(St. George, UT) - Four California Condors will be released into the wild at 11:00AM (Arizona Time) on Saturday, September 25, 2010 at the Bureau of Land Management’s Vermilion Cliffs National Monument in northern Arizona.

Release Location Map The public is welcome to watch the release from a nearby viewing area where spotting scopes will be set up and experts available to answer questions. This is the 16th public release of California Condors in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument since the recovery program began.

Linda Price, BLM Vermilion Cliffs National Monument Manager, said “The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has been a strong supporter of the California Condor Re-Introduction project since it started in 1996." BLM administered lands have not only been the home of the California Condor conditioning and release site since the project’s inception, BLM assists with funding for transporting the condors from The Peregrine Fund’s World Center for Birds of Prey in Idaho to the release site in Arizona. BLM has also increased funding for field operations such as daily monitoring or radiotelemetry, behavior modification, and lead testing and treatment.

“We’ve enjoyed a successful partnership with Arizona Game and Fish Department, The Peregrine Fund, and many others for the past 14 years, collaboratively working to help preserve and protect these magnificent birds,” said Price. “The success of this interagency partnership lies in our ability as a team to support and enhance each other’s stewardship and management objectives. So while the BLM is tasked with managing the wildlife habitat and is able to do so under its multiple-use-mission, our work also enhances the work of our partners’ who manage and conserve wildlife and vice versa.”



California condors are the largest flying land bird in North America. Condors are members of New World vultures, Family Cathartidae, and are opportunistic scavengers that feed primarily on large dead mammals such as deer, elk, bighorn sheep, range cattle, and horses. Condors have a wingspan of 9 ½ feet, and can weigh up to 25 pounds as adults. Using thermal updrafts, condors can soar and glide up to 50 miles per hour and travel 100 miles or more per day in search of food.

For more information go to California Condor Recovery