Project Details

California condors are a critically endangered species with an "Experimental / Non-essential"(aka 10[j]) population established on the UT/AZ border. This population has seen slow growth toward recovery, with Utah providing excellent breeding and fledging habitat in recent years. But every single individual remains crucial to the long-term viability of the species (Walters et al. 2010). In 2023, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) decimated the flock, killing 21 individuals in just 3 weeks (23% of the population). During the HPAI event, eight sick condors were captured still alive in the field; four survived. All four survivors were GPS trackable, which allowed crews to capture condors during early stages of HPAI, allowing for full recovery and eventual release. The value of having GPS tags deployed is significant and in many cases has directly resulted in saving the life of a condor.
     Many individuals are still lead-poisoned each year - the primary threat to condors (Chesley et al 2009) - and also need direct intervention. Since 2019, an average of 78% of the UT/AZ population tested positive for high lead levels (19% acutely, The Peregrine Fund, Annual Summary, 9/2023), which still compares poorly to the national average of 50% lead poisoning (2019 California Condor Population Status). Less than half the remaining wild free-flyings birds in the UT/AZ population currently have working satellite telemetry; 57 birds still need GPS units. Ideally, birds are located, trapped and tested annually, but also on an ad hoc basis to check their health and test their blood-lead levels when suspicious behavioral patterns occur. GPS transmitters are especially valuable in revealing the exact locations of condor activity both in real time for trapping and nesting activity, and in retrospect for habitat use and locating potential sources of lead.
    Model projections (Green et al. 2008) suggest non-lead ammunition voucher programs need to incentivize hunters' consistent use of non-lead ammunition at rates above 85% before voluntary programs like ours will be biologically effective. Utah's increasingly successful program has closed on this 85% goal after 11 years continuous effort; AZ's more structured program has maintained them for several years now. Even as Utah's voluntary voucher program program nears biological-meaningful participation levels, costs continue to rise and non-match Federal funding dwindles. Remaining Federal funding sources all require non-federal match (3:1). Raising match is an annual challenge for the program that consistently limits our ability to address lead poisoning. Some bird conservation groups hesitate to buy ammunition; many sportsmans groups hesitate to support an endangered species. And even long-time program partners would like to see their funds buy more than just another year of non-lead ammunition.
    Instead, and in cooperation with our partners the Tracy Aviary (TA) and The Peregrine Fund (TPF), we will use ESMF funds to leverage non-federal match by buying GPS transmitters and collecting crucial satellite telemetry movement data. We will use one-time ESMF funds to buy 20 telemetry units, use donated conservation funds from the TA to pay the monthly satellite-download fees (for up to 5 years, the transmitter lifespan), and use TPF staff time, facilities, and permits to trap condors, deploy the units and use the data to manage our population. In combination, these expenditures not only provide us with the data needed to manage and keep recovering the species, but also the non-federal match needed to subsidize the cultural transition of Utah hunters to non-lead ammunition.
    
J. Chesley , P. Reinthal , C. Parish , K. Sullivan , and R. Sieg . 2009. Evidence for the source of lead contamination within the California Condor. Page 265 in Ingestion of Lead from Spent Ammunition: Implications for Wildlife and Humans (R. T. Watson , M. Fuller , M. Pokras , and W. G. Hunt , Eds.). The Peregrine Fund, Boise, Idaho.
R. E. Green , W. G. Hunt , C. N. Parish , and I. Newton. 2008. Effectiveness of action to reduce exposure of free-ranging California Condors in Arizona and Utah to lead from spent ammunition. PLoS ONE 312:e4022.
J. R. Walters, S. R. Derrickson, D. M. Fry, S. M. Haig, J. M. Marzluff, J. M. Wunderle Jr.. Status of the California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) and Efforts to Achieve Its Recovery. The Auk, 127(4):969-1001 (2010).

Provide evidence about the nature of the problem and the need to address it. Identify the significance of the problem using a variety of data sources. For example, if a habitat restoration project is being proposed to benefit greater sage-grouse, describe the existing plant community characteristics that limit habitat value for greater sage-grouse and identify the changes needed for habitat improvement.

Provide an overall goal for the project and then provide clear, specific and measurable objectives (outcomes) to be accomplished by the proposed actions. If possible, tie to one or more of the public benefits UWRI is providing.

LOCATION: Justify the proposed location of this project over other areas, include publicly scrutinized planning/recovery documents that list this area as a priority, remote sensing modeling that show this area is a good candidate for restoration, wildlife migration information and other data that help justify this project's location.

TIMING: Justify why this project should be implemented at this time. For example, Is the project area at risk of crossing an ecological or other threshold wherein future restoration would become more difficult, cost prohibitive, or even impossible.

List management plans where this project will address an objective or strategy in the plan. Describe how the project area overlaps the objective or strategy in the plan and the relevance of the project to the successful implementation of those plans. It is best to provide this information in a list format with the description immediately following the plan objective or strategy.

If applicable, detail how the proposed project will significantly reduce the risk of fuel loading and/or continuity of hazardous fuels including the use of fire-wise species in re-seeding operations. Describe the value of any features being protected by reducing the risk of fire. Values may include; communities at risk, permanent infrastructure, municipal watersheds, campgrounds, critical wildlife habitat, etc. Include the size of the area where fuels are being reduced and the distance from the feature(s) at risk.

Describe how the project has the potential to improve water quality and/or increase water quantity, both over the short and long term. Address run-off, erosion, soil infiltration, and flooding, if applicable.

Description of efforts, both completed and planned, to bring the proposed action into compliance with any and all cultural resource, NEPA, ESA, etc. requirements. If compliance is not required enter "not applicable" and explain why not it is not required.

Up to 20 condors will be equipped with solar-powered satellite GPS transmitters mounted on the patagium of each wing (or occasionally on the tail), along with numbered vinyl tags for visual identification of individuals (see Wallace et al. 1994). Transmitters are scheduled to yield hourly position fixes, and contain "mortality sensors" designed to alert biologists when the unit is motionless. We will equip condors released at established hack sites with transmitters, as well as capture free-flying condors in previously constructed "walk-in" traps at the release site to replace failing transmitters and for other purposes, including lead testing. In contrast to conventional VHF transmitters (where field crews of up to 11 individuals on foot and in off-road vehicles tracked signals throughout the day by first situating themselves at vantage points, then following condors and maintaining visual contact when possible), we will fit condors with satellite transmitters designed to yield hourly position fixes to within 50 m during daylight, and deliver these data directly to biologists in the field. Using the satellite access, the Utah DWR GIS group will automate a data stream to download, decode, parse, and error-filter location data to our secure custom web-app map, deliverable to any authorized desktop or mobile device. TPF field biologists use location data daily to assess habitat use, sequential movement, and the last position fix of the day ("roost location") for each condor. These data guide the next day's tracking strategy. Missing condors will (occasionally) be sought by means of fixed-wing aircraft. The precise fixes provided by these transmitters lead to the discovery of sick, injured condors, and dead animals that condors feed upon or closely attend. We attempt in all cases to ascertain the cause of death of these animals. As per the Condor Recovery Plan, seasonal changes in condor flock movements will be examined by tabulating roost locations obtained by satellite and conventional telemetry, and by direct observation, and then calculating the percentage of roost sites recorded in each recovery zone segment. We will also test the reliability of roost locations in predicting habitat selection by chronologically sorting the satellite-reported GPS position fixes of individual condors, and randomly selecting 100 midday positions (ca. 1200 h) to compare with those of the last fixes of the day (ca. 2000 h). Prior data suggest condors visit a far greater number of locations than is apparent in the roost data alone. Should telemetry units fail, or telemetered condors require veterinary care, the recovered units will be assessed for their reliability and either re-deployed immediately on a new individual, refurbished and redeployed (for a modest fee, currently $250), or retired if not repairable. M. P. Wallace , M. Fuller , and J. Wiley . 1994. Patagial transmitters for large vultures and condors. Pages 381--387 in Raptor Conservation Today: Proceedings of the IV World Conference on Birds of Prey and Owls ( B.-U. Meyburg and R. D. Chancellor , Eds.). World Working Group for Birds of Prey. Pica Press, Shipman, Virginia.

Describe the actions, activities, tasks to be implemented as part of the proposed project; how these activities will be carried out, equipment to be used, when, and by whom.

Describe plans to monitor for project success and achievement of stated objectives. Include details on type of monitoring (vegetation, wildlife, etc.), schedule, assignments and how the results of these monitoring efforts will be reported and/or uploaded to this project page. If needed, upload detailed plans in the "attachments" section.

List any and all partners (agencies, organizations, NGO's, private landowners) that support the proposal and/or have been contacted and included in the planning and design of the proposed project. Describe efforts to gather input and include these agencies, landowners, permitees, sportsman groups, researchers, etc. that may be interested/affected by the proposed project. Partners do not have to provide funding or in-kind services to a project to be listed.

Detail future methods or techniques (including administrative actions) that will be implemented to help in accomplishing the stated objectives and to insure the long term success/stability of the proposed project. This may include: post-treatment grazing rest and/or management plans/changes, wildlife herd/species management plan changes, ranch plans, conservation easements or other permanent protection plans, resource management plans, forest plans, etc.

Potential for the proposed action to improve quality or quantity of sustainable uses such as grazing, timber harvest, biomass utilization, recreation, etc. Grazing improvements may include actions to improve forage availability and/or distribution of livestock.