Ventana Wildlife Society

Description

Ventana Wildlife Society is a nonprofit organization that conserves native wildlife and their habitats in central California through science, education and collaboration.

It works on species recovery for endangered animals, especially the California condor, and on conservation ecology, monitoring imperiled wildlife such as songbirds and butterflies. It runs environmental education and outreach programs for youth and communities, and habitat restoration to rebuild lost habitat. Its biologists and interns track, monitor and research these species in the field.

Since 1997 the society has released captive-bred California condors into the wild and is the only nonprofit doing so in California, working alongside federal and state agencies. It also led a successful bald eagle restoration project that helped the species be delisted from the Endangered Species Act. It provides free non-lead ammunition to hunters and ranchers to reduce lead poisoning in condors.

The organization was founded in 1977 and is based in Monterey, California, with a research and education center in Big Sur.