Redwood Reflections

Redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) grow tall really tall. But looking up at the crown of a tree from the ground generally doesn’t help reveal the full truth of its height, just as standing at the base of a skyscraper doesn’t allow you to see the top.

Looking up the trunks of several redwoods in Tall Trees Grove

Since climbing redwoods is only done by researchers with permits who take measures to preserve the sensitive canopy ecosystems and to not disturb threatened or endangered species nesting high in the trees, most of us will never get the “Empire State” tour of the redwoods. 

But that also helps preserve part of the mystery of the redwoods!

Not knowing what is at the top helps our imaginations climb that much higher. But in case your imagination hasn’t had that much exercise in a while, here’s a general idea of what a tall redwood next to the Capitol Building would look like:

The U.S. Capitol Building as it would appear next to the Tall Trees Grove

SO WHY SO TALL?

Why do redwoods put so much energy into growing so tall? What are the benefits? The drawbacks? As you use your imagination to ponder these tree-mendously tall questions, gaze upon the photo below in your quest for answers:

Fog seeping in from the Pacific as viewed from the Bald Hills

Something is missing in our landscape here at Redwood National and State Parks. It is the shadow of a very large bird passing overhead. It is the sight of the bird itself, soaring in thermals above prairies and along bluffs and beaches. For more than 100 years, no one on the North Coast (far northern California) has reported seeing a California condor (Gymnogyps californianus), the largest bird in North America and the second largest of the 7 species of new world vultures. The Yurok, Hupa, Karuk, and Tolowa people, like most Native Americans living where condors lived, revered the condor– –pre-go-neesh in Yurok–as a symbol of spiritual strength. Condor feathers appeared in Native American regalia worn in world renewal ceremonies like the White Deerskin Dance and Jump Dance. The Yurok Tribe considers the California condor a tribal trust species and wants to return them to northwestern California. This has led to Redwood National and State Parks’ (RNSP) involvement with the condor recovery program. The Tribe and RNSP are not alone in wanting to see condors reintroduced to this area. Thanks to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in 2014, we are partners formally in this effort with the Tribe, US Fish and Wildlife Service, California State Parks, and Ventana Wildlife Society. There may be others signing on to the MOU in the future.

Photo Credit: Barbara Lutes, Pinnacles National Park

Road to Recovery Begins

Condors were included in the first federal list of endangered species in 1967. A California Condor Recovery Team was established in 1975 after the Endangered Species Act of 1973 strengthened protection for endangered species. The California Condor Recovery Program is one of the oldest recovery efforts for an endangered species. The recovery program originally focused on protecting the last wild birds in central and southern California. In 1987, due to the likelihood of imminent extinction (22 birds in the wild) the last California condor was removed from the wild. All condors currently flying free were reintroduced from 27 birds taken into, or raised in, captivity. As of January 2015, there were 432 condors alive, 200 in captivity and 232 in the wild. The three small sub-populations of wild birds in California, Arizona and Utah, and Baja California are all from reintroductions led by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Mexican government, and private conservation organizations.

Why Do We Care About the California Condor?

People’s fascination with California condors is based not only on their 9-10 foot wingspan and large size, but their ability to soar for miles without a wing beat. Condors rely on wind currents or thermal air masses to take flight. They normally flap their wings only during take-off and landing, allowing them to cover large areas with minimal effort in search of large vertebrate carcasses that are usually sparsely distributed across the landscape. A daily flight of 60 miles in search of food would not be uncommon. Unlike turkey vultures which use their sense of smell to locate food, condors find food by visual means, searching over vast areas, and may find carcasses by watching the behavior of common ravens and vultures. These observational skills take years to thoroughly develop and are a reason why it is been claimed that scavenging birds are some of the most intelligent of the avifauna. Juvenile and immature birds learn foraging skills through social means. Experience comes with age which may partly explain why condors exhibit slow development to sexual maturity at 6 or 7 years old.

The Local Effort for an Experimental Release

The effort on the part of the Yurok Tribe and others to reintroduce condors in the Pacific Northwest, and potentially within Redwood National Park, is based on more than a desire to return this culturally significant species to Yurok Ancestral Territory. Under the MOU, the USFWS is working with the park, the Yurok Tribe, and other partners to develop the support and funding for experimentally releasing, monitoring, and managing condors in the wild before a final determination is made about permanently reintroducing condors to the region. Although zoos have been successful with the captive breeding programs, wild birds are still highly vulnerable to environmental threats, especially lead from spent ammunition in carcasses on which they feed. Because many condors will congregate at a carcass, a relatively large number of birds may be exposed to a toxin simultaneously. When exposure occurs, birds must be recaptured and undergo chelation therapy. Despite treatment, many don’t make it and succumb to lead poisoning. The loss of a single individual is a huge setback to recovery and represents a substantial loss of financial and genetic investments. Another threat to condors is exposure to toxins (PCBs, DDT) that may be consumed from marine mammal carcasses. Sea lions, whales, and other marine mammals that migrate northward along the coast can carry large contaminant loads due to the persistence of toxic chemicals in the marine environment in southern California. These contaminants have been responsible for egg shell thinning and embryonic loss in condors breeding near the Big Sur coast. Other environmental catastrophes such as a major wildfire could also eliminate large numbers of individuals. To spread the risk, successful condor recovery dictates that all the eggs (or condors) are not placed in just a few locations. 

A juvenile condor being released in Pinnacles National Park. NPS Photo