California Condors in the Pacific Northwest

Chapter 5: Summary and Future Outlook

125 Chapter 5 Summary and Future Outlook co•ex•ist (kō'ĭg-zĭst') vi. To exist together in the same place or at the same time. One very important thing can be learned from the record of the past: If man chooses to do so, and with no more than token sacrifice , he can live with the condor. Whether modern man is capable of making this slight sacrifice may well determine his own fitness for survival. (McMillan 1968, 177) The long absence of the California Condor from the Pacific Northwest and the crisis situation of condor conservation in the late twentieth century have, until recently, resulted in a lack of focus on recovery efforts in the Pacific Northwest. It is our hope that by articulating the history of the California Condor in the region we might inform future dialogue over the role of the Pacific Northwest in condor conservation. From our historical review it is clear that the California Condor was (and still is) culturally important to many Native American tribes in the region and was regularly observed and collected by early explorers and settlers. The species’ historical occurrence in the region is verified by prehistoric and historic physical evidence and numerous firsthand accounts. The number and extent of occurrence records demonstrate that human observations and interactions with condors in the Pacific Northwest were far more prevalent than previously reported (figure 15). Evidence now strongly suggests that condors were a resident species in the region. The long breeding and rearing period of the California Condor make long-distance seasonal migration extremely unlikely. Furthermore , two juvenile birds were shot in the Pacific Northwest and preserved in museums. Because young condors often stay in close proximity to their nest site for the first year or two of life, it is possible that these 126 CHAPTER 5 birds were hatched in the region and that at least a portion of the condor population was resident. Additional research into the genetic makeup of individuals from the Pacific Northwest could provide further insights into the historical population structure of the condor. From a reconstruction of the (admittedly fragmented) historical record , the most plausible hypothesis for the population decline and range collapse of the California Condor is increased mortality from secondary poisoning from laced carcasses and possibly from collecting and indiscriminant shooting. Although direct evidence of condors being poisoned in the Pacific Northwest is limited, the feeding habits of condors make them particularly vulnerable to this threat. Moreover, contemporary studies show that predator poisoning is a major factor in population declines for many vulture species around the world. Collecting and shooting resulted in some direct loss to the condor population, and although the number of reports of condors killed, captured, or removed from the population in the Pacific Northwest is relatively small, there may have been significant losses that went unreported. Lead poisoning is the leading hypothesis for the lack of a current self-sustaining wild condor population (Walters et al. 2010; Finkelstein et al. 2012; Rideout et al. 2012), and it may also have played a role in the condor’s range contraction . However, there is some uncertainty regarding the bioavailability of lead to condors during this time period due to differences in firearms and ballistics—which may have resulted in less lead fragmentation—prior to the turn of the century. Loss of food resources, loss of nesting habitat, egg collecting, and Native American ritual sacrifice were not likely causes of the condor’s disappearance from the region. Reintroductions: Challenges and Opportunities The number of species reintroduction projects has skyrocketed in recent decades (Seddon et al. 2007). This is not surprising, as these projects attract considerable public attention and many zoos have shifted toward a more conservation-oriented mission that lends itself to breeding animals for reintroduction (Seddon et al. 2007). Condor reintroductions are no exception, with a high level of media interest for every egg hatched and public gatherings to witness condor releases to the wild. Although the captive breeding program has secured the near-term survival of the condor, the species’ long-term prospects remain uncertain. The primary contemporary threat to SUMMARY AND FUTURE OUTLOOK 127 the condor’s survival and recovery—ingestion of lead from ammunition in carcasses—continues to plague the conservation program at all release sites, despite regulatory and voluntary measures to reduce this threat (Walters et al. 2010; Finkelstein et al. 2012; Rideout et al. 2012...