2004 Year in Review

Hi all,
Here is a summary of the activities and accomplishments of the Hi
Mountain Lookout Project during 2004:

January-
Planning session at Cal Poly- 8 staff and volunteers, revising and
updating the Volunteer User Manual (revisions were completed by end of
2004 and the handbook will be distributed to all volunteers).

Morro Bay Natural History Museum Condor Exhibit Open House (the VWS
condor exhibit in the auditorium was on display for several months). Hi
Mtn. Project volunteers and collaborators were recognized at the evening
reception.

8th Annual Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival. ‘Condor Country’ van field
trip. USFWS Condor Recovery Program/Hi Mountain Project power point and
slide talk presentations.

February-
Morro Bay Natural History Museum Monday morning “Mind Walk” lecture
series: Condor Recovery Program and Hi Mountain Lookout Project slide
talk by Steve Schubert

March-
Work Weekend- 20 staff and volunteers. USFS contractor John Porter
conducted lookout safety improvements and lightning
protection/electrical grounding. MCAS funded the $2,700 labor and
materials costs.

April-
Annual Huff’s Hole peregrine falcon nesting survey. A condor was found
perched at a cave entrance there on the cliffs! Note: One evening
several months later 8 condors roosted overnight on these cliffs.
Possible future nesting attempts here will be closely monitored.

Cal Poly Ornithology field trip to Hi Mtn., led by Dr. Villablanca

May-
Cuesta College Community Programs “Condor Country” van field trip to the
lookout, led by Steve Schubert

June-
VHF Ham Radio Contest and Cal Poly Amateur Radio Club Field Day campout
at the lookout

Hiring of summer interns Jeremy White, Amy Millan, and Jenn Yost.
Internship funded by USFS and Cal Poly Bio. Sci. Dept., supervised by
Kevin Cooper and Dr. Francis Villablanca

Workday at the lookout- 9 staff and volunteers

July-
The three Hi Mtn.interns received field training and condor monitoring
experience at Hopper Mountain NWR, assisted by USFWS staff

August-
Planning meeting at Cal Poly attended by Hi Mtn. staff and volunteers,
USFWS, USFS, VWS, and Pinnacles NM staff

October-
3rd Annual Open House event and campout
~45 in attendance

Cal Poly Mammalogy field trip and campout at Hi Mtn., led by Dr.
Villablanca
December-
Completion of storage shed construction and shelving, by Kevin Cooper
and Tom Murphey, USFS

Ongoing activities-
Website (www.condorlookout.org) management and improvements by Paul
Andreano

Staffing of lookout by volunteers and training sessions for newly
recruited volunteers

Cal Poly senior project student research

Look for coverage of the Hi Mountain Lookout Project in an upcoming
issue of AUDUBON magazine and a KSBY TV interview (after the roads dry
up and accessibility to the lookout improves for the camera crew). The
lookout project has also been nominated for a San Luis Obispo County
environmental award, submitted by Dick Parker, MCAS President.

“Thank-you” to all who have contributed to our collaborative efforts!

Steve Schubert, Volunteer Coordinator