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barred owl

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Northern spotted owls, barred owls and forest management

In the local paper they recently mentioned that a plan has been created that involves removing barred owls from all northern spotted owl habitat via lethal measures. The reasoning behind this planned seemed to be mostly presumption and conjecture. Wanting to know more about the impact barred owls are having on northern spotted owls and the reasoning behind the plan I wrote about this issue for my Environmental Issues class presentation. What I discovered is that there isn't much scientific evidence that barred owls are to blame for the northern spotted owl population declines. Loss of habitat leading up to the northern spotted owl's listing under the Endangered Species Act is the main culprit but there are all manner of other confounding factors. The paper follows.

Northern Spotted Owls vs. Barred Owls: Interspecific Complications, the Endangered Species Act and Management Implications

The Situation

One of the greatest conservation and land use debates, in the Pacific Northwest, in the last two decades has been the listing of the northern spotted owl (Strix occidentals caurina) as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973. The 1990 listing of the northern spotted owl lead to a 90% decrease in logging on 24 million acres of federal lands, managed by both the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), over the last twenty years. This decrease in timber harvest lead to an economic collapse in many parts of the Pacific Northwest, particularly Oregon, as private mills and timber companies had to close their doors.

The northern spotted owl is a small brown owl with white mottling or spots that hide it well in the dense canopies of late-successional forests, also favored by timber companies, that are found in their geographic range. Various studies conducted in the 1980s indicate that habitat is a limiting factor in the survivability of northern spotted owls and as such must be conserved in order to ensure the survival of the species. The 1990s-era closure of much of the late-successional forests of the Pacific Northwest ensured the habitat would be available for the expansion of northern spotted owl populations. Despite the availability of habitat northern spotted owl numbers continue to decrease by three times the rate of decrease noted at the time of listing.

Concurrent with the decrease in northern spotted owl numbers scientists have noted an increase in the numbers of barred owls found in the Pacific Northwest. The barred owl (Strix varia varia) is a cousin of the northern spotted owl and originally found east of the Great Plains, from Maine to Florida. There are many theories as to how and why the barred owl arrived in the west. These theories include an increase in the number of small stands of trees in the Great Plains, increasing summer temperatures creating a more ideal temperature range in the boreal forests of Canada, increased fire suppression efforts and changing forest dynamics due to timber harvests. Regardless of the reason that barred owl range expanded west their ability to live in diverse habitats, eat a diversity of prey species, their more aggressive nature and 20% larger size allows them to outcompete northern spotted owls for habitat and food.

In 2007 resource managers began proposing barred owl elimination programs in an effort to combat the interspecific competition happening between barred and northern spotted owls. These programs call for the shooting of hundreds of barred owls in the Pacific Northwest and have been met with significant opposition from the scientific community and the general public. Many scientists agree that controlled barred owl elimination studies could provide helpful in determining the overall impact that barred owls are having on northern spotted owl populations but a large scale culling would be time consuming, could be expensive and would have to be regularly maintained in order to have lasting impacts.

Background Information

· In 1973 the ESA was passed. This allowed for the designation of species as either endangered or threatened, defining endangered as a species “in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range” and threatened species as “a species likely to become endangered.” Under Section 4 of the ESA allows for subspecies, such as the northern spotted owl, to be listed as a threatened or endangered “species,” allow the same level of protection as is given a species and requires both a Recovery Plan and Critical Habitat Designation to be created for all listed species (Stanford Environmental Law Society, 2001).

· The Interagency Scientific Committee to Address the Conservation of the Northern Spotted Owl (ISC) found that northern spotted owls select habitat with a relatively closed canopy, a variety of vegetation layers with a diversity of canopy species dominated by large overstory trees, large trees with broken tops or cavities, the presence of large snags, large logs and woody debris on the forest floor and openings within and beneath the canopy. These habitat attributes are typically found in mature late-successional forest but can be found in younger mid-successional forests that retain either several individual large trees or small stands of large trees from the original late-successional stand (Thomas, Forsman, Lint, et al, 1990).

· At the time of listing, all the studies of Spotted Owl habitat use concluded that owls select old forests or younger forests that have retained characteristics of old forests. Studies published since the ESA listing decision provide additional support that habitat selection is significantly nonrandom (Noon and Blakesley, 2006).

· Barred owls were first sighted west of the Rocky Mountains in 1912, in southern Alberta, Canada (Levy, 2004).

· Northern spotted owl populations have continued to decline since the 1990s, despite being listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act and habitat conservation efforts. Scientists are uncertain as to why this decline isn’t reversing.

· Weather and climate can impact northern spotted owl reproduction, recruitment, annual survival and population growth rates. Increasing drought conditions and increased precipitation during nesting season will likely negatively affect northern spotted owl populations (Glenn, Anthony and Forsman, 2010).

· Interspecific hybridization between barred owls and northern owls, creating offspring called “sparred owls” occurs in some instances. These instances often occur in areas that barred owls have recently invaded and are therefore less common than northern spotted owls or in areas where northern spotted owls have become rare and barred owls are common.

· There are many examples of multiple owl species coexisting in the same habitat. These species are typically from different genera and are successful in coexisting due to interspecific differences in behavior (Gutierrez, et al.; 2006).

· Owls exhibit reverse sexual dimorphism; females are larger than males.

· Barred owls from the Strix varia sartorii subspecies and spotted owls from the Strix occidentalis lucida subspecies have a sympatric relationship in Mexico. S. v. sartorii is the largest subspecies of barred owl and S. o. lucida is the smallest subspecies of spotted owl. The difference in mass of these species is a factor of two, a ratio that facilitates coexistence. The northern spotted owl S. o. caurina and the northern-most subspecies of barred owl S. v. varia differ in mass by a factor of 1.8, a number that statistically seems to support competition between species (Gutierrez, et al.; 2006).

· Genetic bottlenecks have been detected in many populations of northern spotted owls. These bottlenecks create situations of inbreeding depression that could decrease the rate of reproduction and an increase in population decline. A decline in genetic variability combined with competition with and exclusion by barred owls, climate change and habitat loss may be confounding factors in the efforts to save the northern spotted owl from extinction (Funk, et al.; 2009).

· From 1994-2003, northern spotted owl populations declined by 7.5% per year throughout northern ranges and 2% per year throughout their southern ranges (Rapp; 2008).

· Timber harvest on federal lands has occurred at only about 54% of the amount allowed under the Northwest Forest Plan (Rapp; 2008).

· Fire suppression in areas where fires are a normal part of the ecosystem, for example in the Klamath-Siskiyou bioregion, can put northern spotted owls at greater risk of habitat loss because of the build up of fuels.

· About 59% of spotted owl habitat occurs on federal lands (Rapp; 2008).

· According to the 10-year review of the Northwest Forest Plan the wood products industry employment has dropped by 70% since the implementation of the Northwest Forest Plan, due in part to the lower than expected number of boardfeet of timber harvested.

· In areas where barred owl numbers are the highest and time since invasion has been the longest spotted owl numbers have decreased by 20-25% (Wiens, Anthony and Forsman; 2011).

· The high cost of putting together a timber sale due to the required surveys (spotted owl and various other wildlife surveys) and potential lawsuits has contributed greatly to the greater reduction in logging that required by the Northwest Forest Plan and northern spotted owl Habitat Conservation Plan.

· A recovery plan for the northern spotted owl was drafted in 1992 but was never signed because of the creation of the Northwest Forest Plan in 1994. In 2008 the US Fish and Wildlife Service issued a recovery plan for the northern spotted owl. After pressure from scientists and a court challenge of the recovery plan the Service filed for a voluntary remand of the plan, filing a Revised Recovery Plan in 2010. The final Revised Recovery Plan was released June 30, 2011.

· The Revised Recovery Plan will likely increase timber harvest in spotted owl habitat as the USFWS recommends “ecological forestry” management that allows for thinning in late-successional ecosystems that northern spotted owls are found in (USFWS; 2011).

Literature Cited and Bibliography

Buchanan, J.B., R.J. Gutierrez, R.G. Anthony, T. Cullinan, L.V. Diller, E.D. Forsman, A.B. Franklin. 2007. A synopsis of suggested approaches to address potential competitive interactions between Barred Owls (Strix varia) and Spotted Owls (S. occidentalis). Biological Invasions 9:679-691.

Funk, W.C., E.D. Forsman, M. Johnson, T.D. Mullins and S.M. Haig. 2010. Evidence for recent population bottlenecks in northern spotted owls (Strix occidentalis caurina). Conservation Genetics 11:1013-1021.

Glenn, E.M., R.G. Anthony and E.D. Forsman. 2010. Population trends in northern spotted owls: Associations with climate in the Pacific Northwest. Biological Conservation 143:2543-2552.

Gutierrez, R.J, M. Cody, S. Courtney and A.B. Franklin. 2006. The invasion of barred owls and its potential effect on the spotted owl: a conservation conundrum.

Levy, S. 2004. Native Incursions: Avian Range Expansions imperil Threatened Species. Bioscience 54:94-98.

Rapp, V. 2008. Northwest Forest Plan— The First 10 Years (1994–2003):

First-Decade Results of the Northwest Forest Plan. USDA General Technical Report PNW-GTR-720. Pacific Northwest Experimental Station, US Forest Service. Portland, OR.

Stanford Environmental Law Society. 2001. The Endangered Species Act. Stanford University Press, Standford, California.

Thomas, J.W., E.D. Forsman, J.B. Lint, E.C. Meslow, B.B. Noon and J. Verner. 1990. A Conservation Strategy for the Northern Spotted Owl. USDA Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service and National Parks Service. Portland, Oregon.

US Fish and Wildlife Service. 2011. Revised Recovery Plan for the Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina). Region 1 US Fish and Wildlife Service. Portland, OR.

Wiens, J.D., R.G. Anthony and E.D. Forsman. 2011. Barred Owl Occupancy Surveys within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl. Journal of Wildlife Management 75(3):531-538.

Related Environmental Issues

1. Climate Change

2. Fire management and fire regimes (fire suppression, altered regimes, etc)

3. Congressional efforts to eliminate or decrease the effectiveness or “power” of the Endangered Species Act and the implications of these efforts on northern spotted owls.

4. Unsustainable (non-ecologically sound) forestry management practices

5. Exponentially expanding human population/carrying capacity of humans

6. Clear-cutting on private land

7. Management of native species vs. endangered native species

Actions and Proposals for Action

There are a variety of actions being proposed by various groups, agencies or organizations. Many timber companies are claiming that barred owls have been to blame for the spotted owl decline all along and are advocating for increased timber harvests in mature or late-successional forests in the northern spotted owl’s geographic range. Some forest managers have suggested eliminating barred owls from spotted owl habitats, while scientists prefer the idea of experimental removal, as not enough is understood about interspecific interactions between barred owls and spotted owls. Still other scientists, conservationists and members of the general public advocate for no action under the premise that barred owls are a native species and that it is natural for shifts in species to occur.

Author’s Position

The majority of information present explores northern spotted owls and habitat use or influences of habitat. Barred owl interactions with northern spotted owl populations have become a popular topic of study in the last five years. Based on the available science more research needs to be done in terms of how barred owls are affecting northern spotted owl populations and what other factors are confounding recovery efforts. One research area should be climate/weather as climate change or shift occurs researchers, conservationists and land managers could see further decreases in northern spotted owl numbers. Another area of study that will be important is the specifics of interspecies interactions that barred owls and northern spotted owls experience. Small scale experimental control of barred owl populations in northern spotted owl habitat will provide researchers with the information they need to assess the threat from barred owls to spotted owl recovery. The actions that should not be taken are increasing timber harvesting (aside from some thinning of areas that are in need of thinning to promote forest health), large scale removal of barred owls from spotted owl habitat and the “no action” action. Drastic measures are almost always ill-advised, particularly in manners of wildlife or land management.

Graduate School

Graduate School has "officially" started, though it started in June for me in actuality. The two classes I am currently taking are "Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment" through the College of Education and "Environmental Issues" through the Biology Department. The education class is going to be a bit rough but that is because state standards are appalling and a tad hard for me to wrap my brain around. I am willing to acknowledge that standards will not some how equalize the playing field intellectually but rather create problems for youth at both ends of the learning spectrum. I have to come up with an environmental issue to write about for the environmental issues class. The scads of possible topics make this a rough decision but I really do need to make it by 1400 hours tomorrow. I've started talking/thinking thesis too. My interests are so varied and my mind is not always a focused mind so this process is a little daunting right now. Anyway, I'll post on here as often as I can. Currently I'm trying to unpack, work in the community garden and attend graduate school so I will not likely be posting again for a few weeks. Cheers to you all. Enjoy the sunshine and birds (particularly as the little ones are fledging and oh so funny to watch!)!

Yurok and California condor paper.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge and the California condor: Bringing the Condor Home to Yurok Tribal Homelands

Teresa Wicks

SSPC 507

June 16, 2011

In the time since European contact, Indigenous peoples of North America have witnessed the decline or extinction of many species of plants and animals that they depend on for both physical and spiritual sustenance. In the early 1900s, as destruction of “untamed” nature continued to expand west, unregulated some Euro-Americans began advocating for the preservation, conservation or restoration of species, resources and ecosystems. Despite positive efforts on behalf of the ecosystem, these early naturalists continued the dehumanization of First Nations peoples by leaving them out of the conservation conversation and by perpetuating the idea that areas uninfluenced by Euro-Americans are uninfluenced by humans in general.

In an effort alleviate environmental problems, resource managers turned to western science, once again ignoring the very peoples that originated from this land. In “Indian Givers” Jack Weatherford makes the astute observation that First Nations peoples were scientists before there were scientists. They have an intricate understanding of the land around them and how all things are connected and through this connection affected each other. There have been many reintroduction and restoration projects that have used western science, excluding traditional ecological knowledge held by the people that lived here since time immemorial. The Ecological Society of America, in the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) section of their journal, defines TEK as “[a]daptive ecological knowledge developed through an intimate reciprocal relationship between a group of people and a particular place over time” (Ecological Society of America, 2010). The Alaska Native Science Commission lists these bullets in their definition of TEK:

• It is practical common sense based on teachings and experiences passed on from generation to generation.

• It is knowing the country. It covers knowledge of the environment - snow, ice, weather, resources - and the relationships between things.

• It is holistic. It cannot be compartmentalized and cannot be separated from the people who hold it. It is rooted in the spiritual health, culture and language of the people. It is a way of life.

• Traditional knowledge is an authority system. It sets out the rules governing the use of resources - respect, an obligation to share. It is dynamic, cumulative and stable. It is truth.

• Traditional knowledge is a way of life -wisdom is using traditional knowledge in good ways. It is using the heart and the head together. It comes from the spirit in order to survive.

• It gives credibility to the people.

There is a growing awareness of and interest in the value of TEK among western scientists. Unfortunately, this interest often only extends to cultural heritage, ignoring the inherent knowledge that TEK offers. Additionally, “the current regulations and practices in many regimes still do not provide effective formal mechanisms for the integration of TEK into active management” (Menzies and Butler, 2006). TEK is a highly detailed, specific set of knowledge about a specific place, meaning it is difficult to extrapolate the knowledge from on place to another. In the view of many western scientists this decreases the effectiveness or value of TEK. In reality, this specificity emphasizes the importance of gathering TEK from as many areas, about as many management practices and about as many species as possible.

In the case of the California condor TEK will play a vital role not only in understanding the traditional range of the condor but in creating a long lasting reintroduction plan that takes into account the condors historical range and habitat and the cultural importance of the condor.

California condors, Gymnogyps californianus, are the largest terrestrial birds in North America, with a wingspan of 9.5 feet, occasionally reaching 10-12 feet, and weigh between 18 and 23 pounds. Condors are scavengers using their keen eyesight to live off of carrion, which they will fly up to 140 miles to gorge themselves upon. Contrary to popular myth condors cannot pick up and carry off small children or livestock, in fact they “have never been known to kill a live animal” and are ill equipped to do so as they lack talons and the ripping/tearing predatorial beaks of other birds of prey (Foster, 2011).

California condors are found in open scrubland or wooded mountain ecosystems. They require cliff-side caves or crevices or hollow, broken top redwoods. Condors have low reproductive potential, laying only one egg every other year. Chicks generally remain with their parents into the second year after hatching. Similar to other large North American birds California condors do not reach sexual maturity until they reach six years of age, though they are often not successful until they reach eight years of age, and are monogamous, mating for life (Yurok Tribe 2010).

Geographically California condors once ranged across most of the North American continent. About 11,000 years ago, when the late Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions occurred the condor lost major sources of food and their range dwindled to the west coast, from British Columbia to Baja, California. By the mid-1900’s condors were found only in southern California (Yurok Tribe, 2010; Foster, 2011). In terms of numbers by 1977 there were only 45 wild birds, slipping to only nine wild birds by 1985. On April 19, 1987 the last wild California condors were captured and placed in captivity. At that point there were 27 living California condors left in the world, all of them in captivity (Foster, 2011). With such an extensive history on the North American continent, and with plenty of ideal condor habitat remaining the precipitous drop in condor numbers was puzzling, that is until human interactions were taken into account.

California condors are highly revered by many First Nations tribes in the Pacific Northwest and California. Condors are often considered world purifiers because of their natural role cleaning up death and decomposition. “Traditional ecological knowledge expressed through original languages, stories, place-names, material artifacts and dance all highlight the significance of condors in the ancient indigenous cultural context of the Northwest” (Oregon Zoo, 2005). An archeological dig at Five Mile Rapids, near The Dalles, OR unearthed 10,000 year-old remains of at least 22 adult condors. There is evidence that the feathers from these birds had been intentionally stripped, likely for ceremonial purposes (Wilbur, 2010). Condor feathers played an important part in the Jump Dance and White Deer Skin Dance world renewal ceremonies held at the end of summer by the Yuroks in northern California. The Wiyot, also of northern California, considered condor feathers an important part of their doctoring regalia. Tribes throughout the San Francisco Bay area of California made whistles out of condor wing bones, wore condor capes and ritually buried condors (Foster, 2011; Walter, 2009; Wilbur, 2010). While there is a plethora of evidence that many tribes killed condors for their plumage or raised young condors for eventual sacrifice condor populations appear to have been stable until the arrival of European settlers in the mid-1800’s (Wilbur, 2010).

There is evidence that as early as the mid-1700’s Euro-Americans killed condors for “science” or museum collections but it wasn’t until western tribes were virtually eradicated or removed from their traditional lands that condor numbers began to decline. Private collectors and museums from around the world wanted both adult and young California condor skins and eggs for their displays, encouraging unregulated hunting of condors. Ranchers and farmers mistakenly believed that condors would kill their livestock or carry off their children, leading to the further shooting of condors. Ranchers also laced livestock carcasses with strychnine in order to kill coyotes, wolves and condors. Possibly even more damaging than the direct human effects were the indirect Euro-American effects (Wilbur, 2010).

These effects include the thinning of condor eggshells, causing them to break under the weight of incubating parents, from DDT and DDE (a pervasive chemical derived from the breakdown of DDT) used in pesticides after World War II. Another indirect effect is lead poisoning caused by the consumption of lead shot left in carcasses or gut piles by hunters in condor territory (Walter, 2009; Grube, 2009). Thus, much like the First Nation tribes that revere them, the California condor is a victim of both intentional destruction and thoughtless actions on the part of Euro-Americans.

In 1987, several agencies, including U.S. Forest Service, San Diego Wild Animal Park, Los Angeles Zoo, Oregon Zoo, California Department of Fish and Game, the Peregrine Fund, Ventana Wildlife Society, the Center for Scientific Investigation and Graduate Studies in Ensenada, La Secretaria de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAP), National Park Service at Pinnacles National Monument, Santa Barbara Zoo, the Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City, gathered together to attempt to right the wrongs inflicted on the California condor, in the form of a condor recovery program. In 1992 the first 11 captive bred condors were released from their “training facility.” Since 1992, the number of captive and wild condors has increased to 322 birds, about 172 are living in the wild.

The interesting thing about the current condor recovery program is that it is only attempting to reintroduce California condors to Arizona, near the Grand Canyon, in a few locations in southern California and in Baja California, Mexico. None of these programs seem to include TEK or the interest of tribes that live in former condor habitat. This changed in 2008 when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service granted the Yurok $200,000 to determine the feasibility of reintroducing California condors in northern California.

The journey to bring the condor back to northern California began sometime around 2005 when the Yurok began discussing the creation of a wildlife preserve on tribal lands. In a 2009 interview, Tiana Williams, tribal member and staff member with the Yurok Tribe’s wildlife program, is quoted as saying “It’s written in the Yurok constitution, and it’s always been one of our goals, to have restoration of Yurok ancestral territory — the landscape, the animals — to what it was pre-contact with Europeans” (Walters, 2009). The California condor was chosen as one of the top three species tribal elders would like to see reintroduced, coming in third to salmon and sturgeon. Salmon and sturgeon already have programs in place, thus the California condor became the flagship species for the Yurok’s fledgling wildlife program. An interesting aspect of the condor being the first species reintroduce to Yurok homelands is that the Yurok view condors as purifiers, cleansing the world (Grube, 2009).

About 20 years before the tribe began this endeavor, as they began reviving traditional ceremonies, a Pecwan elder sang a condor song. This was the first time that tribal members had heard the song, leaving many members wondering what happened to the condor. Yurok tribal member Bob McConnell says “We as Yurok are looking to restore our culture, and to restore our culture we need to have a healthy ecosystem. And to have a healthy ecosystem you’ve got to have all the participants, and the condor certainly was one. He’s one of the big missing pieces” (Walters 2009).

Today, the Yurok use a combination of TEK and western science in planning for the return of the condor. TEK, and a deep cultural appreciation for condors, inspired the Yurok Tribe to dream of seeing condors flying over their homelands once more. Tribal wildlife managers use intimate, local knowledge of condor natural history to establish survey areas. In these areas they live trap turkey vultures, carrion eating cousins of the condor, using large mesh and PVC enclosures and carrion as bait. Once trapped the turkey vultures are given a thorough examination and their blood is drawn and tested for lead, DDE and DDT. Northern ravens are also being drawn into the research mix. They eat a diet more varied than the condors but similarly do not migrate, unlike turkey vultures, which winter south of the border (Grube, 2009).

As it stands today the Yurok have confirmed that DDT and DDE levels will not pose a barrier for California condors. Unfortunately lead, from lead shot, still poses a problem for condor reintroduction. Lead shot has been banned in many, if not all, areas where condors are found but hunters still use it and condors are still poisoned by it. Diligent condor recovery team members capture poisoned condors and take them into captivity for chelation (the removal of lead from their blood). The removal of lead shot from condor territory seems like a small hurdle but in reality it has been one of the greatest challenges for condor recovery (Peregrine Fund, 2008; Zoological Society of San Diego, 2011).

The ambitious efforts of the Yurok Tribe have inspired other tribes in California and the Pacific Northwest to dream of seeing California condors in their skies once again. The Confederated Tribes of the Yakama Nation have partnered with the Oregon Zoo to sponsor the zoo’s condor breeding program and The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians have spoken publicly about bringing condors back to Oregon (Oregon Zoo, 2005). The Yurok Tribe’s condor reintroduction program showcases the value of TEK to natural resources conservation, preservation, restoration and management. This condor program also pairs western science and TEK in a blend that could, and should, inspire leaders from tribes, non-profits, government agencies and other non-governmental organizations. In keeping with TEK, honoring their traditional connection to condors and maintaining and managing the place of humans in the natural world the Yurok Tribe are regaining some of the balance that the tribe and the natural world they live in lost with the coming of Euro-Americans. By combining western scientific methods and tools with TEK, the Yurok have created a complete reintroduction system for the California condor, giving hope to tribes throughout traditional condor range, that one day they will get to once again watch California condors drifting on thermals, searching for carrion and cleansing, purifying and restoring balance to the world.

References

Foster, John W. 2011. Wings of the Spirit: The Place of the California Condor Among Native Peoples of the Californias. California State Parks. Available at: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=23527. Accessed June 19, 2011.

Grube, Nicholas. 2009. Bringing Back Condors. The Daily Triplicate. May 9, 2009. Pp B1-B2. Available at: http://www.yuroktribe.org/government/selfgovern/documents/triplicate_condor.pdf. Accessed June 21, 2011.

Oregon Zoo. 2005. History. Oregon Zoo’s California Condors. Available at: http://www.oregonzoo.org/Condors/historyOral.htm. Accessed June 21, 2011.

Peregrine Fund. California Condor Restoration—Conservation Projects. Updated 2008 Available at: http://www.peregrinefund.org/conserve_category.asp?category=California%20Condor%20Restoration. Accessed June 20, 2011.

Walters, Heidi. 2009. Fixing the World. The North Coast Journal. July 16, 2009. Available at: http://www.northcoastjournal.com/news/2009/07/16/fixing-world/6/. Accessed June 20, 2011.

Weatherford, Jack. 1988. Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas transformed the World. New York: Crown Books. Paperback edition: New York: Ballantine, 1989.

Wilbur, Sanford R. “Sandy.” 2010. Chapter 1: Condors and Indians. Condor Tales: California condor Past, Present, Future. Available at: http://www.condortales.com/DCIndians.html. Accessed June 20, 2011.

Wilbur, Sanford R. “Sandy.” 2010. Chapter 2: Early Birds. Condor Tales: California condor Past, Present, Future. Available at: http://www.condortales.com/DCIndians.html. Accessed June 20, 2011.

Wilbur, Sanford R. “Sandy.” 2010. Introduction: Condor 101. Condor Tales: California condor Past, Present, Future. Available at: http://www.condortales.com/DCIndians.html. Accessed June 20, 2011.

Yurok Today. 2009. Flight of the Prey-go-Neesh. Yurok Today. Pp. 3-4. Available at: http://www.yuroktribe.org/news&issues/news/documents/march_newsletter_Yuroktribe.pdf. Accessed 20, 2011.

Yurok Tribe. 2010. The Yurok Tribe Condor Program. Updated 2010. Available at: http://www.yuroktribe.org/government/selfgovern/condorhistory.htm. Accessed June 21, 2011.

Zoological Society of San Diego. California Condor Recovery Program. Updated 2011. Available at: http://cacondorconservation.org/programs/. Accessed June 18, 2011.

Life has been busy!

So it has been quite some time since I last blogged. I have been birding, hiking, running the community garden, camping, trying to get my move to Ashland, OR organized and educating myself. In June I took a week long class about Native American Cultures taught by David West, of Potawatomi descent, and David West, a Wasco man from the Warm Springs Reservation. This class was extraordinarily insightful and I feel my perspectives and perceptions expanding. For this class I wrote a paper about California Condors and the Yurok efforts to restore the condor to their lands, with a history of the condor and their importance to tribes from the Columbia River to southern California. It is interesting to me that the condor and the tribes' fates have been fairly linked considering condors were so sacred to so many tribes. It is also interesting to me that despite my appetite for bird information I had no idea that California condors once flew over the majority of the continent. Or that even after white Euro-Americans arrived in the Americas that condors flew over the western edge of the continent from British Columbia to Baja California, Mexico. Amazing things we can learn when we allow the people the originated on this continent to speak their knowledge. Their truth. When we allow them to be part of the conversation, history, plan, etc., rather than treating them as outsiders or eliminating them by dehumanizing them. My mind reels as I write this. Blogging will possibly continue being sparse for a bit as I will be living in two places, attending graduate classes and driving across the country and back in a salute to the end of summer and the beginning of a new chapter of my life. Enjoy your summer!