Humboldt ERFSA learns about California condors
Humboldt ERFSA, the Emeritus Retired Faculty and Staff Association, will meet March 14 at noon at the Baywood Golf and Country Club in Arcata. The public is welcome.
The guest speaker will be Tiana Williams- Claussen, director of the Yurok Tribe Wildlife Department. She will talk about the history and current status of California condor, the species' cultural importance to the Yurok people, the Yurok Tribe's leadership and 20year effort to bring them home to Yurok and surrounding country, and next steps for condor recovery in the North Coast region.
Williams-Claussen is a member of the Yurok Tribe and was raised in Klamath. She received her bachelor's degree in biochemical sciences from Harvard University, returned home and is currently pursuing a Master of Sciences in natural resources from Cal Poly Humboldt.
Williams-Claussen was instrumental in the formation of the Yurok Tribe Wildlife Department, which was started with the goal of California condor recovery to Yurok territory.
Her team's work includes successful reintroduction of California condor to Yurok country, in coordination with the Redwood National and State Parks and within Redwood National Park boundaries; development of holistic and sustainable tribal forest and land management approaches for habitat restoration; and serving as a conduit for integrating traditional knowledge from the Yurok community into Yurok government's wildlife management.
The first condor releases occurred in May 2022. By July of 2023, satellite information showed that the first group of eight reintroduced California condors spent their first night in Yurok country near the Klamath River. While many people have reported flyovers of the birds, it was a first for the recently released animals to roost at Klamath overnight.
The first condors were brought back to their historic range a couple of years ago through the Northern California Condor Restoration Program. The Yurok Tribe led the effort with Redwood National and State Park; the tribe's wildlife department runs the condor release facility. Other condors were released later in singles and pairs.
“The first cohort, had the hardest job of any of the birds that are going to come after, here, because they don't have an existing flock to integrate with,” said Williams-Claussen.
This was the most nervewracking part for her, she said, as the birds who'd never really flown outside before had to move into a brand-new landscape with no teachers showing them the ropes.
Williams-Claussen recently said, “We have a total of 11 birds flying free right now, including four
females and seven males, and expect five to seven additional birds this summer.”
All in-person guests at these lectures should be fully COVID-19 vaccinated and may wear masks while attending. A meet and greet begins at 11:30 a.m. Food and beverages can be ordered for lunch from Baywood's regular menu; arrive early to order lunch. The presentation will start at noon.
For more information about Humboldt ERFSA, go to erfsa.humboldt.edu.