Last week, ForestWatch received word that federal condor biologists had removed a young condor chick from its nest and evacuated it to the Los Angeles Zoo for emergency surgery to remove a stomach packed full of garbage. The chick was returned to the nest the following day, and efforts then shifted towards locating the source of the trash.

All signs pointed to Whitaker Peak, and in this emergency situation, there was a critical need to dispatch our volunteer crews to the site on a moment's notice. ForestWatch mobilized a team of nine volunteers to converge at Whitaker Peak the very next morning. By the end of the day, we had removed nearly 175 pounds of microtrash from the site, making this one of our most productive trash cleanups to date and bringing our running total to nearly 900 pounds.

Volunteers at Whitaker Peak, with the Sespe Wilderness in the background.

 

ForestWatch volunteers know this site well, having worked to clean up trash here three times in the last year. But instead of our usual stomping grounds near the base of the mountain, we continued all the way to the end of the road at the summit. It was here, at the top of the mountain, where the condor chick's mother likely gathered the small bits of trash and brought them back to her nest.

Using radio transmitter data from the adult condor, we were able to pinpoint the precise location of the trash. The site was littered with broken glass, lead-tainted bullet shells, and even lead bullet slugs. The lead bullets were especially important to remove from this site - the amount of lead from a single bullet, if ingested by a condor, could cause lead poisoning and possibly even death. Several condors have died or required painful de-leading treatment after ingesting harmful levels of lead.

After two hours of work, our volunteers had picked up nearly 175 pounds of microtrash, including more than twenty pounds of lead-tainted bullet shells. This was a record for us at Whitaker Peak. Volunteers from the Santa Barbara Zoo returned to the site a few days later to remove even more microtrash from the site. Stay tuned for additional cleanups in September.

Thanks to all of our volunteers for being able to mobilize for this emergency on such short notice. Thanks also to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for alerting us to this emergency, to the U.S. Forest Service for providing access beyond the locked gate, and to the Santa Barbara Zoo for contributing two workers to the cause!