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October 6, 2008
FORESTWATCH VOLUNTEERS REMOVE
MICROTRASH TO PROTECT CONDORS IN THE SESPE WATERSHED
A Condor
Recently Visited This Site Along Squaw Flat Road; Volunteers
Remove 85 Pounds of Glass & Bullets, Plus An Old Sofa & Bed
Mattress!
Having already helped clean up microtrash from four different
sites in the Los Padres National Forest, ForestWatch was
recently notified of yet another site in need of cleanup. Last
month, an adult condor visited this new area along Squaw Flat
Road in the Sespe Creek watershed, picking up several small
pieces of glass and bullet shells to take back to her nest in
the nearby Hopper Canyon National Wildlife Refuge. Microtrash is
harmful, and sometimes even fatal, to nesting condor chicks.
On October 5, a team of ten ForestWatch volunteers descended on
this site. We didn't expect to find much, since other volunteers
had been here just days before. But microtrash has a strange way
of reappearing out of nowhere, and by the end of the day, we had
removed nearly 85 pounds of small trash bits from this site. We
also found our fair share of lead bullet slugs, which were
especially important to remove from the 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.
In between
picking up pieces of microtrash, we also stumbled upon some "macrotrash"
at the site, loading up a pickup truck with the remnants of an
old couch, a graffiti-laden bed mattress, and other large pieces
of junk left by careless forest visitors. After loading
everything into the truck, we paused for a few moments to take
in the view of the Sespe Condor Sanctuary in the distance,
enjoyed the crisp morning air, and then headed back to
civilization.
Thanks to our
volunteers, this site is now 99.9% microtrash free (we might
have missed a couple of pieces!) and 100% macrotrash free (all
abandoned home furnishings were hauled out for good). After this
successful project, our volunteers have removed nearly one
thousand pounds of microtrash from five different sites around
the forest. Stay tuned - another site is sure to pop up, and our
volunteers will once again be ready to take action on a moment's
notice to protect the majestic California condor.
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