he northern Arizona release project is moving along at a record pace with a release of California condors in the Vermilion Cliffs area proposed for early 1996. The Peregrine Fund (PF) in cooperation with Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Arizona Game and Fish Department(AGFD), and the Bureau of Land Management(BLM), did an excellent job writing the Draft Environmental Assessment (DEA) for the Vermilion Cliffs release. All comments on the DEA have been received and are under review. The draft proposed rule for the establishment of a nonessential experimental population of California condors in northern Arizona is under review and should be on its way to the Federal Register soon. The Memorandum of Understanding between the cooperators (FWS, AGFD, BLM, PF, Grand Canyon National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Kaibab National Forest, Hualapai Tribe, Navajo Nation, Los Angeles Zoo, Zoological Society of San Diego, and The Phoenix Zoo) is on its fourth draft. The AGFD is completing their condor brochure and reintroduction plan and is on schedule to complete their 12 Step Reintroduction Protocol by early December. Everyone is really working hard on this cooperative effort to bring condors to northern Arizona.

Courtesy: California Condor Recovery Program
Condor Update #4