoot, trap or collect a threatened or endangered species, or attempt to do any of these activities. An incidental take permit authorizes take of a listed species that may occur incidental to otherwise lawful activities. A new alternative, the Condor Critical Habitat Avoidance Alternative, has been added to the SDEIS to address several public comments suggesting that proposed development areas should be reconfigured to avoid federally designated critical habitat for the California condor. The 2010 USGS analysis identified individual condor home ranges for the population of California condors occupying southern California, and clarified that condors currently use, and are likely to continue to use, suitable habitat throughout Tejon Ranch. The USGS analysis on the condor's use of the ranch aided the Service in analyzing the potential effects of each of the alternatives in the SDEIS. The No Action Alternative has been revised in the SDEIS. This alternative assumes that Tejon Ranch Company's 2008 Ranchwide Agreement would remain in effect, that development of Tejon Mountain Village and other future commercial or residential development allowed within the lands proposed to be covered by the permit would not occur, and that existing ranch uses would continue at current levels into the future. Tejon Ranch Company submitted the MSHCP to satisfy the requirements for an incidental take permit under the Act. The permit is requested to authorize the incidental take of species that could potentially result from plan-wide activities, including grazing, film production and other ongoing historic uses occurring throughout 141,886 acres, and from approximately 5,533 acres of mountain resort and other development adjacent to the Interstate 5 corridor and Lebec community, all lands proposed to be covered by the permit. The permit would not cover take caused by hunting or mineral extraction. The MSHCP, authored by Tejon Ranch Company with input from the Service, describes measures to be taken by Tejon Ranch to minimize and mitigate effects of its activities on 27 native plants, animals, including California condors. Four animals are listed as threatened or endangered under the Act. Some of the other 23 animals and plants are listed by the California Department of Fish and Game under the California Endangered Species Act. Federally-listed and candidate species included in the proposed habitat conservation plan include the California condor, least Bell's vireo, southwestern willow flycatcher, valley elderberry longhorn beetle, and western yellow-billed cuckoo. The Service's proposed issuance of an incidental take permit triggers the need for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. To that end, the Service prepared the SDEIS, which evaluates the impacts of proposed issuance of the permit and implementation of the multiple-species habitat conservation plan, and also evaluates the impacts of a reasonable range of alternatives. No California condors would be permitted to be killed under the permit proposed to be issued by the Service. The MSHCP proposes a conservation strategy to minimize and mitigate to the maximum extent practicable any impacts that could occur to covered species resulting from the covered activities. Should any of the unlisted covered wildlife species become listed under the Act during the proposed 50-year term of the permit, take authorization for those species would become effective upon listing. In the MSHCP, and consistent with the 2008 Ranchwide Agreement among Tejon Ranch Company, the Sierra Club, National Audubon Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, Endangered Habitats League, and Planning and Conservation League, part of the mitigation for Tejon Ranch's activities would be the prohibition of development on 93,522 acres, including a 37,100-acre ridge-line area of the ranch used by condors and that is part of a Condor Study Area. Additionally, approximately 23,001 acres would be preserved as open space within the proposed Tejon Mountain Village. The MSHCP would require that a biologist monitor ranch activities to reduce the potential for contact between people and condors. In addition, conditions and restrictions on residential development would be in place and enforced by Tejon Ranch to minimize impacts to condors. Other mitigation in the MSHCP includes a permanent ban on lead ammunition implemented by Tejon Ranch Company on Tejon Ranch's 270,000-acre property in January 2008. The ingestion of lead has been the leading cause of mortality in condors. The notice of availability for the two documents will officially publish in the Federal Register on February 3, 2012, but an advance copy is available today for viewing at http://www.federalregister.gov. The SDEIS and associated documents, including the MSHCP, can be viewed and downloaded at the Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office's web site on February 3, 2012, at: http://www/fws.gov/ventura, or can be obtained by writing to the Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office at 2493 Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, California 93003. A copy of each of the documents is also available for public review during normal business hours at the Kern County Library at 3732 Park Drive in Frazier Park, California. Comments on the SDEIS and MSHCP can be sent via email to: fw8tumshcp AT fws.gov or mailed to Roger Root at the Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office at the above address. The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals, and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov. Connect with our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/usfws, follow our tweets at www.twitter.com/usfwshq, watch our YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/usfws and download photos from our Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwshq. -- Marcelle SteppingStones - EcoSac Shopping Bag System Toll Free: (800) 926-1017 Local: (805) 927-1017 Fax: (805) 927-3275 www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com Saving on paper & plastic since 1989, providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service! *EcoSacs* are truly "green": renewable (sustainable), reusable, (washable) and, recyclable! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: AC-9 capture movie from 1987 From: Paul Andreano <himountainpaul AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 1 Feb 2012 14:19:05 -0800 I recently found an amazing piece of condor history while browsing through Mike Clark's blog at http://www.condordoc.com In Mike's words: "While culling the archives for historic footage on the condor recovery program, we came across this sequence of the last wild California Condor being captured on Easter Sunday, 1987. Recovery team members used a large canon fired net for the trap and biologist Peter Bloom is seen leaping from a pit to restrain the bird after the net covers it. The morning was recorded on Super 8 film by John McNeely, picturing the event in a grainy home-movie quality that understates the significance of that day. After a period of years in the captive breeding program where AC9′s genetics contributed to the preservation of the species, the bird was re-released into the wild." Check out the video at http://www.condordoc.com/blog/2011/01/capture-of-the-last-wild-condor-1987/ Its an breathtaking video to watch considering the gravity of the moment. Also pretty cool to see Pete jumping out of the pit in his signature low-top Vans. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: New Condor Cam From: Paul Andreano <himountainpaul AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:38:01 -0800 The San Diego Zoo has a new Condor Cam. Check it out! "Shatash, 21, and her partner Sisquoc, 28, will take turns caring for the 9-ounce egg until it hatches in early March. The condor couple�s egg is one of six currently at the San Diego Zoo, but the only that will be on camera. " http://www.sandiegozooglobal.org/video/condor_cam [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: Fw: ScientificAmerican.com: Plight of the Condors From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:20:00 -0800 Subject: ScientificAmerican.com: Plight of the Condors Plight of the Condors By Jane Braxton Little Once on the verge of extinction, North America's largest land birds have made a dramatic comeback. To ensure their continued survival, biologists are relying on high-tech gadgets and unusual interventions http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=plight-of-the-condors © 2012 Scientific American, a division of Nature America, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: good/bad news from AZ From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Thu, 10 Nov 2011 12:38:21 -0800 *source*: http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/9e1714bbaf65451ea60def6c4e32c683/AZ--Condor-Chicks/ GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. --- *Two of three California condor chicks* hatched earlier this year continue to survive in the wild including one that recently took its first flight. However, a lone chick recently was found dead below its nest cave in the Grand Canyon. The Peregrine Fund says the young bird that died had a broken wing and may have fallen out of the nest. The young condor was last seen alive on Sept. 27. After Grand Canyon National Park biologists made several investigative trips into the rugged terrain of a side canyon, the carcass was recovered on Oct. 23. Recent sightings of the two other wild-hatched Birds show they continue to thrive and be well cared for by their parents. -- Marcelle SteppingStones - EcoSac Shopping Bag System Toll Free: (800) 926-1017 Local: (805) 927-1017 Fax: (805) 927-3275 www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com Saving on paper & plastic since 1989, providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service! *EcoSacs* are truly "green": renewable (sustainable), reusable, (washable) and, recyclable! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: bad news for AZ birds From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:36:22 -0700 (hope the appeal has better outcome) from: http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/10/11/40516.htm PHOENIX (CN) - The U.S. government is properly managing more than a million acres of public land north of the Grand Canyon, where environmentalists claim off-road vehicles and grazing livestock are destroying natural and cultural treasurers and poisoning endangered California condors with carrion full of lead, a federal judge ruled. U.S. District Judge Paul Rosenblatt sided with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in two related lawsuits last week, finding that the agency's 2008 management plans for the Grand Canyon-Parashant and Vermillion Cliffs National Monuments conform to federal law. The monuments encompass some 1.3 million acres of lonely, arid sweeps of high-desert plains and towering red-rock cliffs north of the Grand Canyon's north rim, on the Arizona-Utah border. The Wilderness Society, the Center for Biological Resources and other groups claimed in two separate lawsuits that the agency's long-term management strategy for the lands goes against the presidential proclamations that initially protected them. President Bill Clinton's proclamations that established the monuments in 2000 say that "all motorized and mechanized vehicle use off road will be prohibited, except for emergency or authorized administrative purposes." "Full of natural splendor and a sense of solitude, this area remains remote and unspoiled, qualities that are essential to the protection of the scientific and historic resources it contains," the proclamations say. Nonetheless, the BLM "adopted resource management plans that treat the monuments as if they are indistinguishable from general multiple-use BLM lands," allowing "a spider web of thousands of miles of trails and routes for motorized vehicles that BLM admits will damage the objects listed in the proclamations," according to the environmental groups. The groups also object to the agency's oversight of livestock grazing on the lands, demanding that the government prohibit hunters from using lead bullets on the monuments. They claim that California condors - rare vultures that were brought back from the edge of extinction when they were reintroduced into the wild in the Grand Canyon region - scavenge bullet-ridden carrion and then suffer high levels of lead poisoning. The condor issue prompted the National Rifle Association to intervene in the Center for Biological Diversity's action. "The proclamation clearly calls for BLM to protect the biological resources and habitat there," Earthjustice associate attorney Michael Hiatt told Courthouse News. "We are disappointed with this. We feel that the proclamations clearly direct them to prohibit motor vehicle use off of roads, and they failed to do that." And the conservation priorities written into the proclamations - the monuments' founding documents - should supersede all others, Hiatt said. Denver-based Earthjustice is handling the Parashant complaint, while the Center for Biological Diversity is arguing the Vermillion Cliffs action, which includes the condor issue. In granting summary judgment to the BLM in both lawsuits, Rosenblatt found that the agency's resource-management plans will adequately protect the lands. He pointed out that the plans close nearly 90,000 acres in Vermillion Cliffs and nearly 300,000 acres in Grand Canyon-Parashant to "motorized and mechanized vehicle use," including some 360 miles of routes that were previously open to such use. Rosenblatt also found that the BLM's management plans for livestock grazing pass muster, as they close some 34,000 acres in Parashant to grazing and "establish new standards and management actions to protect rangeland health." As for the lead-poisoned condors, Rosenblatt found that the BLM has no authority to regulate hunting on federal lands. States are usually responsible for watching hunters, and the proclamations expressly refuse to override that power. Hiatt said that Earthjustice plans to take its case to the 9th Circuit. The Center for Biological Diversity did not respond to a request for comment. -- Marcelle SteppingStones - EcoSac Shopping Bag System Toll Free: (800) 926-1017 Local: (805) 927-1017 Fax: (805) 927-3275 www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com Saving on paper & plastic since 1989, providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service! *EcoSacs* are truly "green": renewable (sustainable), reusable, (washable) and, recyclable! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: Hi Mountain bird species list From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2011 12:38:04 -0700 Hello all, The 'Lookout Project' bird list can be viewed at the following eBird link: http://tinyurl.com/3bnweme The 94 species of birds reported so far have been observed in a 3-mile radius from Hi Mountain Lookout - from bird checklists dating from the late 1970's to the present - and includes the locations of Huff's Hole, Hi Valley, Hi Mountain Lookout, and the stretch of Hi Mountain Road from the ridgeline down to the Salinas River crossing near Pozo. The bar charts reveal the relative lack of birding data for the winter season for this area... something that can be improved on in the future with more birding efforts mid-winter. Steve Schubert http://www.condorlookout.org/ go to eBird at: www.ebird.org [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: birding at Hi Mountain From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2011 14:10:52 -0700 Hello all, Below are two eBird checklists for the Hi Mountain Lookout Open House event on Oct. 1st. I have been submitting checklists for the Hi Mountain area dating from the 1970's (from hand-written and typed field notes by Morro Coast Audubon Society members staffing the lookout during the peregrine falcon nest watch and my field notes at Huff's Hole) to the present. Within a 3-mile diameter circle from the lookout 94 bird species have so far been documented...we should be able to reach 100 spp. someday! Steve Schubert http://www.condorlookout.org/ photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12571965 AT N07/ Hi Mountain-- Hi Mountain Lookout, San Luis Obispo, US-CA Oct 1, 2011 11:00 AM - Protocol: Traveling 0.5 mile(s) Comments: 10th annual Hi Mountain Lookout Open House event Clear morning skies, afternoon cirrus clouds and low marine stratus to the west, morning temp. 70's, late afternoon light sea breeze, calming, followed by light evening offshore wind. e-Bird checklist submitted by S. Schubert 15 species California Quail 1 Turkey Vulture 6 Band-tailed Pigeon 12 Anna's Hummingbird 4 Northern Flicker 1 Western Scrub-Jay 1 Common Raven 1 Oak Titmouse 1 Wrentit 3 California Thrasher 1 Spotted Towhee 1 California Towhee 1 White-crowned Sparrow 2 Dark-eyed Junco 2 Lesser Goldfinch 2 Hi Mountain-- Hi Mountain Rd., W-SW of Salinas River crossing, San Luis Obispo, US-CA Oct 1, 2011 9:15 AM - 11:45 AM Protocol: Traveling 3.0 mile(s) Comments: 10th annual Hi Mountain Lookout Open House event birding field trip: Pozo to Hi Mountain field trip leader: Michaela Koenig route: Hi Mountain Lookout Rd. at Salinas River crossing to the lookout gate eBird checklist submitted by S. Schubert 18 species Red-shouldered Hawk X Red-tailed Hawk X Anna's Hummingbird X Acorn Woodpecker X Nuttall's Woodpecker X Western Wood-Pewee X Black Phoebe X Western Scrub-Jay X Common Raven X Oak Titmouse X Bushtit X White-breasted Nuthatch X House Wren X Wrentit X California Thrasher X California Towhee X Dark-eyed Junco X Western Tanager X This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: RE: Re: Hi Mtn. open house event - The case of the missing Fire Ecology Cake From: "Cooper, Kevin" <kccooper AT fs.fed.us> Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2011 16:49:24 +0000 Mystery Solved In an effort to use up a garden's worth of carrots, Mary made that heavy-duty Moosewood Cookbook carrot cake. Not feeling like it could compete with Jim's truckload of pineapple upside down cake, I left it in my fire ecology carrying bag on the deck and then forgot it. Please help yourself to it, Francis and Kyle. Maybe Mary can swing between classes at Poly and pick up the plate, knife, and bag! Kevin From: Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com [mailto:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Francis X. Villablanca Sent: Sunday, October 02, 2011 6:02 PM To: steve schubert Cc: Hi_MountainCondor Subject: [CondorLookoutProject] Re: Hi Mtn. open house event - The case of the missing Fire Ecology Cake Hi all, Great weekend. Thanks for all of the effort, energy and contributions. We now have a mystery on our hands... We have discovered a cake, a jar of frosting, a serving plate and a sheathed knife. The owner's identify is a mystery. There are two clues. 1) It was someone at the open house this weekend. 2) It is someone that has an interest in fire ecology - all the items were in an "Association of Fire Ecology" bag! If you can solve the mystery, let me know. Otherwise, the mystery will be whether Kyle or I (or both) ate the cake! Regards, FXV __________________________________________________________ Francis Villablanca, Professor Curator of Birds and Mammals Associate Department Chair Chair Curriculum and Scheduling Biological Sciences Department Cal Poly State University San Luis Obispo, CA 93407 805-756-2200 (O) 805-756-7397 (L) fvillabl AT calpoly.edu Cal Poly: http://www.calpoly.edu/~bio/FacultyStaff/Faculty/Villablanca.html Hi Mountain Condor Lookout Project: http://condorlookout.org/ Monarch Alert: http://monarchalert.calpoly.edu/ Not all citizens of the globe will be good global citizens __________________________________________________________ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: Re: Hi Mtn. open house event - The case of the missing Fire Ecology Cake From: "Francis X. Villablanca" <fvillabl AT calpoly.edu> Date: Sun, 2 Oct 2011 18:02:28 -0700 (PDT) Hi all, Great weekend. Thanks for all of the effort, energy and contributions. We now have a mystery on our hands... We have discovered a cake, a jar of frosting, a serving plate and a sheathed knife. The owner's identify is a mystery. There are two clues. 1) It was someone at the open house this weekend. 2) It is someone that has an interest in fire ecology - all the items were in an "Association of Fire Ecology" bag! If you can solve the mystery, let me know. Otherwise, the mystery will be whether Kyle or I (or both) ate the cake! Regards, FXV ____________________________________________________________________ Francis Villablanca, Professor Curator of Birds and Mammals Associate Department Chair Chair Curriculum and Scheduling Biological Sciences Department Cal Poly State University San Luis Obispo, CA 93407 805-756-2200 (O) 805-756-7397 (L) fvillabl AT calpoly.edu Cal Poly: http://www.calpoly.edu/~bio/FacultyStaff/Faculty/Villablanca.html Hi Mountain Condor Lookout Project: http://condorlookout.org/ Monarch Alert: http://monarchalert.calpoly.edu/ Not all citizens of the globe will be good global citizens ____________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: photos - Hi Mtn. open house event From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Sun, 2 Oct 2011 17:34:00 -0700 Hello all, Photos from the 10th annual open house event are posted at the Hi Mountain Lookout Facebook page. Take a look and hope you 'like' it. Steve Schubert photos at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.150986361600772.22130.133314096701332&type=1 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: 4 nice images From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2011 11:54:05 -0700 and, a photo of one of the VWS birds in this article w/ images of Big Sur. (makes me wish I could soar w/ them!) http://www.scpr.org/blogs/environment/2011/09/28/3522/photos-4-amazing-images-big-sur-california/ -- Marcelle SteppingStones - EcoSac Shopping Bag System Toll Free: (800) 926-1017 Local: (805) 927-1017 Fax: (805) 927-3275 www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com Saving on paper & plastic since 1989, providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service! *EcoSacs* are truly "green": renewable (sustainable), reusable, (washable) and, recyclable! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: Condor lookout on Dave Congalton's show, today, 3PM. From: Chris Arndt <chris AT tbo.net> Date: Mon, 26 Sep 2011 08:47:00 -0700 I sent this to an assortment of Condor contacts, and thought perhaps I should post it here as well. I suppose some of you will be getting it twice. Marcelle and I are gonna be promoting the Lookout, the research program, and the Open House on Dave Congalton's program at 3PM today, Monday 26 September. KVEC 920 AM... Is there anything anyone would like us to mention? What are the road conditions like from each end? Feed us stuff to talk about. I'm just the weather station guy... Listen In! Chris ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: good news! From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Wed, 21 Sep 2011 08:51:09 -0700 From on-line Houston Chronicle: http://www.chron.com/news/article/3-California-condor-chicks-hatch-in-Arizona-2181062.php 3 Chicks hatch in AZ GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) --- Three California condor chicks have hatched in the wild in northern Arizona for the first time during a breeding season. The Peregrine Fund says the most recent chick was seen by field staff on Sept. 9. The other two chicks were observed last month. Two of the chicks' nests are on the south rim of the Grand Canyon and another is on the Kaibab Plateau. The wildlife group says they're excited to see California condors reproducing and increasing their numbers on their own. The group says the three new chicks increases their confidence that the endangered bird will thrive again one day without help from humans. The three chicks are now six months old and bring to 15 the number of chicks hatched in the wild since condors were first released in Arizona in 1996. Altogether there are 67 California condors in Arizona and Utah. -- Marcelle SteppingStones - EcoSac Shopping Bag System Toll Free: (800) 926-1017 Local: (805) 927-1017 Fax: (805) 927-3275 www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com Saving on paper & plastic since 1989, providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service! *EcoSacs* are truly "green": renewable (sustainable), reusable, (washable) and, recyclable! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: cool - Condor Webcam From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Mon, 19 Sep 2011 17:01:17 -0700 San Diego Zoo Global (used to be the SD Zoological Society) has a live web-cam for the Condorminium area at the zoo's Safari Park! http://www.sandiegozooglobal.org/video/condor_cam Bookmark it and check in once in awhile to see what they're up to! -- Marcelle SteppingStones - EcoSac Shopping Bag System Toll Free: (800) 926-1017 Local: (805) 927-1017 Fax: (805) 927-3275 www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com Saving on paper & plastic since 1989, providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service! *EcoSacs* are truly "green": renewable (sustainable), reusable, (washable) and, recyclable! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: Condor documentary on KCET Sun. 9/4 From: "Robert Schwartz" <rws.ca.us AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 1 Sep 2011 10:50:43 -0700 Sorry that should be 9/4 and 9/10. -----Original Message----- From: Robert Schwartz [mailto:rws.ca.us AT gmail.com] Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2011 10:49 AM To: 'Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com' Subject: Condor documentary on KCET Sun. 8/4 "In Search of the California Condor" will air on KCET Sun. 8/4 at 8pm and again on Sat. 8/10 at 6pm. "The marvelous footage of the endangered California Condor in this half-hour documentary was shot in 1945 with a 16mm Bolex motion picture camera...in an area now known as the Hopper Mountain Wildlife Refuge." http://www.kcet.org/shows/in_search_of_the_california_condor/in-search-of-th e-california-condor.html ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: Condor documentary on KCET Sun. 8/4 From: "Robert Schwartz" <rws.ca.us AT gmail.com> Date: Thu, 1 Sep 2011 10:48:39 -0700 "In Search of the California Condor" will air on KCET Sun. 8/4 at 8pm and again on Sat. 8/10 at 6pm. "The marvelous footage of the endangered California Condor in this half-hour documentary was shot in 1945 with a 16mm Bolex motion picture camera...in an area now known as the Hopper Mountain Wildlife Refuge." http://www.kcet.org/shows/in_search_of_the_california_condor/in-search-of-th e-california-condor.html ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: Hi Mountain Lookout weather on KVEC 8AM every weekday! From: Chris Arndt <chris AT tbo.net> Date: Mon, 29 Aug 2011 08:16:50 -0700 John Lindsey from PG&E does the weather on the weekday Morning News on KVEC at 6:05, 6:35, 7:05, 7:35, 8:05, and 8:35. Along with the local forecast, he does a special segment for each time; This Day In Weather History, National Weather, Oceanographic Report, etc. Recently, he made the 8:05 AM special report the SLOweather.com report, where he mentions the high temperatures from yesterday and the current temperature at the time for the various WeatherElement stations linked on SLOweather. Condor Lookout has been getting a lot of air time lately, as the morning temps at the Lookout have been quite a bit higher than here in SLO and other sites, due to being above the inversion layer. Chris ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: Last Intern Update From: Hannah Tillmann <hannahbanana3333 AT hotmail.com> Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2011 08:25:36 -0700 Hello Everyone! We just finished our last week up at Hi Mountain on Wednesday! We ended the year with all of the interns up at the lookout for the last few days together. It was a little squished with all 6 of us hanging out in the lookout but we were in great company. I will keep this update short as I am sure most of you will be up at the lookout for open house. We will be rehashing our research experiences up there for all to hear! We got some great pictures on our wildlife camera this week including a California Thrasher, Gray Fox and a Black Bear (that somewhat resembled sasquatch, it had just rolled around in the creek and was soaking wet)! Grace should be emailing out pictures soon. Final P. boylii count: 10 speciminesFinal Dipodomes spp. count: 4 specimines We are now working on entering/correcting data which will take a couple of weeks. Thank you all for reading the updates this summer and I hope to see you all at open house! -Hannah [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: field research projects From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2011 19:25:38 -0700 Hello all, This morning Los Padres wildlife biologist Kevin Cooper and I accompanied two of the Hi Mountain Cal Poly student interns 2.5 miles along the Trout Creek trail to one of their study plots within the Garcia Mountain Wilderness Area in Los Padres National Forest. Ashley and Natalie checked the 15 small mammal live-trapping stations within the study plot and came up with two newly captured Brush Mice and one recaptured, ear-tagged Pinyon Mouse (what big ears they have!). The interns weighed, recorded body length, tail and ear measurements, ear-tagged and released the mice, then moved on to the next set of live-traps within the study plot. Kevin and I enjoyed watching the interns at work, observing the field techniques and their enthusiasm for the rigors of field work -making long hikes in rough terrain to set up the live-traps in the evening and rechecking the traps again early the next morning. We appreciate the efforts of all the 5 student interns and volunteers working at Hi Mountain Lookout this summer. I posted photos of today's outing at the Hi Mountain Lookout Facebook page, at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hi-Mountain-Lookout/133314096701332 A nice view of Hi Mountain Lookout was seen on the summit in the distance. Steve Schubert http://www.condorlookout.org/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: Good News! From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:11:21 -0700 from: http://www*.thecalifornian.com*/article/20110729/NEWS01/110729023/PG-E-being-Big-Sur-Condor-Retrofit-Project Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will begin its*Big Sur Condor Retrofit* as early as the first week of August and run through December, according to Los Padres National Forest spokespeople. The project is to reduce overhead power line impacts to the California condor, a federally listed endangered species. During the project, the public can expect to see helicopters, construction personnel and equipment in and around Highway 1, the North Coast Ridge Road, and up and down the adjacent power line corridor. PG&E intends construction activities to be from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday. *--Rachel Zentz, rzentz AT TheCalifornian.com * -- Marcelle SteppingStones - EcoSac Shopping Bag System Toll Free: (800) 926-1017 Local: (805) 927-1017 Fax: (805) 927-3275 www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com Saving on paper & plastic since 1989, providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service! *EcoSacs* are truly "green": renewable (sustainable), reusable, (washable) and, recyclable! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: Pinnacles trip From: Andrew Ruddock <aruddock77 AT gmail.com> Date: Wed, 27 Jul 2011 19:39:34 -0700 Hi all, Here is a little update from our trip to Pinnacles National Monument. Working with Pinnacles intern Jess, four of us interns at the Hi Mountain Lookout were able to explore the flight pen/release site and practice telemetry while consistently picking up signals. We also saw two condors with one flying right over head! It was a very successful and educational trip and we all wished that the whole troop could've gone to enjoy the sites with us. Here's a photo of condor #190 that flew over head. Here is a public facebook link in case the photo is not visible. http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2207464395995.2131902.1528989704&l=e28df31815&type=1 Have a great weekend! Andrew Ruddock [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: Hi Mtn Intern Update Week 5 From: Hannah Tillmann <hannah.tillmann AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2011 22:30:08 -0700 (PDT) Hi Everyone, We just completed our fifth week up at Hi Mountain, wohoo! At this halfway milestone we are finally getting in the groove of the "rugged mountain life" and have learned to appreciate the "simple pleasures" such as traveling to gas up the USFS Jeep in Santa Margarita and purchasing a diet coke and potato chips (hits the spot)! As of this week, both of our studly field teams have braved the horrors of the chaparral ecosystem as we attempt to find GPS points and trap there. What a crazy bunch of shrubs! I don't think I have ever experienced such feelings of claustrophobia/adventure/accomplishment as we successfully bushwacked through thick clumps of Ceanothus cuneatus, Adenostoma fasciculatum and Arctostaphylos spp. (for several hours at a time) to the pot of gold that we call a GPS point. In this ecosystem we are hoping to see some of those super cute Dipodomes! Update on the P. boylii count: We now have eight out of 10 specimens! It is sad to have to bring the little guys home, but it is also extremely exciting. Today all of the interns checked out the Cal Poly Peromyscus collection to find out that there were just a few, rag-tag P. boylii specimines, it is nice to make the collection a little more representative of the area.� We are all headed up to Pinnacles for a day trip tomorrow. We will be traveling in style (in Graces bright blue VW bug) and hopefully will return home with some new condor knowledge to impress our friends with as well as pictures of us being science nerds to post on facebook! Highlights of the week: (1) Andrew and Grace both tracked their first condors this weekend (data sheets coming soon!) (2) Finding one of our Sherman traps completely annihilated by an unknown trouble maker (Dr. V says it is most likely a black bear). Maybe Andrew will sent out a picture, it is rumored that he is bringing the trap home to hang up in his bedroom (most likely to remind himself of how hard core his job is). (3) Answering the question of "Do hummingbirds really drink out of hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea)?" when we caught an Anna's fly by and take a sip while we were hiking in Trout Creek.� That is all for now! -Hannah [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: Great! esp. for Pinn/VWS birds From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2011 23:54:21 -0700 Just saw this story from the SF Chronicle re: a new veterinary hospital in Oakland http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/07/13/BAGG41KA53.DTL Gigi, an 80-year-old Aldabra tortoise at the Oakland Zoo, has a touch of arthritis in her shoulder. But the creaky but dignified octogenarian had to go 70 miles away, to UC Davis, for treatment. No more. The Oakland Zoo broke ground Wednesday on a state-of-the-art veterinary hospital to treat its 600 animals and help train veterinary students. When completed next summer, it will be the largest zoo veterinary hospital in Northern California, second statewide only to the hospital at the San Diego Zoo. "This is a tremendous step up for us," said the zoo's director, Dr. Joel Parrott. "It's the beginning of a new era for the zoo." Long-term expansion The $10.8 million hospital will include an intensive care unit, radiology department, research laboratories, pharmacy, surgery rooms and other amenities. Everything from a 5-gram frog to a giraffe will find solace there. The hospital is part of the zoo's long-term plan for a 54-acre expansion into Knowland Park. In addition to the 17,000-square-foot hospital, the plan calls for a California native wildlife exhibit, an overnight camping area, an education center and a gondola. Eighty percent of the funds to build the hospital came from private donations, while the rest came from the East Bay Regional Park District's Measure WW fund. Currently, sick and injured zoo animals are treated either at UC Davis or in their enclosures. With the new hospital, treatment will be faster and more comprehensive, said Dr. Karen Emanuelson, the zoo's director of veterinary services. More animals treated Zoo animals won't be the only critters undergoing treatment. Mountain lions and *California condors* will be regular patients, as well. The zoo will take sick or injured condors from the California Condor Reintro- duction Program in the Big Sur area. Currently, those birds are sent to the Los Angeles Zoo for treatment. The mountain lions will arrive via the Bay Area Puma Project, a Sausalito nonprofit that works on educating the public about the elusive felines. As mountain lion sightings become more common in urban areas, public understanding both through the zoo's hospital and its upcoming California exhibit are critical, said the group's director, Zara McDonald. "It's about time we had a place for the public to learn more about the California ecosystem," she said, noting that no local zoos or wildlife museums currently have mountain lions. Helping the zoo's vet staff will be students from UC Davis' School of Veterinary Medicine. With the new hospital, the zoo's involvement with UC Davis will increase, helping future generations of veterinarians get practical experience with a wide gamut of animals, from African elephants to Mexican tarantulas. Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/07/13/BAGG41KA53.DTL#ixzz1S3mYAKkj -- Marcelle SteppingStones - EcoSac Shopping Bag System Toll Free: (800) 926-1017 Local: (805) 927-1017 Fax: (805) 927-3275 www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com Saving on paper & plastic since 1989, providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service! *EcoSacs* are truly "green": renewable (sustainable), reusable, (washable) and, recyclable! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: A day in the life of Hi Mountain Interns 2011 From: Hannah Tillmann <hannah.tillmann AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2011 16:32:17 -0700 (PDT) Hi Again, Welcome �to the first rendition of "A day in the life of Hi Mountain Interns 2011." This will help you gain an understanding of what we do every day. Each portion in broken into time steps and narrated. Enjoy! SUNDAY/THURSDAY (depending on group) 4:00 pm Meet at an intern's house, unload various amounts of luggage/camping equipment/field equipment into extremely packed, fuel-efficient cars.� 5:30 pm Arrive at Hi Mountain Lookout, grab GPS and 60 Sherman traps and a LOT of Trader Joe's Old Fashioned Oatmeal. Run back to the car and drive, jump out of car with gear in hand and hike to first GPS point. Hike in three parallel lines down N/S axis of plot, dropping two oatmeal-laden traps every 20 meters (run through poison oak if necessary, do this for 80 meters). Hike to next GPS point and repeat above process. 8:00 pm Make dinner (most likely something cheep and filling...college kids) and crash out. MONDAY/FRIDAY 5:00 am Alarm clock goes off, everyone groans and proceeds to wake up. Breakfast is consumed, sunscreen is lathered on, field equipment is tossed into the car and the ignition is started...half asleep coffee addicts hold their cups for dear life as the car winds down the bumpy roads.� 5:30 am Arrive at first plot, walk briskly (its cold!) to first set of small mammal traps. Hold open a plastic bag, wrap it around one of the closed traps and fling the unsuspecting animal into the bag. Everyone crowds around the bag to take pictures and google at the cute, fuzzy, first small mammal capture of the day! Handlers take animal out of bag and hold gently while other interns take measurements, determine sex, age and species. One down....59 traps to go.... 10:00-11:00 am Finish opening traps and IDing small mammals at both plots. Begin vegetation analysis...oh boy! On both plots, vegetation is measured at 5m intervals to the North and South of the plot center for 25m in each direction. This task is accomplished by rolling out a measuring tape and holding up a 7m long pole to see which plants intercept the stick. Densitometers are also used at each point to determine percent cover. By the end of the morning, most everyone is pretty pooped...trying to remember plant scientific names, handling feisty little critters, hiking all over creation/under large shrubs/through poison oak bushes can take a lot out of you :) 11:00 am-3:00 pm Relax time! Usually consisting of eating lunch, doing telemetry, greeting visitors, taking "Technu" baths and napping! We have had several sets of visitors come up since we have been working, the most fun group we had was a family from South Africa that brought their grade-school children. We had a great time talking about condor history and conservation, the kids had so much fun that the little boy pronounced he was going to do a school project on condors and they will probably be visiting again soon to get more information! 3:00 pm Begin searching for new GPS points to grid out for next week's research. Usually consisting of driving as far as possible, hopping out of the car and wandering around in the wilderness until the GPS gains reception and points you in the general direction of the plot (this process is usually interrupted several times by photo ops or wildlife sightings). Once plot is found, we all run around with bright orange flagging like little kids playing with streamers and tie them to trees/shrubs that correlate with our trapping grid.� 6:00 pm Repeat trapping step from 5:30 pm on SUNDAY/FRIDAY 8:00 pm MORE FOOD and sleep! This process repeats for several days and then we return home dirty, tired, satisfied and proud to be Hi Mountain Interns. -Hannah [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: Hi Mountain Intern Update From: Hannah Tillmann <hannah.tillmann AT yahoo.com> Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2011 15:56:37 -0700 (PDT) Hello All, My name is Hannah Tillmann and I am one of the Hi Mountain summer interns.� Our teams have been working hard for the past couple of weeks on small mammal trapping, vegetation analysis and telemetry. We have been focusing our mammal/vegetation efforts on 30 GPS locations situated in three major ecosystems: oak woodland, riparian and chaparral. Finding the GPS points has really let us get a feel for the land, and we have been enjoying finding new trails, seeing wildlife and exploring.� Our main focus for the mammal research is to document the species of small mammals in the area and also to document the existence of a few species that are not supposed to occur there (according to literature). We have already been successful in one of these attempts, 5 specimens of�Peromyscus boylii(brush mouse) have been collected, this species has not previously been documented in the area. These specimens (upon further genetic identification by Dr. V) will prove that�Peromyscus boylii�does occur at Hi Mountain.�When the summer is over, we plan on adding all of our mammal data to the CNDDB (California Natural Diversity Database) which is currently lacking in the Pozo/Lopez Lake/Santa Margarita Lake small mammal department. For those interested: here is a list of other mammals that we have trapped so far:�Peromyscus truei (Pinyon mouse), Peromyscus californicus�(California mouse)�, Peromyscus maniculatus (deer mouse), Neotoma fuscepes�(dusky-footed woodrat), Neotoma lepida (desert woodrat), Neotoma macrotis�(big-eared woodrat),�Chaetodipus californicus�(spiney pocket mouse), Reithrodontomys megalotis (Western Harvest Mouse), Thomomys sp. (Gopher), Microrus sp. (Vole).�We are hoping to get our hands on a few species of�Dipodomes�(kangaroo rats) as well.� We are also working on adding camera stations around the mountain in the hopes to catch a glimpse of�Bassariscus astutus�(Ring-tailed cat), which historically occurs in the area but has not been seen for quite some time. With in the next few weeks the cameras should be up and if we find anything fun, the pictures will be attached to future emails. I have been keeping track of our "weekly highlights" in the Journal at the lookout, but I wanted to add them to this page so everyone could hear them: (1) First week of work: Grace Mannell (one of our interns) was sprayed by a Coastal Horney Toad. FYI - Horney Toads spray blood out of their eyes and this was quite a comical event (and no, this does not harm the animal). (2) Second week of work: possible bobcat sighting on Hi Mountain road about 2 miles up the hill from the fire station. (3) Third week of work: Humming bird seen on nest along Trout Creek Trail. Stay posted for the feature issue of "A day in the life of Hi Mountain Interns 2011" to see what exactly we do all day. Sincerely, Hannah [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: please ignore the previous e-mail I was hacked. From: Michaela Koenig <michaelamkoenig AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2011 23:27:24 -0700 (PDT) please ignore the previous e-mail I was hacked. Michaela Koenig “Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit” ~EA ________________________________ From: Michaela Koenig To: sarahlheilbrunn AT gmail.com; katie AT hergs.com; talia11201 AT gmail.com; herman.talia AT gmail.com; aherrington408 AT gmail.com; hi_mountaincondor AT yahoogroups.com; ehimelbl AT calpoly.edu Sent: Tue, July 12, 2011 10:54:38 PM Subject: .It’s not late to change your life! http://arnau.cat/html/friends.page.php?birhotmailID=55v7 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: (unknown) From: Michaela Koenig <michaelamkoenig AT yahoo.com> Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2011 22:54:38 -0700 (PDT) .It’s not late to change your life! http://arnau.cat/html/friends.page.php?birhotmailID=55v7 ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: recent condor movements From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2011 11:11:17 -0700 The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2011/07/04/MNST1K4E4C..DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday, July 4, 2011 (SF Chronicle) Reintroduced condors flying farther afield Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff Writer Astronomers at the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton did not need a telescope last week to spot five endangered California condors. The big black vultures were right there carousing on the observatory dome, 20 miles east, as the condor flies, of downtown San Jose - almost close enough for stargazers and other visitors to smell the buzzards' breath. "They landed on the Lick Observatory and they also landed on a nearby fire tower," said Michael Woodbridge, a California Condor Recovery Program official for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "It's not highly unusual, but it is pretty notable. It's great to see the birds exploring around the northern edge of their historic range." It is the second time since condors were reintroduced into the wild after nearly going extinct that the enormous carrion-eating birds have been tracked into the Diablo Range. At least one of the birds, a 4-year-old dominant male known by the number 451, also took an excursion to Alameda County, swooped over to Monterey County and has previously been tracked to the Coalinga area, officials said. "It is an indication of what could happen in the future," said Kelly Sorenson, the executive director of the nonprofit Ventana Wildlife Society, which has been intricately involved in the statewide condor-recovery program. "I do expect condors to fly into the Diablo mountains more and more as the population expands. It is good habitat." The California condor, which has a wingspan of almost 10 feet, is one of the largest flying birds in the world. The condors, which can live as long as 60 years, were once plentiful throughout the United States. The species was particularly common in California and along the Pacific Northwest coast, where condors roosted in rock outcroppings and cavities in redwood trees and fed on everything from elk to beached whales. They were revered by American Indians, many of whom held traditional dances in honor of the majestic flying scavengers. Lewis and Clark recorded seeing a condor in the Columbia River Gorge, between Oregon and Washington states. Condors began to die off in the 19th century after European and American hunters and fur traders arrived. Many of the birds were poisoned with the lead shot that was left in the entrails and carcasses they scavenged. Despite being listed on the federal endangered species list in 1967, only 22 California condors remained in the world in 1987, prompting conservationists to capture the remaining birds and start a breeding program at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park and the Los Angeles Zoo. Condors, which do not begin breeding until they are 7 years old, were reintroduced in Central and Southern California, Arizona and Baja California starting in 1991. There are now 395 condors in existence - 195 of them living in the wild, according to recovery program officials. Birds tagged, tracked There are about 94 wild birds that generally hang around the Pinnacles National Monument, the Big Sur Coast and the Los Padres National Forest. All of them are tagged and about half have Global Positioning System tracking devices. The rest have VHF transmitters. Daniel George, the condor program manager for the Pinnacles population, said the five birds tracked to the observatory on the 4,200-foot tall mountain were all juveniles between the ages of 2 and 5. They flew north on June 21 and returned to the Pinnacles and Big Sur the next day, he said. Scouting expeditions like this are not unusual, he said. Using thermal uplifts, condors can stay aloft for hours and often travel up to 150 miles a day. "The fact that they went up there is something that we would expect, and we think in the coming years we will see more movements," George said. "The most noteworthy thing is that they frequented an area that was very accessible and people were able to see them." Southern Sierra explored Woodbridge said condors have made regular exploratory flights into the southern Sierra Nevada. "We had one that went all the way to the north side of Sequoia National Park, almost to Fresno," he said. "We had another bird that went almost down to I-15 in the San Gabriel Mountains." It is a concern when condors get close to people. The biggest threat to the gangly birds is still contamination from lead ammunition, but breeding condors often mistake bits of trash for bone fragments, which they bring back to their nests for their chicks, Sorenson said. "The chicks ingest that trash. We've had chicks die because of that," he said, illustrating one reason why he'd rather not see the birds landing on observatories and other structures frequented by humans. Still, condor specialists agree, having so many birds traveling so far away from their normal roosting grounds is a good sign. "Three of these five birds were captive reared birds," George said. "Seeing them go on these long flights shows that their instincts are still intact. That was somewhat of a question mark in the early days of the program." E-mail Peter Fimrite at pfimrite AT sfchronicle.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2011 SF Chronicle [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: Young Condor "adventure" to Bay Area From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2011 01:06:35 -0700 from the San Jose Mercury News: http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_18341487?nclick_check=1 *New bird in town: Rare California condors hang out on San Jose's Mount Hamilton* By Lisa M. Krieger lkrieger AT mercurynews.com � Copyright 2011, Bay Area News Group Posted: 06/23/2011 05:37:29 PM PDT Updated: 06/23/2011 10:17:59 PM PDT Only 20 miles east of downtown San Jose, five endangered California condors have been sighted above Mount Hamilton, socializing with turkey vultures and perching atop a Lick Observatory dome. A historic event, it is the first time in a century that the huge, wild birds -- with 10-foot wingspans -- have lingered in Bay Area skies, where they once thrived but vanished because of lead poisoning, hunting and habitat destruction. They are now among the world's rarest birds. The flock is believed to have flown north on Monday from its home at Pinnacles National Monument, site of a major breeding program. One male bird ventured even farther, into southern Alameda County. Sightings continued until Wednesday afternoon -- a three-day visit. Although one has since returned to Pinnacles, others may still be in the area, biologists said. "It is a blessing._It feels like something's right in the world_," Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society director Bob Power said. "Of the entire world's population, 2.5 percent decided to come be special guest stars in our county." Keith Baker, principal telescope technician at the University of California's Lick Observatory, described the birds as he watched them on Tuesday morning, resting on the metallic fire lookout at Mount Hamilton's Copernicus Peak, 4,360 feet high. "They all appear healthy and acting a bit like youngsters; I watched one individual walk around and push another condor off the roof. It had to glide around a bit before landing again," he wrote in an email. "Great Stuff! " "They have been flying around with a large bunch of TVs (turkey vultures) for part of the morning," Baker wrote. At the observatory, "most of the residents have been notified and have seen them, but so far, are keeping a respectful distance." Three birds are familiar personalities to wildlife biologist *Joe Burnett of the Ventana Wildlife Society*, a nonprofit organization that has expanded condor populations through its Pinnacles-based reintroduction project. Based on wing tags and GPS transmitter data, Burnett identified "499," a 2-year-old female born in the wild and raised in a giant redwood tree in a remote canyon on the Big Sur coast; "400," a 5-year-old female born in Boise, Idaho, at the World Center for Birds of Prey and then released at Pinnacles; and "451," a 5-year-old male also born in Boise, released at Pinnacles, then rescued from the 2008 Big Sur fire. An adventurous spirit, "451" has also been seen on forays south of Pinnacles. "These are young birds, feeling their oats -- and looking for territory," said Burnett, who said they can fly up to 150 miles a day. "They're subadults, not yet breeding age, that are out exploring the terrain. This falls in line with behaviors that were historically observed -- young birds out exploring." "They are wired to be inquisitive," he said. "They're scavengers, always looking for dead deer or cows." Six years ago, there was a sighting in Livermore -- but it was merely a one-day round-trip "fly-by." In contrast, this flock seemed to settle in for awhile. "For us, that is what is exciting. They may be seeking potential new territory," said Burnett. "The more they spread out, the stronger the population will be." # Free-flying population worldwide: 192 # Free-flying population in California: 94 # Reintroduction: The Ventana Wildlife Society began condor releases in Big Sur in 1997. The National Park Service began releases in 2003 at Pinnacles National Monument. Currently, the group monitors a flock of more than 50 birds, with at least five breeding pairs. # Federal status: Critically endangered # Protection: In 2008, the use of lead ammunition for hunting was banned within the condor range in California to help protect the population from poisoning. Yet the rare birds still face threats due to ingestion of residual lead bullets. For more information, go to www.ventanaws.org . -- Marcelle SteppingStones - EcoSac Shopping Bag System Toll Free: (800) 926-1017 Local: (805) 927-1017 Fax: (805) 927-3275 www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com Saving on paper & plastic since 1989, providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service! *EcoSacs* are truly "green": renewable (sustainable), reusable, (washable) and, recyclable! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: Nice Story about Big Sur birds From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Sat, 18 Jun 2011 20:37:03 -0700 A biologist explains his experience of seeing the Big Sur birds & how conservation and captive breeding are 'working".. Entitled: Big Sur's big birds: Intersection of two conservation success stories http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_18303135 -- Marcelle SteppingStones - EcoSac Shopping Bag System Toll Free: (800) 926-1017 Local: (805) 927-1017 Fax: (805) 927-3275 www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com Saving on paper & plastic since 1989, providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service! *EcoSacs* are truly "green": renewable (sustainable), reusable, (washable) and, recyclable! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: Good news! From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Fri, 17 Jun 2011 20:40:04 -0700 from AP (abc news site): http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=13755828 *CACO chick born in wild in Mexico* Mexican researchers say they have located a California condor chick being raised in the wild by a nesting pair of the endangered vultures. The federal Environment Department says its personnel found the nest in the northwestern state of Baja California after days of hiking in a remote mountain area. The department says the nest site augurs well for the chick, despite the fact that two of the pair's other chicks have died since 2008 and one egg failed to hatch. The department said Friday the site is well protected on a shaded cliffside in Sierra de San Pedro Martir mountain range, much of which is parkland. Only about 388 of the birds exist, about half in captivity. About 25 are in Baja California. -- Marcelle SteppingStones - EcoSac Shopping Bag System Toll Free: (800) 926-1017 Local: (805) 927-1017 Fax: (805) 927-3275 www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com Saving on paper & plastic since 1989, providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service! *EcoSacs* are truly "green": renewable (sustainable), reusable, (washable) and, recyclable! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor Subject: Condor chick born in Mexico From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Fri, 03 Jun 2011 18:18:27 -0700 From the Sacramento Bee (an AP story) http://www.sacbee.com/2011/06/03/3675174/california-condor-chick-born-in.html Published: Friday, Jun. 3, 2011 - 11:47 am MEXICO CITY -- Mexican researchers say they have located a California condor chick being raised in the wild by a nesting pair of the endangered vultures. The federal Environment Department says its personnel found the nest in the northwestern state of Baja California after days of hiking in a remote mountain area. The department says the nest site augurs well for the chick, despite the fact that two of the pair's other chicks have died since 2008 and one egg failed to hatch. The department said Friday the site is well protected on a shaded cliffside in Sierra de San Pedro Martir mountain range, much of which is parkland. Only about 388 of the birds exist, about half in captivity. About 25 are in Baja California. -- Marcelle SteppingStones - EcoSac Shopping Bag System Toll Free: (800) 926-1017 Local: (805) 927-1017 Fax: (805) 927-3275 www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com Saving on paper & plastic since 1989, providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service! *EcoSacs* are truly "green": renewable (sustainable), reusable, (washable) and, recyclable! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondorYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: Hi_MountainCondor-digest AT yahoogroups.com Hi_MountainCondor-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: sad - when will we stop poisoning our planet? From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Tue, 31 May 2011 16:34:59 -0700 I saw this article in several locations (The Atlanta Journal Constitution, KSRO- TV, KIVI-TV - all picked up from an AP story) and this from Ventura Co. Star: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/may/31/3-california-condors-die-of-lead-poisoning/ Three California Condors die of Lead Poisoning.. LOS ANGELES (AP) - A conservation group says three California condors found in northern Arizona and southern Utah have died of lead poisoning and three others had toxic levels of lead in their bodies. The Peregrine Fund said Tuesday that biologists recently began capturing and testing nearly 30 of the endangered birds in the region after a hiker reported seeing a dead condor in the Grand Canyon. X-rays showed one bird had 18 shotgun pellets in its digestive system, another had six pellets and a third contained the remains of a spent bullet, suggesting the condors died after eating carcasses of animals that had been shot. Of the birds captured, two died in addition to the bird found by the hiker. The other three were treated and released back into the wild. Officials are urging hunters to use non-lead ammunition. Read more: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/may/31/3-california-condors-die-of-lead-poisoning/#ixzz1NyZm6Fcq - vcstar.com -- Marcelle SteppingStones - EcoSac Shopping Bag System Toll Free: (800) 926-1017 Local: (805) 927-1017 Fax: (805) 927-3275 www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com Saving on paper & plastic since 1989, providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service! *EcoSacs* are truly "green": renewable (sustainable), reusable, (washable) and, recyclable! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondorYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: Hi_MountainCondor-digest AT yahoogroups.com Hi_MountainCondor-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: field trip to Hi Mtn. Lookout From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Sat, 21 May 2011 21:37:42 -0700 Hello all, Photos from the 'Condor Country' field trip to the lookout May 21st are posted at the Hi Mountain Lookout facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hi-Mountain-Lookout/133314096701332#!/pages/Hi-Mountain-Lookout/133314096701332 10 participants, including much appreciated assistance from volunteers Joel Weiss, Marcelle Bakula and Carolina Van Stone...thank-you! eBird report: Location: Hi Mountain-- Hi Mountain Lookout Observation date: 5/21/11 Notes: Cuesta College Community Programs 'Condor Country' van field trip to Hi Mountain Lookout; S. Schubert, instructor. Light to moderate N winds, high scattered cirrus-cirrostratus clouds, afternoon temp. upper 60's. Birding observations from the lookout vicinity and Hi Mtn. Lookout Rd to the gate; observer: S. Schubert Number of species: 11 Mountain Quail X 'whook' calls Turkey Vulture X Band-tailed Pigeon 1 in flight near lookout Mourning Dove X Ash-throated Flycatcher X vocalizing, flying and perching among shrubs near lookout Western Scrub-Jay X Bewick's Wren X vocalizing Blue-gray Gnatcatcher X vocalizing Wrentit X vocalizing California Thrasher X vocalizing Spotted Towhee X vocalizing This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondorYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: Hi_MountainCondor-digest AT yahoogroups.com Hi_MountainCondor-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: Hi Mtn. 'condor country' field trip From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Sat, 14 May 2011 20:29:34 -0700 Hello all, Only one more person is needed to enroll to make the May 21st class and field trip to the lookout a go. Please forward the publicity to your contacts who might be interested. Call #546-3132 at Community Programs to enroll by this Monday. Thanks, Steve Cuesta College Community Programs (Bldg 4700, San Luis Obispo Cuesta College Campus on Hwy 1) PO Box 8106, San Luis Obispo, CA 93403-8106 Phone: (805) 546-3132; Fax: (805) 546-3107 WEATHER POLICY: If a class is canceled due to safety or weather issues, students will be notified by the Community Programs staff. In this case, the class will be rescheduled or full refunds will be given. If the class or program is on the weekend, the instructor will make the decision and call all registered students. Outdoors & Gardening Register online using the links below or call (805) 546-3132 to register by phone with your Visa, Master or Discover Card www.condorlookout.org Condor Country at Hi Mountain Lookout Take a field trip to the restored Hi Mountain Lookout in Los Padres National Forest on the crest of the Santa Lucia Mountains - in the heart of �Condor Country� - with spectacular views from the Pacific coast to the snow-covered Sierras. Participants will bird-watch, identify native plants, study the local geology and then assist with the monitoring of condor flight movements by radio telemetry. The endangered California Condor, with a 9-foot wingspan, is North America's largest land bird. Discuss condor biology and the California Condor Recovery Program, including captive breeding, reintroducing condors back to the wild and an update on condors nesting in the wild. Van transportation provided. A $2 parking permit is required to leave your vehicle on campus during the field trip. Bring binoculars, birding field guides, lunch and snacks, and dress warm in layers This outdoor class is weather permitting. Dress in warm layers. Email: s_schub1 AT msn.com Instructor: Steve Schubert Sat, May 21; 8-9:30am (Classroom meeting & Slide Show) & 9:30am-4:30pm Field Trip to Los Padres National Forest Course# 201OD.211; Fee: $67 San Luis Obispo Campus-Room 4760 Register Online . [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondorYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: Hi_MountainCondor-digest AT yahoogroups.com Hi_MountainCondor-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: WE knew! From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2011 15:16:19 -0700 From: http://www.gtweekly.com/*santa-cruz-news*.html *"Will Hunters Have to Bite the Bullet?"* /*New findings out of UCSC shed light on lead poisoning among condors*/ Almost all of the 100 free-flying condors in California have suffered from severe lead poisoning at least once. Treatment is expensive and stressful for the birds, as they must be removed from the wild and sent to zoos and veterinary hospitals. After re-release, many get sick again and find themselves back in captivity. Now, researchers from UC Santa Cruz/have confirmed that lead ammunition is the most plausible source of exposure, and demonstrated that lead causes chronic, long-term effects as well as acute poisonings/. The findings were presented at the March 6 -- 10 annual Society of Toxicology meeting in Washington D.C., and may help spark conversation about a more stringent lead bullet ban. Myra Finkelstein and her colleagues from UCSC analyzed 70 blood samples taken from 49 condors. Using a technique called lead isotopic composition analysis, the researchers_identified the chemical fingerprint of the lead found in condor blood_. They compared this to the lead signatures of 71 different ammunition samples---most collected in the field. The researchers found that 90 percent of the birds had blood lead signatures within the same range as that of the bullets. The remaining birds had an a-typical exposure source, while a few had not been exposed to lead. "For over 100 years we have known condors can be poisoned when they eat carcasses shot with lead bullets, although facets of the hunting lobby remain unconvinced," says Finkelstein. "Our findings help refute some of their claims." In a 2009 letter to the California Department of Fish and Game, National Rifle Association's Susan Recce argued that lead ammunition cannot be linked to high blood lead levels in condors. "There was no proof of that linkage and, therefore, no expectation that banning the use of lead ammunition will reduce health risks to condors," she wrote. Others have suggested that trash is a potential source of lead, and that ammunition shouldn't be blamed for condor poisonings. Finkelstein's new findings paint a different picture. Not only did the lead in condor blood match ammunition samples, it revealed that the contaminant has a larger impact than previously thought. Even at low levels, Finkelstein found that lead inhibits an important enzyme responsible for making red blood cells called ALAD. Even in condors with relatively low blood lead levels, the enzyme's activity was inhibited by 60 percent. "When lead poisoning doesn't send the birds in for veterinary care, it can still cause chronic, long-term, sub-lethal effects," she says. Graham Chisholm, executive director of Audubon California, says these findings should not go ignored. "The findings provide further proof linking lead ammunition to the poisoning of California Condors," says Chisholm, who was not affiliated with the study. "While condors still face an uphill fight, hunters can make a difference by using non-lead ammunition." Banning Lead Bullets The findings may breathe new life into a poorly enforced lead bullet ban. In 2007, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Ridley-Tree Condor Preservation Act (AB 821) into law. The bill went into effect July 1, 2008, banning the use of lead bullets within condor territory. As natural predators like grizzly bears and wolves are driven to near-extinction, hunter-shot carcasses are a major source of food for condors, which must scavenge, as they cannot kill their own prey. Deer and elk sometimes escape hunting parties to die in the forest. This means the animal, and the lead bullets in it, will remain behind. Gut piles left when an animal is cleaned can also contain microscopic bits of lead. X-rays show that when a lead bullet hits an animal, a snowstorm of lead particles spreads far from the impact site. In 2006, Washington State University researchers found lead fragments in 18 of 20 gut piles tested. Most had between 10 and 200 fragments, although five gut piles exceeded this. In contrast, only six fragments were found in four whole deer killed with copper bullets. Since the implementation of AB 821 in California, a lack of funding has meant scant enforcement, which, in turn, has led to poor compliance. In Big Sur---one of the state's three condor release sites---most birds are brought in with blood lead levels 10 times higher than would impair a human. "It's not that they are particularly sensitive to lead. Condors are relatively tolerant to it. The problem is that they are constantly exposed," says Joe Burnett, senior biologist at the Salinas, Calif.-based Ventana Wildlife Society. It only takes one contaminated carcass to poison a flock. Historically, condors were also poached for museum exhibits and killed by ranchers. The birds once spanned an area from British Columbia to Baja Mexico, and inland to Utah, Idaho and parts of Texas. It was along the Monterey Bay that Spanish explorer Antonio de la Ascension made the first western documentation of condors in 1602 when he spotted the birds feasting on a beached whale. Yet by 1982 there were only 22 condors left in the wild. All were taken into captivity for breeding. While condors can no longer be found around the Monterey Bay, about 50 birds have been released down the coast in Big Sur since 1997. Together with a sister site in Pinnacles National Monument in San Benito County, and another at the Ventura County-based Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge, 167 condors have been released California. Sixty-one of these have died. Many of the survivors have an ongoing need for treatment due to lead poisoning. *"If we want the condors to have a sustainable free flying population, we need to better regulate the use of lead ammunition," says Finkelstein.* Until lead is removed from the forests and grasslands where condors feed, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which authorizes reintroductions, will not approve new releases. Even though new birds will be released into existing flocks, no new release stations are likely to be approved, and the population is not likely to expand north of the Golden Gate Bridge and up the coast. "It's our policy not to introduce birds into areas where they might come into contact with lead, through ammunition or otherwise," says Jesse Grantham, condor program coordinator at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He clarifies there is no formal written document that spells out such a practice, and no official policy on the requirement of lead reduction at potential new release sites. The Yurok Tribe hopes to begin releasing condors along the North Coast by 2013, near the mouth of the Klamath River in Del Norte County. Yet, due to its avid hunting community, the North Coast is also full of lead ammunition. This past winter, the Yurok launched "Hunters as Stewards"---a program that encourages reductions in lead ammunition. The tribe is setting up shooting ranges where lead-free bullets can be tested, and organizing an ammunition exchange where lead bullets can be traded for other alternatives. The Yurok will also buy a portable x-ray machine to use at meat processing facilities where hunters bring their carcasses for preparation. "We will be asking hunters if we can x-ray their carcasses to show how far lead fragments stray from the wound site," says Chris West, a wildlife biologist for the Yurok Tribe. Humans can also be exposed to lead particles when they eat lead-shot meat. West hopes the Tribe's efforts will set a new course for the birds. "Humans are the ones who brought the problem to the condors," he says. "It's not like there is a natural extinction going on, and it's up to us to repair the damage that has been done." -- Marcelle SteppingStones *EcoSac*Shopping Bag System *(800) 926-1017* FAX*(805) 927-3275* www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com /Saving on paper & plastic since 1989! Providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service!/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondorYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: Hi_MountainCondor-digest AT yahoogroups.com Hi_MountainCondor-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: Hi Mountain Lookout Project donations From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2011 17:57:44 -0700 The following donations have been received. Thank-you! Financial donations: Sam Essex, Albany --$900, Bar Mitzvah funds Equipment: Cambria Community Council Grant, $400, with additional funding provided by Marcelle Bakula, Cambria; Kathleen Kent, Templeton; Joel Weiss, San Luis Obispo -- purchase of new digital receiver for condor radiotracking Jan Hamber, Santa Barbara --donation of used telonics for condor radiotracking Chris Arndt, Arroyo Grande -- upgraded and reinstalled Weather Elements online weather station (at http://www.weatherelement.com/condorlookout ) Supplies and Labor: Staff, Cal Poly Biological Sciences Department workday/retreat March 16th -17th -- removed loose paint, cement, and patched damaged cistern; repaired leaking cistern drain; repaired east side shutter hinge; repaired window lock handles; repaired kiosk roof; repaired rock wall; repaired broken propane tank lock; repainted downstairs door; restained picnic table; spring cleaning; inspection and further evaluation for completion of upcoming work projects Dave Berry, Atascadero -- removal and replacement of damaged storm door and installation of 12-volt lights in glass display case Marcelle Bakula, Cambria -- rematting of damaged framed condor photos on visitor center wall Donations can be made by writing a check to 'MCAS Hi Mountain Project" and mailing to: Morro Coast Audubon Society Po Box 1507 Morro Bay, CA 93443-1507 Contributions are tax deductible under IRS Code 501(c)(3). Morro Coast Audubon Society tax I.D. # 23-7165021 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Hi Mountain Lookout in the news... From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2011 18:36:25 -0800 Here is the link to John Lindsey's newspaper article today in the Tribune newspaper: Mountaintops get some phenomenal weather - John Lindsey - SanLuisObispo.com http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2011/02/19/1490314/mountaintops-get-some-phenomenal.html [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Hi Mtn. Lookout article in the Tribune newspaper From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2011 18:11:25 -0800 message from Chris Arndt... Hi All, As you might know, John Lindsey, communications specialist from PG&E, accompanied Steve Schubert, Dave Barry, and me to the lookout last week. Steve and Dave were there for Lookout work, while I was there to replace the WeatherElement interface for the weather station, and John nosed around, took pictures, and talked with the guys. He wrote about his trip in today's column in the Tribune. It was a great day to visit, mild temperatures, little wind, and views from the snow-capped Sierra to the beach and ocean. There's a nice photo of the lookout, and the column is loosely about mountain-top weather. Unfortunately, I cannot locate his column on the Trib's website, so if you want to read it, or save a copy for the museum up there, run out and buy a copy of the Sunday Trib. As far as the weather station is concerned, it's been working quite well, with data uploads of 95-98% each day. If you've been checking the weather page (http://www.weatherelement.com/condorlookout) the big spikes in outdoor temp during the storm are caused by the console not receiving data from the outdoor unit. I don't know if it's wind or rain related. Chris [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: 1st Egg in AZ! Go CACO's From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2011 09:00:36 -0800 from: http://www.kivitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=14022651 1st Condor Egg of the Season Discovered Officials at the Peregrine Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise say California condor breeding season has started with the first egg discovered. Biologists at the Center in Boise say the 4 inch, 10 ounce egg was discovered this past week and was produced by a 13 year old female condor. Experts say the egg should hatch in April, and after a year the young condor will be released into the wild near the Grand Canyon. The center has 57 captive condors, with 19 pairs expected to produce offspring. -- Marcelle SteppingStones *EcoSac*Shopping Bag System *(800) 926-1017* FAX*(805) 927-3275* www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com /Saving on paper & plastic since 1989! Providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service!/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Hi Mtn. workday summary, 2-12-11 From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2011 08:39:56 -0800 Hello all, I was a passenger yesterday with Dave Berry driving his vintage 1966 Toyota Land Cruiser - the high clearance and 4-wheel drive was necessary on the rough road and many stream crossings along Hi Mountain Rd. driving in from the Arroyo Grande side. At the lookout we met up with meteorologist John Lindsey, with SanLuisObispo.com at The Tribune newspaper, and Chris Arndt, with SLOweather.com, who reinstalled the improved and better working WeatherElements station. View the online weather station at www.condorlookout.org . During the day Dave removed the damaged storm door for repairs and installed the new 12-volt lights in the glass display case. I photo documented and evaluated a number of future maintenance and improvement projects for the next upcoming workday event. The skies were sunny and clear, afternoon temperature was comfortable in the mid-60's, light SW wind throughout the day, and good visibility. The inland view of the snow-covered Sierra Nevada was impressive. A new mammal sighting for the Hi Mountain checklist was a black-tailed jackrabbit running along the lookout road between the two gates. On the return drive coming around a curve a startled black bear bolted off the road, crossed Trout Creek and could be heard moving through the understory beneath the oaks on the opposite hillside. That was fun. Photos of the views and workday activities are posted at the Hi Mountain Lookout Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pages/Hi-Mountain-Lookout/133314096701332 Steve Schubert www.condorlookout.org photos at: www.flickr.com/photos/12571965 AT N07/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Can YOU donate to fulfill a need? From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Thu, 03 Feb 2011 11:31:34 -0800 *Background:* Recently, Hi Mountain Lookout requested a grant from the_Cambria Community Council t_o purchase a digital receiver since a new Condor feeding site will soon be operating north of Cambria. (There are times when the road to our Lookout is closed & volunteers can't get there to retrieve our telemetry, so we hoped the extra receiver could be kept in Cambria and provide assistance to VWS if Hwy 1 is closed to them) *Grant received:* The Council was able to grant $400.00 (around 1/2 of the request/need) /We are hoping that Lookout & Condor Recovery Program supporters, like YOU, might be willing to pitch in with donations to cover the rest!/ *_Donations needed:_* If you can donate $20, $50 or $100 toward this "Digital Receiver Fund" please send check to: MCAS - Hi Mtn Lookout, P.O. Box 1507, Morro Bay, CA 93443 /Be sure "Hi Mtn Lookout" appears on check. /You will receive a 2011 tax receipt showing the MCAS' non-profit ID #. Thanks for your consideration (So excited that soon more CACO's will be flying in S.L.O. County!) Feel free to forward to anyone who may not be on the Hi Mtn. list-serve. Marcelle Bakula (Hi Mtn. Volunteer) -- Marcelle SteppingStones *EcoSac*Shopping Bag System *(800) 926-1017* FAX*(805) 927-3275* www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com /Saving on paper & plastic since 1989! Providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service!/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: interesting article From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Wed, 02 Feb 2011 15:43:41 -0800 Feb. 2: **To mark the launch today of the the_International Year of Forests_, the US-based Conservation International has listed the TEN most AT-RISK forested hotspots around the world - all but one predominantly tropical.** (CA Condor mentioned in #7) http://www.peopleandplanet.net/?lid=29608§ion=42&topic=23 -- Marcelle SteppingStones *EcoSac*Shopping Bag System *(800) 926-1017* FAX*(805) 927-3275* www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com /Saving on paper & plastic since 1989! Providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service!/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: good to know the "other side" From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Thu, 06 Jan 2011 17:00:23 -0800 What NRA is saying about lead issue & Condors from site: http://www.ammoland.com/2011/01/06/nra-lawsuit-sets-legal-precedents-for-defending-hunters-rights/* NRA Lawsuit Sets Legal Precedents For Defending Hunter's Rights* /Many of the Center for Biological Diversity documents raise doubts about the veracity of the CBD claims. In fact, documents obtained by NRA indicate that claim is based on_faulty science._/ California Rifle and Pistol Association California Rifle and Pistol Association *Sacramento, CA -*-(Ammoland.com )- Although the case is still pending and a final ruling is yet to be issued, NRA's intervention on behalf of its members in the case /Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management, et al/., has already resulted in several legal victories. CBD's lawsuit, filed on January 27, 2009, alleges that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) are illegally mismanaging federal lands in Arizona. CBD contends California condors in Arizona and elsewhere are becoming ill or dying as a result of scavenging game that was shot by hunters using lead shot or bullets. NRA has collected thousands of documents via public records act requests over the last year. Many of these documents raise doubts about the veracity of that claim. In fact, documents obtained by NRA indicate that claim is based on faulty science, and plainly show that California condors were reintroduced to Arizona based in large part on express promises by FWS and other agencies that the /"reintroduction"/ would not impact hunting. A January 13, 2010 court ruling granting NRA's motion intervene was recently published in the official Federal Rules Decision reporter. The Federal Rules Decisions Reporter is a compendium of selected United States District Court rulings that specifically interpret and apply the Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure. Publication of this court ruling is important to hunters and NRA members because it sets legal precedent and confirms that there is/"significantly protectable interest"/ in hunting that can justify intervention by hunter's rights groups like NRA in the increasing number of lawsuits filed by so-called environmental groups against state and federal natural resource, game and land management agencies. Groups like the /*Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) */often file lawsuits alleging improper regulatory action or inaction in managing public lands and natural resources in attempting to advance their anti-hunting agenda. The publication of the decision followed an earlier NRA partial victory in this case; NRA's legal arguments caused the CBD to abandon and dismiss its California condor related Endangered Species Act (ESA) claims rather than litigate them against NRA. CBD's ESA claims were based in part on an incorrect belief that/"any take of [California] condors from the use of lead ammunition would be a per se violation of the ESA." /CBD's revised its lawsuit and dropped the ESA claims that CBD was primarily using as part of an attempt to obtain a ban on the use of lead ammunition for hunting on these federal lands at issue. On December 10, 2010, NRA filed its/"summary judgment"/ brief in the case Several other briefs have also been filed, and all remaining briefs will be filed by the end of February 2011. A hearing date will be set after the court receives all of the briefs. Because NRA intervened in the case on a narrow issue regarding the use of lead ammunition in northern Arizona /(and the case has many other elements)/, it is possible the lead ammunition related aspect of this case may be resolved as early as this spring. To see key documents filed in this case, visit http://michellawyers.com/cbdvblm. *About:* The California Rifle and Pistol Association "CRPA," founded in 1875, is dedicated to defending the rights of law-abiding citizens to responsibly use firearms for self-defense and the defense of their loved ones, for sport, and for all other legal activities. CRPA is the official state association of the National Rifle Association. A California non-profit association, CRPA is independently directed by its own Board of Directors. CRPA's members include law enforcement officers, prosecutors, professionals, firearm experts, the general public, and loving parents. CRPA has always worked to reduce the criminal misuse of firearms and firearms accidents, while actively promoting and organizing the competitive shooting sports and Olympic training programs in California. We are proud to say that many CRPA competitors are among the best in the world. Visit: www.crpa.org -- Marcelle SteppingStones *EcoSac*Shopping Bag System *(800) 926-1017* FAX*(805) 927-3275* www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com /Saving on paper & plastic since 1989! Providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service!/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Hi Mountain Lookout Project donations From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Mon, 3 Jan 2011 09:26:41 -0800 The following donations have been received. Thank-you! Financial donations: Phyllis and Michael Hischier, San Luis Obispo Kim LaChance, Paso Robles Paul and Judith Burkhardt, Creston Donations can be made by writing a check to 'MCAS Hi Mountain Project" and mailing to: Morro Coast Audubon Society Po Box 1507 Morro Bay, CA 93443-1507 Contributions are tax deductible under IRS Code 501(c)(3). Morro Coast Audubon Society tax I.D. # 23-7165021 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Good news From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2010 11:46:07 -0800 from: Ventura Co. Reporter http://www.vcreporter.com/cms/story/detail/california_condor_population_soaring/8503/ *Condor Population Soaring by Chuck Graham 12-30-10 * The population of wild, free-flying condors in California recently reached a high of 100 birds, a far cry from 1987, when the wild population was teetering on the brink of extinction with only 14 condors struggling to survive in the rugged Santa Barbara backcountry. "With 100 wild condors now in California, the California Condor Recovery Program has reached another milestone on the road to recovery for this iconic bird," said Jesse Grantham, California Condor Program Co-ordinator. "This achievement is a testament to the work of our biologists in the field and the efforts of our public and private Recovery Program partners." Each fall, captive-bred, jet-black-colored, 1-year-old condors are released into the wild, primarily from two strategic sites, Pinnacles National Monument in Central California and Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge in the southern San Joaquin Valley. Captive breeding began for these Pleistocene Era scavengers in 1992 at the Los Angeles Zoo and the San Diego Wild Animal Park, the key to the survival of North America's largest flying land bird. After the juvenile condors are released, they typically stay close to the release site slowly exploring their new surroundings. That includes learning to fly while extending their impressive 9-foot wingspans in the swirling thermal updrafts and becoming integrated into the existing wild flock. Within five to six months, these young birds will follow the wild population throughout its historic range. In addition to the release of captive-reared birds, the numbers have been enhanced by mature wild condors with their pumpkin-colored heads, which have been producing their own young since 2004. Sixteen young condors born and raised in the wild have joined the wild flock in California, the ultimate goal being two to three self-sustaining populations stretching from Baja California, Utah and Arizona to Northern and Southern California. Combined with the number of condors in captive breeding facilities, the entire population currently stands at 381. "Of late, the population in Southern California is moving around in a triangular pattern between Hopper Mountain, Bitter Creek and Tejon Ranch," said Michael Woodbridge, head of public affairs at Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge. "The current release sites are isolated, the foraging is very good, and we can keep an eye on them easier. The sites are not as mountainous." Despite the high number of condors soaring across the Los Padres National Forest, they're still susceptible to dangers such as fires, ingesting trash and especially lead poisoning. Woodbridge said the condor program is still working with hunters to use alternative ammunition. In 2008, California Assemblyman Pedro Nava created a bill to ban lead ammunition throughout the condor's range. Eventually, it was signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, even with the ban, the Fish and Wildlife Service is still imploring hunters to use non-lead ammunition such as copper, tungsten and others. After scavenging on a carcass littered with lead bullet fragments, condors struggle to digest their food. Meat is first stored in the crop, the pouch beneath their throats. The bullet fragments don't allow for food to be broken down, and causes condors to choke and suffocate until they die. Hopefully, biologists can follow the Global Positioning Systems attached to condors' wings in order to reach troubled condors. If rescued, biologists can treat a sick a condor by flushing its system with a solution. "There's still some grumbling going on. The situation isn't perfect, but it is improving," said Woodbridge of the lead bullet situation. "We've seen improvement in lead levels in the birds in Southern California, but levels are still higher in Northern California." For more information on the California Condor Recovery Program, call the Hopper Mountain NWR Complex at (805) 644-5185, or visit the Refuge Complex website at www.fws.gov/hoppermountain . chuckowow AT aol.com -- Marcelle SteppingStones *EcoSac*Shopping Bag System *(800) 926-1017* FAX*(805) 927-3275* www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com /Saving on paper & plastic since 1989! Providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service!/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Article w/ Anthony Prieto & Daniel George From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2010 05:10:32 -0800 http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-21/california-condor-poisoning-provokes-quarrels-among-hunters-mike-di-paola.html California Condor Poisoning Provokes Quarrels Among Hunters: Mike Di Paola By Mike Di Paola - Dec 20, 2010 9:01 PM PT Condor A California condor at Pinnacles National Monument in California. Wildlife biologists tag the birds with transmitters to monitor their movement. Photographer: Gavin Simmons/Nation Park Service via Bloomberg Condor A condor egg at Pinnacles National Monument in California. The egg produced Pinnacles' first condor hatchling in over 100 years. Photographer: Gavin Emmons/National Park Service via Bloomberg Condor A female condor protects her egg, Pinnacles National Monument. Photographer: Gavin Emmons/National Park Service via Bloomberg Condor A California condor flies at Pinnacles National Monument in California. Photographer: Gavin Emmons/National Park Service via Bloomberg Two condors watched their chick emerge from its egg on March 23 at Pinnacles National Monument in central California -- the park's first condor hatching in more than 100 years. The joy, shared in the following days by hundreds of human gawkers, was soon clouded by an insidious menace. On May 13, the park announced that the baby bird and its parents had extremely high levels of lead in their blood. They were evacuated to the Los Angeles Zoo to be treated by a team of veterinarians and condor biologists. When I visited the park in late August, the young condor was still on the mend in Los Angeles, but its parents were thriving again at Pinnacles. Wildlife biologist Daniel George told me how the birds got so sick. "We feel pretty certain with the data we have that the vast majority of exposures are coming from ammunition," George said. Lead enters the food chain when hunters shoot game and leave entrails or "gut piles" in the field, where carrion- feeders such as condors consume it -- or feed it to their offspring. "This is unique, this nestling getting such a high lead exposure at that age," he says. "I can't say it is the only case, but it's certainly the only one we've dealt with here, so we're charting new terrain." Brink of Extinction It is not easy being a California condor. Brought to the brink of extinction by the pesticide DDT, electrocution on power lines and other lethal threats, the bird was among the first creatures listed "Endangered" by the federal government in 1967. By 1987, only 22 birds remained. Since then, a vigorous federal program in coordination with volunteer support has revived the population. At the moment there are 383 California condors, including 188 in the wild. A few hundred more and they could be designated as merely "Threatened." Pinnacles has been involved with condor recovery since 2003. Biologists tag each of the park's 26 birds with transmitters to track them and ensure they have safe roosting sites and ample food. They even train the birds to avoid electrocution using aversion therapy, giving them a gentle electric shock on perches that resemble utility poles. Lead Pellets In 2008, the use of lead ammo was banned within protected condor areas in central and southern California, but of course the birds are not aware of borders. Dozens of bird species --from bald eagles to common ducks and geese -- are also vulnerable to lead in the food chain. According to the Center for Biological Diversity , 10 million to 20 million birds and other animals still die from lead poisoning every year in the U.S. even though the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service banned lead ammo for waterfowl hunting in 1991. These birds and others ingest spent lead pellets when they are feeding, and lead lasts a long time in an ecosystem. According to Ducks Unlimited, the ban on lead ammo for waterfowl has curtailed introduction of new lead into wetlands, but there are still periodic die-offs in areas where tons of lead were once sprayed incontinently at ducks and their feeding grounds. NRA Pressure National Park Service biologists are counting on the cooperation of responsible hunters to help keep the condor population aloft. "Hunters are not the enemy of the condor," said George. "The condor is happy to have hunters on the landscape because there are gut piles and carcasses being generated. One thing that I would say people can do to help condors and other scavengers is to keep hunting." The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency botched an opportunity this summer to ban lead ammo outright, perhaps succumbing to pressure from the National Rifle Association , which regards such a ban as tantamount to gun control. "There is no legitimate scientific evidence that establishes a definitive link between condor mortality and traditional ammunition," said NRA spokeswoman Rachel Parsons in an e-mail statement. Hunter Anthony Prieto, co-founder of an online resource for lead-free hunting called Project Gutpile , scoffs at the suggestion that lead-free ammo is a slippery slope to gun control. "We don't have lead pipes for water anymore, or lead-based paint. And when we stopped putting lead in gasoline, nobody said it was part of an agenda to stop people from driving." No Toxic Food Prieto, who hunts wild pigs, deer and elk for food, sees this as both a conservation and health issue. "I just want to leave as little environmental impact as I can when I feed my family. You don't want your food toxic." Prieto and Project Gutpile are making a documentary on lead-free hunting, to be pitched at hunting shows and film festivals, such as the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in January 2011. The squeamish be warned: Prieto has filmed a wild pig shot with lead, then used radiography to show the extent of lead in the animal's flesh, compared with a lead-free pig. Not great news for wild pigs, but much needed for condors and other birds. If you're a hunter you needn't wait for legislation to start using lead-free ammo now. The American Bird Conservancy has compiled a handy list of lead-free ammunition manufacturers and retailers. (Mike Di Paola writes on preservation and the environment for Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.) To contact the writer of this column: Mike Di Paola at mdipaola AT nyc.rr.com. -- Marcelle SteppingStones *EcoSac*Shopping Bag System *(800) 926-1017* FAX*(805) 927-3275* www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com /Saving on paper & plastic since 1989! Providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service!/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: rain storm From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Mon, 20 Dec 2010 19:01:04 -0800 Hello all, Following is an excerpt from meteorologist John Lindsey's daily weather report, listing Hi Mountain Lookout with nearly 10 inches of rain during the past 3 days! ATMOSPHERIC CONDITION: Copious amounts of rain have fallen over the Central Coast since Friday with Rocky Butte over 11 inches of precipitation with many spots along the Central Coast receiving between 6 and 8 inches of rain including Diablo Canyon with nearly 7 inches. This is the highest three-day total since March of 1995 at Diablo Canyon Power Plant. Total rainfall amounts since Friday as of 12 p.m. today. Arroyo Grande Creek, near the intersection of Huasna Rd. and E. Branch St. ............... 6.58" Rocky Butte ................................ 11.30" Bill's House Cottontail Creek near Cayucos . 9.35" Paul's House (41 West & Toro Creek) ........ 8.40" Santa Margarita Fire Department ............ 5.35" Baywood Park ............................... 4.26" Davis Peak, north of Avila Beach............ 8.32" Islay Hill, San Luis Obispo ................ 5.81" PG&E Energy Education Center ............... 10.14" Diablo Canyon .............................. 6.93" San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly .................. 5.34" San Luis Obispo County Airport ............. 7.89" SLOWeather.com ............................. 7.45" Camp San Luis ............................. 6.98" Cambria .................................... 5.98" Cayucos..................................... 6.96" Condor Lookout Los Padres National Forest .. 9.94" Morro Bay .................................. 7.24" Nipomo ..................................... 7.50" Oceano ..................................... 6.34" Templeton .................................. 4.95" Hog Canyon near Paso Robles ................ 3.85" Paso Robles Airport ........................ 1.05" Shandon, CDF Yard .......................... 3.74" Atascadero, Heilmann Regional Park ......... 6.02" [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Hi Mtn. workday Dec. 11th From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2010 10:24:43 -0800 Hello all, Eight of us put in a full workday at the lookout Saturday. An unrelenting northeasterly -offshore- wind blew throughout the day from 20-35 mph, with a maximum wind gust of 45 mph. Great visibility towards the coast and coastal mountains south into the Santa Barbara backcountry. Two Red-tailed hawks hovered into the wind throughout the day, hunting near the lookout. It was nice to make a visit this time of the year and see the fall colors -oaks and sycamores - along the drive up Hi Mountain Rd. and a spectacular showing of Toyon -'Christmas Berry'- shrubs in bright color mixed in across the wooded slopes. Marcelle, Kevin, and Joel updated the condor radiotracking frequencies, Chris worked on repairs to the WeatherElement online weather station, Dave and Joel dug away the slumping soil around the new post gate, Kevin repaired the roof to the kiosk, Dave began installing the 12-volt display lights in the glass case and I worked on organizing the recently purchased educational activities and supplies for kids. We put in some time discussing and planning for the year ahead, especially with the upcoming establishment of a condor supplemental feeding/release site nearby in San Luis Obispo County. Photos of the Dec. 11th workday event are posted at our Hi Mountain Lookout facebook page...take a look at the last 14 photos in the "Workdays at the Lookout" photo album. Steve Schubert http://www.condorlookout.org [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Hi Mtn. workday Dec. 11th From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Wed, 8 Dec 2010 07:20:02 -0800 Hello all, A workday event and picnic lunch at Hi Mountain Lookout is scheduled this Saturday. Meeting time at the lookout is 9:30am. Please let me know if you are able to attend. Good weather is predicted with offshore winds and spectacular clear skies. Steve Schubert http://www.condorlookout.org photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12571965 AT N07/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Joe Burnett re: DDT in the news.. From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2010 16:02:17 -0800 from Mother Nature News site: http://www.mnn.com/home-blog/green-news-roundup/blogs/daily-briefing-tues-88 (source of this says "New York Times") *WALKING ON EGGSHELLS:* Nearly 40 years after DDT was banned in the U.S., the pesticide seems to still be pestering birds of prey, the New York Times reports, namely the ever-endangered California condor. Biologists with the Ventana Wildlife Society have found dangerously thin condor eggshells high in the hilly woodlands of Big Sur, Calif., a worrisome hallmark of birds that are contaminated with DDT. "The eggshell fragments we found appeared abnormally thin," says Joe Burnett, a senior VWS biologist. "They were so thin that we had to run tests to confirm that it was a condor egg." The EPA banned DDT in 1972 because it passes up the food chain and thins the eggshells of big, carnivorous birds, from bald eagles and brown pelicans to condors and vultures. Most of those birds have rebounded since DDT was banned, but the thin condor eggs suggest they're still being exposed --- and Burnett thinks he knows how. A large deposit of DDT remains buried in marine sediments off the coast of Southern California, in an area known as the Palos Verdes Shelf, near a breeding ground for sea lions that eat the area's fish. The sea lions then migrate up the coast, and hundreds of them lounge on a rocky beach near Big Sur as a layover on their way north, where a few dead sea lions can provide a carrion feast for nearby condors. And since their blubber often contains high levels of DDT compounds from the contaminated fish they eat, Burnett speculates that the illegal pesticide may be finding its way to the endangered birds from deep below the ocean surface. An estimated 1,700 tons of DDT was dumped on the Palos Verdes Shelf in the 1950s and '60s by the Montrose Chemical Corp., a leading pesticide producer, but the EPA has named the area a Superfund site, and a plan is in the works to cover it with sand and silt in 2012. It's unlikely this vestige of DDT exposure will threaten the California condor's fragile recovery, Burnett tells the Times, since the species now numbers around 380 after falling to just 22 individuals in 1982. But combined with the ongoing danger of lead poisoning, it is yet another speed bump in the long road to recovery, he says: "There is a light at the end of the tunnel. We just don't know how far out that light is." -- Marcelle SteppingStones *EcoSac*Shopping Bag System *(800) 926-1017* FAX*(805) 927-3275* www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com /Saving on paper & plastic since 1989! Providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service!/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: sad news - where is the "P" in EPA? From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Tue, 09 Nov 2010 06:50:40 -0800 from: http://www.independent.com/news/2010/nov/09/epa-rejects-ban-toxic-lead-fishing-gear/ * o Best Bets *EPA Rejects Ban on Toxic Lead Fishing Gear* Agency Refuses to Address Preventable Poisoning That Kills Millions of Birds, Wildlife Every Year ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Tuesday, November 9, 2010 By Jeff Miller Ignoring long-established science on the dangers of lead poisoning in the wild, the federal Environmental Protection Agency has denied a petition to ban toxic lead fishing sinkers that frequently kill loons, swans, cranes, and other wildlife. A coalition of conservation, hunting, and veterinary groups had petitioned EPA in August to ban lead in fishing tackle and in bullets and shot for hunting. (The use of lead ammo is no longer legal in the California condor's habitat range, but it is legal in most other parts of the nation.) The agency issued a partial denial of the portion of the petition dealing with regulation of lead ammunition in September , and has now issued its final determination which also denies the portion of the petition on fishing sinkers. Spent lead from ammunition and lost fishing tackle needlessly poisons, kills, and harms millions of wild birds and other animals every year and endangers public health. "Under the Obama administration, the EPA seems to have lost its will to regulate toxic substances, even in the face of overwhelming scientific information about the harm to wildlife and threats to human health," said Michael Fry, director of conservation advocacy at the American Bird Conservancy. "The EPA's failure to act is inexcusable, given what we know about how toxic lead is to wildlife and the extensive science linking lead poisoning in wildlife to ammunition and fishing weights," said Jeff Miller, conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity -- Marcelle SteppingStones *EcoSac*Shopping Bag System *(800) 926-1017* FAX*(805) 927-3275* www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com /Saving on paper & plastic since 1989! Providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service!/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Good News From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Mon, 08 Nov 2010 08:32:32 -0800 from: http://www.kgw.com/news/local/3-condors-from-Oregon-Zoo-released-in-Southwest-106692533.html (AP story w/ photo caption first) condor 11 (Tama) at the Oregon Zoo's Jonsson Center for Wildlife Conservation. Tama is the star of the show, with plenty of fire and spunk. She was captured from the wild in 1985 as part of an operation to save the California condor population, which was estimated at only 17 birds remaining in the wild. Coming from the wild, Tama is extremely valuable as a breeding founder bird. During her time in the captive-rearing program, Tama has laid numerous eggs and successfully raised many chicks. It is important for baby condors to have strong role models, because chicks pattern their behavior after adults. Tamas experience in the wild allows her to teach her chicks how to survive once they are released. Tama is also known for her dominant personality and the way she throws her weight around. She has built a reputation as a girl who likes her space. She never shies from conflict with other female birds, and usually comes out victorious. *Three Condors from Oregon Zoo released in Southwest* by Associated Press Posted on November 4, 2010 at 7:20 AM Updated Thursday, Nov 4 at 7:23 AM PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Three California condors hatched and raised at the Oregon Zoo have been released to the wild in Arizona and California, with two more to follow. One of the endangered birds was released at the Vermilion Cliffs Monument and the other two were released in California last month. Zoo officials say California condors help clean up the environment as scavengers and are part of the nation's cultural and historical heritage. Condors are the largest land birds in North America and have wingspans of up to 10 feet and weigh 18 to 30 pounds. Just 22 condors remained in the wild in 1987 and all were captured for a breeding program that has increased their population to 185 released in Arizona, California and Mexico. -- Marcelle SteppingStones *EcoSac*Shopping Bag System *(800) 926-1017* FAX*(805) 927-3275* www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com /Saving on paper & plastic since 1989! Providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service!/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Recognition for the Peregrine Fund From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2010 19:05:31 -0700 Their condor work honored - see story at: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50569838-76/condors-arizona-birds-fund.html.csp -- Marcelle SteppingStones *EcoSac*Shopping Bag System *(800) 926-1017* FAX*(805) 927-3275* www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com /Saving on paper & plastic since 1989! Providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service!/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Story (LA Times) From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2010 13:45:54 -0700 See this (Hopper condor w/ chick in photo) at: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/greenspace/2010/10/fifty-species-move-closer-to-extinction-every-year-report-says.html *Fifty species move closer to extinction each year *Agricultural expansion, logging, over-exploitation and invasive alien species are pushing an average of 50 species closer to extinction every year, according to a study published this week in the journal Science. Unveiled as the conference on global biodiversity began in Nagoya, Japan, the multi-authored study of the planet's vertebrates says that conservation efforts have had notable successes that have helped mitigate the trend toward a less-diverse biosphere. Without conservation efforts, the biodiversity status of Earth would have decreased another 20%, according to the report. Nonetheless, "the 'backbone' of biodiversity is being eroded," said Professor E.O. Wilson of Harvard University. "One small step up the 'red list' is one giant leap forward toward extinction. This is just a small window on the global losses currently taking place." The study, which relied on data on 25,000 species in a so-called red list by the International Union for Conservation and Natural Resources, highlighted 64 species of mammal, bird and amphibian that have recovered due to conservation efforts. Among them were three species that have been reintroduced into the wild: the California condor, the black-footed ferret and Przewalski's horse. Southeast Asia suffered the worst rate of decline in biodiversity, largely due to land clearing for cultivation of export crops such as palm oil. The report notes that 41% of amphibian species are threatened, as are 13% of bird species. -- Geoff Mohan /Photo: A California condor protects its chick in a nest cave near Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge. Credit: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service/ -- Marcelle SteppingStones *EcoSac*Shopping Bag System *(800) 926-1017* FAX*(805) 927-3275* www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com /Saving on paper & plastic since 1989! Providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service!/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Hi Mountain Lookout Project donations From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Sun, 24 Oct 2010 18:13:41 -0700 The following donations have been received. Thank-you! Financial donations- Central Coast Natural History Association Rouvaishyana, California State Park Interpretive Specialist Mary Sampson and Rob De Graff, San Luis Obispo Tommye Hite, Redondo Beach 2010 annual Open House auction fundraiser donations - Sara Silverberg, Marcelle Bakula, Susanne Stadler, Marvin Daniels, Hopper Mountain/Bittercreek National Wildlife Refuges Materials, Supplies, and Labor - Phyllis Hischier, San Luis Obispo -- wood stain/restained lookout picnic tables Lisa McKinny (troop leader), Templeton and Girl Scout Troop 40146 service project -- sand, primed, and repainted Hi Mountain Lookout sign Claudia Lenschen-Ramos, Santa Margarita -- cheese platter, grapes, and crackers for open house event Nancy Greenough, owner, Saucelito Canyon Winery -- wine serving at open house event Jim Duff, Pozo-- famous pineapple upside-down cake for open house event Donations can be made by writing a check to 'MCAS Hi Mountain Project" and mailing to: Morro Coast Audubon Society Po Box 1507 Morro Bay, CA 93443-1507 Contributions are tax deductible under IRS Code 501(c)(3). Morro Coast Audubon Society tax I.D. # 23-7165021 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Lead... From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Mon, 18 Oct 2010 10:07:44 -0700 from: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-miller-lead-ammo-20101018,0,4641644.story *Get the Lead out* Scientists estimate that more than 10 million birds and other animals die each year from lead poisoning in the United States. The EPA could change that by Jeff Miller For decades a silent epidemic has killed or sickened millions of birds in the wild, from bald eagles and trumpeter swans to mourning doves and endangered *California condors.* The cause is lead poisoning. Fragments of toxic lead are left behind in the environment in game and non-game animals shot by hunters, and in gut piles left in the field. Birds that scavenge the carcasses sometimes eat the ammunition fragments. Some die a painful death from lead poisoning; others suffer for years from its debilitating effects. Water birds such as cranes, ducks and loons also suffer from the toxic effects after ingesting discarded or lost lead fishing weights that are mistaken for food or grit. The results are staggering. Scientists estimate that more than 10 million birds and other animals die each year from lead poisoning in the United States. These needless, unintended deaths of American wildlife can be prevented, with no appreciable effect on hunting and fishing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This summer, the Center for Biological Diversity, the American Bird Conservancy and a coalition of conservation, hunting and veterinary groups formally petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency under the Toxic Substances Control Act --- the same law that limits other environmental exposures to lead --- to require the use of non-lead hunting ammunition and fishing tackle nationwide. The petition cited nearly 500 peer-reviewed scientific studies documenting continued lead poisoning of at least 75 bird species from spent lead ammunition and fishing tackle. The United States has taken important steps to get lead out of paint, gasoline, water pipes and other sources where it poses a danger to people. It's time to extend those protections to wildlife. So far, 68 groups in 27 states --- from hunters to zoologists to Native American organizations --- have joined our call in seeking federal regulation to get the lead out of the food chain. The petition came under attack from predictable parties, including the National Rifle Assn., which mischaracterized the proposal as a gun-control measure and as a way to shut down hunting. It would do no such thing; it would simply replace the lead portion of ammunition with non-lead materials that are already widely used in bullets and shot. Federal regulations went into effect in 1991 requiring non-lead shot for hunting waterfowl, and that lead ban has not restricted anyone's ability to hunt waterfowl, nor has it had any effect on the number of duck hunters. Lead ammunition was also banned in 2007 for hunting big game and non-game birds and mammals in the California condor's range to protect the endangered species from chronic lead poisoning. Hunting there continues unchanged except for the use of less-harmful copper bullets. Fortunately there are many ecologically sound and effective alternatives on the market to replace lead ammunition and fishing tackle. The California Department of Fish and Game has certified nontoxic ammunition from 24 manufacturers; the Arizona Game and Fish Department recommends 120 non-lead bullets in various calibers; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has approved 12 nontoxic shot types for hunting waterfowl; and fishing weights are already on the market made from non-poisonous materials such as tin, bismuth, steel, tungsten, ceramic and recycled glass. It's true that some non-lead ammunition and tackle cost more right now, but the added expense is on the order of several dollars per hunting or fishing trip. The best way to lower the cost of non-lead alternatives and make them more widely available would be to pass federal regulations that would in effect eliminate the competition from lead products and spur manufacturers of lead alternatives to ramp up production. But this is about more than just the cost of ammunition and tackle. This initiative would protect human health too. People who ingest lead shot pellets or fragments in game meat risk lead poisoning, which is especially dangerous for children. Unfortunately, even before the public comment period had ended, the EPA indicated it would deny the portion of the petition dealing with lead ammunition. The agency claims it doesn't have the authority to regulate lead ammunition under the Toxic Substances Control Act. But the law's plain language, as well as congressional reports on the law's legislative history, starkly contradict that claim. In fact, the House report states unequivocally that "the committee does not exclude from regulation under the bill chemical components of ammunition which could be hazardous because of their chemical properties." We're asking the EPA to reexamine its decision on lead ammunition and to take a more scientific approach to the decision on toxic fishing weights. The nation's top environmental agency cannot simply walk away from the preventable poisoning of wildlife. /Jeff Miller is a conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, a national organization that advocates for protection of endangered species and wildlife habitats./ -- Marcelle SteppingStones *EcoSac* Shopping Bag System * (800) 926-1017* FAX* (805) 927-3275* www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com /Saving on paper & plastic since 1989! Providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service!/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Re: Hi Mtn. open house photos From: Carolina Van Stone <carolina792 AT earthlink.net> Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 13:00:24 -0700 Steve, Thanks again for providing the great opportunity to participate at Hi Mountain's autumn Open House. So nice to see familiar faces and new ones too. Such a variety of activities going on. Spectacular. Fantastic photo essay of the day. Loved it. What a sunset! Carolina On Oct 10, 2010, at 8:39 PM, steve schubert wrote: > photos - Oct. 10th open house event > > www.flickr.com/photos/s_schub/sets/72157625009430241 > > > www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22130&id=133314096701332#!/album.php? > aid=22130&id=133314096701332 > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ To Post a message, send it to:Hi_MountainCondor AT yahoogroups.com To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to:Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com Message archives and group home page can be found at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondorYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Hi_MountainCondor/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: Hi_MountainCondor-digest AT yahoogroups.com Hi_MountainCondor-fullfeatured AT yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: Hi_MountainCondor-unsubscribe AT yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ Subject: resending links for Hi Mtn. open house photos From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2010 20:39:11 -0700 photos - Oct. 10th open house event www.flickr.com/photos/s_schub/sets/72157625009430241 www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=22130&id=133314096701332#!/album.php?aid=22130&id=133314096701332 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: photos- Hi Mountain Lookout open house event From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2010 17:10:18 -0700 Hello all, The 9th annual Hi Mountain Condor Lookout Open House event on Saturday, Oct. 9th was attended by more than 60 adults and children. Photos of the event are posted at Flickr and Facebook sites: flickr.com/photos/s_schub/sets/72157625009430241/ facebook.com/album.php?aid=22130&id=133314096701332#!/album.php?aid=22130&id=133314096701332 Activities included a Pozo to Hi Mountain birding field trip, a Girl Scout Troop service project repainting the sign, demonstration of the original Hi Mountain Lookout firefinder (recently refound while in storage for decades), condor radio tracking demonstration, fundraising auction, kids activity making plaster-of-paris animal tracks, geology and native plant walks, potluck dinner, live band music, and a spectacular sunset with a crescent moon and planets Venus sinking into the orange glow above the sea in the west while Jupiter was rising in the east. Just after noon on Saturday, an OSPREY carrying a large fish flew by Hi Mountain Lookout at 3,200 feet elevation, miles from the nearest body of water (Santa Margarita Lake's fish population may have decreased by one). Two hours later another sighting of an OSPREY sailing by in the same southbound heading. Throughout much of the day at least one immature RED-TAILED HAWK was hovering into the persistent offshore NE wind which never let up from morning to night - averaging more than 20mph and wind gusts up to 35mph - while just below the mountain summit on the seaward side the air was warm and nearly still. TURKEY VULTURES soared around in small numbers. An ACCIPTER was southbound. A MERLIN briefly harassed a red-tailed hawk and continued on south making several stoops and amazing twisting maneuvers up high. A juvenile GOLDEN EAGLE was later attacked by a red-tailed hawk. I was preoccupied with open house activities during the day and must have missed other raptors moving along this migration corridor along the NW-SE trending ridge of the Santa Lucia mountains. Passerine sightings in the chaparral vegetation were down on this windy day but several BAND-TAILED PIGEON flocks were darting around near the lookout throughout the day. Thank-you to all who helped out and participated. Next year will be the big 10-year annual open house event! Steve Schubert Volunteer Coordinator, Hi Mountain Lookout Project condorlookout.org [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: more good condor news From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Thu, 07 Oct 2010 14:14:53 -0700 CNN - http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/10/07/california.condor.recovery/ *(CNN)* -- Biologists in California are celebrating a benchmark in the recovery of an iconic North American bird. There are now 100 California condors flying high across the state, the largest number of endangered condors in California in the last half-century. "This achievement is a testament to the work of our biologists in the field and the efforts of our public and private Recovery Program partners," California Condor Recovery Program Coordinator Jesse Grantham said in a statement Wednesday. Captive-bred year-old California condors are released into the wild each fall from sites at Pinnacles National Monument in Central California and Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge on the southwest side of the San Joaquin Valley in Southern California. The population of California condors had dropped to 22 in 1982. In an effort to save the species, a captive breeding program began at the Los Angeles Zoo and the San Diego Wild Animal Park. The recovery program eventually expanded to other facilities in other states. Today, the total world population of California condors stands at 381. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists plan to release seven more California condor juveniles over the course of the next two and a half months. -- Marcelle SteppingStones *EcoSac* Shopping Bag System * (800) 926-1017* FAX* (805) 927-3275* www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com /Saving on paper & plastic since 1989! Providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service!/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Slo Coast Journal - Upcoming Open House Event From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Sat, 2 Oct 2010 09:35:57 -0700 http://www.slocoastjournal.com/docs/hi_mountain.html [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Hi Mountain Condor Lookout Project open house schedule, Oct. 9th From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Wed, 29 Sep 2010 20:47:11 -0700 Hi Mountain Condor Lookout Project 9th Annual Open House/ Campout Saturday, October 9th, 2010 Schedule of Activities: Bird Watching Field Trip 9:00am - 11:30am Pozo to Hi Mountain (elev. 3,199 ft.) Meet at Pozo Ranger Station. Habitats: grassland, riparian woodland at Salinas River crossing, oak woodlands & chaparral Car pooling recommended. Easy hiking conditions. Field trip leaders: Peter Dullea, Hi Mtn. Lookout Project Volunteer and Jeremy Pohlman, Cal Poly Student Intern NOTE: advanced registration required for the field trip; contact Steve at s_schub1 AT msn.com or phone #805 528-6138 Lookout Service Project: repair and repaint the kiosk- Girl Scout Troop 40146 Kids activities 11:00am - 12 noon Condor biology/radio tracking, making plaster animal track casts Picnic lunch 12 noon - 1pm -visit the Hi Mountain Lookout Interpretive Center - sign guest register -auction bidding Welcoming comments 1pm Introductions Morning birding field trip reports by trip leaders Hi Mountain Lookout Project year in review and recognition of staff , interns, and volunteers Steve Schubert, Volunteer Coordinator, Morro Coast Audubon Society Auction of donation items - annual fundraiser Afternoon activities and field trips: Geographical landmarks- a 360 degree view from the Pacific coast to the Sierra Nevada Kevin Cooper, USFS Wildlife Biologist Condor radio tracking demonstrations by staff and volunteers Kids nature hike along Hi Mountain Lookout Road Native plant identification walk along Hi Mountain Lookout Road on the crest of the Santa Lucia Mountains Geology overview and walk - the Coast Range Live music - The Booker Tease band Saucelito Canyon wine serving and cheese tasting Sunset watch and dinner (wear layered clothing) Gas stove and oven are available for cooking and heating food at the lookout facilities. Participants are encouraged to bring a potluck dish to share with their friends and guests. Note: no campfires are permitted for cooking or during the overnight campout. Evening program: Astronomy observations 7pm Optional Hi Mountain Campout Camping sites are available Saturday night at 'Cypress Hill' near the lookout. Other vehicle camping sites are located on the ridgeline near the entrance gate - with a view overlooking the mountains and coast - and at the USFS Hi Mountain Campground, located one mile down the road from the lookout. There are picnic tables and outhouses at the campground- bring your own potable water. For additional information about the open house event and driving directions to Hi Mountain Lookout, see our website at www.condorlookout.org and photos of past open house events at our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hi-Mountain-Lookout/133314096701332?v=wall Please contact Steve Schubert at s_schub1 AT msn.com or at phone # (805) 528-6138 to RSVP if you are planning to attend the open house event and the number of people in your group. Thank-you. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: good news From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2010 17:18:15 -0700 from: http://www.kpho.com/news/25146606/detail.html Condors To Be Released in Northern Ariz. POSTED: 10:23 am MST September 24, 2010 UPDATED: 10:47 am MST September 24, 2010 | *BOISE, ID -- *Four California condors are will be released in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona Saturday. The public is welcome to observe the release from a viewing area where spotting scopes will be set up and experts will be available to answer questions. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it will be the 16th public release of condors in Arizona since the recovery program began in 1996. Condors are hatched and reared in captivity at The Peregrine Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey in Idaho, Oregon, the Los Angeles Zoo and San Diego Wild Animal Park. They are transported to Arizona for release to the wild. Currently, 73 condors are living around the Grand Canyon region.For more information visit the AZ Game and Fish Department website www.azgfd.gov/condor. -- Marcelle SteppingStones *EcoSac* Shopping Bag System * (800) 926-1017* FAX* (805) 927-3275* www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com /Saving on paper & plastic since 1989! Providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service!/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Hi Mtn. Project Facebook page photos From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2010 08:29:18 -0700 Hello all, Hi Mountain Lookout Project has a Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hi-Mountain-Lookout/133314096701332?v=wall Take a look at the photos and become a 'friend' for future updates. Recently uploaded photo albums (1996-2010): 'Staff, Volunteers, and Interns', 'Open House Events', 'Workdays at the Lookout', 'Planning Meetings', 'Conferences, Meetings, and Symposia', 'Flora and Fauna', 'Research Projects', 'Condor Benefit Mixer', 'Restoration' (before and after photos), 'Bird Festivals/"Condor Country" Field Trips' and 'Field Trips to the Lookout' Reminder, the 9th annual Open House/Campout is Saturday, Oct. 9th. Steve Schubert www.condorlookout.org photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12571965 AT N07/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Sept. 25 release From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:02:48 -0700 Pinnacles announces seventh condor release By Hollister The Free Lance Staff Photo by: Free Lance file photo On Sept. 25, up to two California condors could be released into the wild at Pinnacles National Monument, according to the park. The public is invited to attend Condor Comeback 2010, a condor release celebration, from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the park Visitor Center near the campground on the east side of the park, accessible from Highway 25. This is the seventh release of the endangered birds at Pinnacles. Ultimately, project biologists anticipate building a sustainable population of up to 30 condors at Pinnacles, a historic condor nesting area, over the next several years, according to a statement from the park. The reintroduction of California condors to Pinnacles is a cooperative effort between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Ventana Wildlife Society, and Pinnacles Partnership in collaboration with the California Condor Recovery Team. A live, remote video feed from the condor facility to the Visitor Center will display the young condors in the pen and the first flight of any released birds. In addition, the event will have speakers, informational and educational booths staffed by rangers and park partners, and an activity booth for children to draw and display their "condor wishes," according to a statement from Pinnacles. Car pooling is encouraged since parking is limited, and is on a first-come, first-served basis. Though the event is not being held in the previously used viewing area, spotting scopes, binoculars, water, layered clothing, and comfortable hiking shoes are recommended for viewing wild condors in the park. -- Marcelle SteppingStones *EcoSac* Shopping Bag System * (800) 926-1017* FAX* (805) 927-3275* www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com /Saving on paper & plastic since 1989! Providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service!/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Hi Mtn in the Tribune From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:36:57 -0700 Nice "day trip" story.. Interns Jeremy & Trevor in the photos http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2010/08/23/1260254/soaring-at-hi-mountain.html -- Marcelle SteppingStones *EcoSac* Shopping Bag System * (800) 926-1017* FAX* (805) 927-3275* www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com /Saving on paper & plastic since 1989! Providing the highest quality reusable cotton and organic cotton bags & the BEST customer service!/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Condor territory expanding? From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Mon, 02 Aug 2010 17:39:55 -0700 from on-line (AP News) site: http://www.mymotherlode.com/news/state/ap/122929/North-Coast-tribe-biologists-launch-condor-study.html *North Coast tribe biologists launch condor study* AP News | 08/02/10 11:35 am Biologists with the Yurok tribe are studying how to reintroduce the California condor to the state's northern coast, where the majestic birds flew a century ago. Wildlife officials for the tribe say the return of the condor would have huge cultural significance for the Yuroks, who have a traditional dance inspired by the animal. Wild condors were last spotted there in the early 20th century. The federal government backed an unsuccessful plan to reintroduce birds bred in captivity in the 1990s, but they couldn't survive on their own. Biologists say the biggest threats are contamination from lead hunting ammunition and pesticides. The tribe is using a $200,000 federal grant to study similar local birds - turkey vultures and ravens - to determine what conditions are needed to help condors survive. Marcelle SteppingStones *EcoSac* Shopping Bag System * (800) 926-1017* FAX* (805) 927-3275* www.bags4you.com service AT bags4you.com /Saving on paper & plastic since 1989! Providing the highest quality bags & the BEST customer service!/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Condor sighting over Santa Margarita, Ca From: "Dee" <dzacher2001 AT yahoo.com> Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2010 01:28:55 -0000 Hi All, I am 100% certain I observed a Condor soaring with a Turkey vulture over Santa Margarita on Friday afternoon between 12:30 - 1:30. Anyone else have a sighting on that day or location? Diane Zacher Santa Margarita, CA Subject: An opposing view From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Mon, 17 May 2010 18:59:01 -0700 http://www.opposingviews.com/i/california-wildlife-group-misleads-people-on-ammunition California Wildlife Group Misleads People on Ammunition Opinion by National Shooting Sports Foundation (5 Hours Ago) in Society / Guns With legislation working its way through the California Assembly (AB 2223) that would expand California's ill-advised ban on traditional ammunition into all wildlife management areas of the state, anti-hunting groups are continuing to stoke the flame of emotion in hopes that legislators will forget about science. Just last week the Audubon Society of California blogged about a California condor chick from the Pinnacles National Monument needing to be removed from its nest for treatment of lead poisoning. Executives with the Audubon Society linked the chick's condition with traditional ammunition, saying, "One of the biggest sources of lead in the environment is spent lead ammunition. California condors frequently feed on animal carcasses left behind by hunters, and often consume great amounts of lead from ammunition." What the Audubon Society failed to mention was that this 50-day-old condor chick was never alive during hunting season. The firearms and ammunition industry vigorously opposed the effort to ban use of traditional ammunition in condor regions, citing a lack of evidence that some condors had elevated blood lead levels from ingesting ammunition fragments while scavenging entrails from hunter-harvested big game. Nevertheless, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the ban into law , which went into effect July 1, 2008. In 2009, a report issued by the California Fish & Game Commission on blood lead levels in California condors was inconclusive and supported the National Shooting Sports Foundation's contention that there is no scientific basis for the state's ban on traditional ammunition in condor regions. The department and commission noted that the "sources of lead in sampled condors are unknown, relationship of sampled condors to hunting activity are unknown, and . . . the condor feeding habits for this period . . . are unknown." Here's what is known: Condors feed on small pieces of garbage called micro-trash. Micro-trash includes batteries, plastics and painted-fence pieces. Certainly, a much more reasonable explanation for why some condors have elevated blood lead levels is that they are feeding on these lead-based products comprising micro-trash. Of course, this likelihood is also overlooked by the Audubon Society. Today, with attempts to expand the traditional ammunition ban, we continue to push back against arguments based on emotion and politics rather than peer-reviewed science. Expanding the ban on traditional ammunition will only serve to further erode hunting in the Golden State, reduce hunter-generated revenues that support wildlife conservation and damage an industry that has contributed millions of dollars into wildlife programs. -- Marcelle SteppingStones *EcoSac* Shopping Bag System *(800) 926-1017* www.bags4you.com e-mail: service AT bags4you.com /Saving on paper & plastic since 1989! Providing the highest quality bags & the BEST customer service!/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Monday, May 17th Hi Mtn. presentation From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Sat, 15 May 2010 19:35:23 -0700 Return of the Condor and the Hi Mountain Lookout Project with Steve Schubert, project originator and volunteer coordinator Monday, May 17th, 7 pm El Chorro Regional Park, SLO Botanical Garden Oak Glen Pavilion This change in program topics and speakers is due to the aftermath of the current oil spill affecting the Gulf Coast. Our scheduled speaker, biologist Darwin Long with the BioDiversity Research Institute (BRI) has been summoned by that organization to help with the oiled birds as part of BRI's oil spill recovery efforts. Darwin promises to present his loon program at an MCAS Community Program next fall along with an addendum depicting BRI's involvement in the oil spill recovery through images and preliminary data. MCAS thanks Steve Schubert for stepping in to present the Monday program. "Return of the Condor and the Hi Mountain Lookout Project", a discussion about condor biology and the Condor Recovery Program, including the captive breeding program, reintroduction of condors to the wild, and recent condor nesting in the wild. The restored Hi Mountain Lookout now operates as a visitor center and condor radiotracking field station, staffed by volunteers and college interns. The Hi Mountain Lookout Project is a collaborative effort between Morro Coast Audubon Society, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, Cal Poly Biological Sciences Department, Ventana Wildlife Society, and Pinnacles National Monument. MCAS programs are free and open to the public. Refreshments provided; bring your own mug. All ages welcome! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Bad News From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Fri, 14 May 2010 11:42:03 -0700 From the National Parks Traveler: http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2010/05/bad-news-wild-condor-chick-pinnacles-national-monument5859 Bad News for Wild Condor Chick at Pinnacles National Monument Submitted by Jim Burnett on May 14, 2010 - 1:39am Condor and egg. The hatching of a California condor egg was big news at Pinnacles National Monument earlier this year. Photo by Gavin Emmons, National Park Service The birth of a chick earlier this year to a pair of nesting California condors was cause for celebration at Pinnacles National Monument , but scientists tracking the health of the young bird have bad news. Due to extremely high levels of lead in its blood, it's been necessary to evacuate the bird from its nest to a specialized facility for intensive treatment. Condor biologists at Pinnacles National Monument and Ventana Wildlife Society tracking the health of the young wild condor discovered the problem last week. Park Service biologists then trapped the parent male, condor 318, and discovered he also has toxic levels of lead in his blood. The adult condor was immediately taken to the Los Angeles Zoo for chelation (a treatment to remove lead from the body) while the 50-day old chick was treated by veterinarians and condor biologists in the nest during early morning climbs into the rocky cliff cavern. Chelation is a process used in condors in which calcium EDTA, a chemical that binds with heavy metals, is injected into the animals to prevent retention of lead in the tissues. Although the adult female continued to care for its young and the nestling received several emergency chelation and hydrating fluid injections, the young condor's health continued to decline. As a result, biologists decided yesterday that, for the survival of the nestling, it needed to be evacuated to a facility where it could receive more intensive care. National Park Service and Ventana Wildlife Society biologists are trying to trap the adult female of this pair to determine if she too has been exposed to lead. This condor nest was the first inside Pinnacles National Monument since re-establishment efforts began there in 2003 and the first documented successful hatching of a condor in the park in over one hundred years. Lead poisoning has been an on-going problem for condor populations. Condors are exclusively scavengers, feeding on a wide range of dead mammals. Research has established that the principle source of lead exposure among condors is lead ammunition. Lead Ammunition has been banned for the taking of big game in a wide region of central and southern California , although that move has been a controversial one for some hunters. Park officials note that shooters who have made the switch to non-lead ammunition have made an invaluable contribution to the health of scavenging wildlife. News about the park's nesting pair of condors attracted considerable attention earlier this year. According to the park, hundreds of visitors over the past two months have enjoyed the rare opportunity to witness an active condor nest in the wild. Pinnacles National Monument will keep the temporary closure area around the nest in place until biologists determine whether the nestling can be returned to the wild. -- Marcelle SteppingStones *EcoSac* Shopping Bag System *(800) 926-1017* www.bags4you.com e-mail: service AT bags4you.com /Saving on paper & plastic since 1989! Providing the highest quality bags & the BEST customer service!/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Big Sur fire/condor evacuation on Weather Channel 'Storm Stories' From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Wed, 5 May 2010 18:51:03 -0700 forwarded message from Joe Burnett.... Hey Everyone- Tune into storm stories this weekend to see a re-enactment of our condor rescue from the fires in 2008. Should be entertaining.although I am seriously questioning my own re-enactment skills.they kept saying "act natural", but that was easier said than done..should provide a good laugh for all. Hollywood, here I come.HA, HA.not. Cheers, Joe From: Specter, Lauren (NBC Universal) [mailto:Lauren.Specter AT nbcuni.com] Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2010 12:21 PM Cc: David Garte Subject: TUNE IN ALERT - Storm Stories: Big Sur to air this SATURDAY 5/8 & SUNDAY 5/9 on THE WEATHER CHANNEL I hope this email finds you well. I am very excited to tell you that Storm Stories: Big Sur is airing this weekend! The show will premiere on Saturday, May 8th at 8pm and will run again on Sunday, May 9th on the Weather Channel. Check your local listings for channel information and to confirm air time. You will receive a copy of the show some time next week as a token of our thanks. We are so grateful for your participation in this project. We truly could not have done it without you. Please pass this information to anyone else who contributed to this show, or anyone who you think might like to see the amazing story of the fires in Big Sur on tv. I hope you all enjoy the show. All the best, Lauren Specter & David Garte [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: May 15th event From: "steve schubert" <s_schub1 AT msn.com> Date: Mon, 3 May 2010 08:22:27 -0700 Hi Mountain Lookout Project Volunteer Workday and Picnic Saturday, May 15th, 2010 The Hi Mountain Condor Lookout Project is seeking new volunteers to assist with California Condor radiotracking and staffing the lookout's Interpretive Center. Day and overnight shifts are available and scheduling is flexible. Join us for a day of volunteer training, work projects, birdwatching and wildflower viewing, socializing and a picnic lunch at Hi Mountain Lookout. Meet at the Pozo Ranger Station at 9am for car pooling arrangements, or meet at the lookout at 9:30am (driving directions are posted on the website at www.condorlookout.org). Enjoy a view from the coast to the Sierras and a picnic lunch with friends and family. Please contact Steve Schubert at s_schub1 AT msn.com or phone #805 528-6138 if you are interested in attending or for more information. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Subject: Interesting From: Marcelle <marcelle AT bags4you.com> Date: Sun, 02 May 2010 21:02:36 -0700 From th the Taft Independent. (be sure to read to the last sentence!) http://www.taftindependent.com/News/ViewArticle/1974 Bitter Creek Scoping Meeting Draws Fort Crowd by Kent Miller - April 30, 2010 Yes to cattle grazing; no to prescribed burning. That was the message a crowd of about 50 people sent Wednesday night to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the future management of the Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge - prime habitat for the California condor - consists of 16,144 acres adjacent to Los Padres National Forest and about eight miles west of Maricopa. Of the more than 16,000-acre Refuge in Kern, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties, 14,096 acres is owned in fee title by Fish and Wildlife. It is primarily open grassland "providing valuable foraging habitat for condors" and for more than a century has been used for cattle grazing. Most of those in attendance at the meeting Wednesday night at The Historic Fort in Taft agreed with Fish and Wildlife's operation of the Refuge for protection of a variety of native plants in addition to condors, golden eagles, prairie falcons, pronghorn antelope, tule elk, and the endangered San Joaquin kit fox and blunt-nosed leopard lizard. The main point of contention was whether a Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) for 15-year operation of the land would reopen it to cattle grazing or keep it closed to livestock and manage control of grassland growth through prescribed burning. "I request that the (Fish and Wildlife) Service comply with federal law and procedures and restore the cattle to the main portion of the Refuge," said Susie Snedden, who with her husband, Richard, operate a cattle ranch that shares 13 miles of common fencing with the Refuge. Snedden pointed to a wildfire danger from the ungrazed land. Ranchers Art and Jill Steinbeck, neighbors of the Sneddens, ran cattle on the Bitter Creek land for 20 years, from its purchase by the federal government in 1985 until grazing was banned in 2005. "The 1994 Compatibility Determination Document for Bitter Creek states 'Beneficial impacts will also be realized through this grazing program (and) this addresses the importance of continued cattle grazing operations to provide a forage base for the California condor,'" Jill Steinbeck said. Historically, a byproduct of cattle grazing has been still-born calves and cattle fatalities, a major food source for condors, Susie Snedden said. She urged "elimination of any use of prescribed fire to clear the area." Banning use of prescribed burning was also supported by most of the other speakers at the hearing. That include messages from Supervisor Ray Watson, Kern County Fourth District, Assemblywoman Jean Fuller, R-32nd, and Congressman Kevin McCarthy, R-22nd. The messages were delivered by representatives of each elected official. The expense of prescribed burning as opposed to income from leasing grazing land, air pollution from burns, and the danger of a prescribed burn roaring out of control were reasons given for opposing use of fire. Fish and Wildlife has until 2012 to form the CCP for Bitter Creek and two other parts of what is known as the Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex. The other two sections are Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge, near Fillmore in Ventura County, and Blue Ridge NWR, east of Visalia in the Sierra. All three areas are considered condor habitat and were established "to restore the endangered California condor population to its native range," according to Fish and Wildlife literature. "The CCP will help guide the overall management of the three refuges for the next 15 years." Fish and Wildlife is responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats. And the National Wildlife System - which includes Bitter Creek, Hopper Mountain, Blue Ridge, and more than 550 other national wildlife refuges - is dedicated to the conservation of wildlife. Still, one speaker at the hearing - who was not a cattle rancher - urged opening Bitter Creek to the public and hunting. And if that lead to the extinction of any species, so be it. And another speaker claimed that today's California condors are really imported "India condors" and that the California condor became extinct decades ago. -- Marcelle SteppingStones *EcoSac* Shopping Bag System *(800) 926-1017* www.bags4you.com e-mail: service AT bags4you.com /Saving on paper & plastic since 1989! Providing the highest quality bags & the BEST customer service!/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]