Mike Tyner Honored in the Congressional Record

It gives us great pleasure to announce that our Mike Tyner has been honored in the Congressional Record by a statement made on December 12, 2012 by Congressman Sam Farr.

"Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege to rise today to honor the memory of Mike Tyner. Mike gave his life to help endangered species flourish, and his life is a reminder that we can all play a part in devoting ourselves to making the world a healthier and more beautiful place."

You can read the entire text here.

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Jan Hamber - Protector of the Condor

From the Santa Barbara Independent
http://www.independent.com/news/2012/nov/21/local-heroes-2012/

Jan Hamber - Protector of the Condor

Of all the species faced with extinction, few came as close and meant so much as the California condor. “It was the symbol of wilderness,” recalled Jam Hamber, who’s fought for the bird’s survival since the 1970s. “It was the symbol of freedom.”

Wanting to be a naturalist since age 9, Hamber started bird-watching as a Cornell University student in the 1950s, and began volunteering in 1959 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, where, among other duties, she painted the tule reeds, set cactus spines in the original bird exhibit, and helped clean birds after the great oil spill of 1969, the year she was also hired as an employee. In the mid 1970s, legendary naturalist Dick Smith needed help tracking condors, and she signed right up. “It was my dream to be an outdoor naturalist, not an indoor naturalist,” said Hamber, who still works at the museum today as a condor archivist. “It was my dream come true.”

From 1976-1985, Hamber tracked a pair of condors named Groucho and Spot and participated in many of the recovery program’s milestones, including her call to the trappers who captured the last wild condor. “It was one of the hardest things I ever did,” said Hamber of that event on Easter Sunday 1987. “It still affects me.” But she doesn’t regret it, never agreeing that, as some argue, the bird should have gone extinct with dignity. “I don’t think there’s anything dignified about being poisoned with lead and slowly dying in a month,” said Hamber, who’s frustrated that lead ammunition remains the dominant yet preventable cause of condor woes.
Thanks to Hamber and the countless others she’s worked with over the years, those 27 last condors bred and are now 410 individuals, including 230 flying free in the wild. Said Hamber, “My goal has always been to save the species.”

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Condors over Hi Mt. Again...

GPS transmitter info shows two condors flew over the lookout and Huff's Hole yesterday - condors 449 and 526, flew north along the Lopez ridge, and then returned to south to the upper Sisquoc area. Hopefully we see more of these forays into their old haunts! 

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Open House 2012 Re-cap

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Hello all,

Thank-you to all the staff, volunteers, field trip leaders and evening presenters for making the open house event a success, and to the two girl scout troops conducting a service project removing invasive yellow-star thistle.

More than 70 adults and kids attended, including a good turnout for the birding and native plant identification field trips. The fundraising auction and merchandise sales generated more than $700 for the project's operating expenses and internship support.

Those who stayed on throughout the evening enjoyed the complimentary wine tasting by Saucelito Canyon winery, evening potluck dinner (and Jim's famous upside down cake for dessert!) and PowerPoint presentations by our guest speakers.

We will be planning an event this spring, will keep you posted. - Steve Schubert

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11th Annual Hi Mountain Condor Lookout Campout and Open House Event

Saturday, October 6, 2012 (all day event)
@Hi Mountain Lookout, SLO County, Los Padres National Forest
                       
Come and discover one of the largest and most endangered flying birds of North America. California Condors are radio tracked from Hi Mountain Lookout. This is an opportunity for you to learn more about condor biology and the reintroduction of these magnificent birds back to the wild. The open house event will include condor radio-tracking demonstrations, native plant identification, bird watching field trips, and hands-on activities for kids.

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Hi Mt. Weather

Excerpt from Meteorologist John Lindsey's August 2nd weather forecast:

ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS:A strong temperature inversion layer continues to produce extensive and persistent coastal low clouds and areas of fog along the immediate coastline. At 7 a.m. the temperature at the Santa Margarita Fire Department at 1,000 feet of elevation was 52 degrees, while at the same time, Condor Lookout at 3,200 feet of elevation was 80 degrees.

- Steve Schubert

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