It’s Haley and Debbie with a bird episode! Debbie has bird facts Haley doesn’t already know which might be the most shocking part of the episode which is saying something because there’s a lot going on here!

In 2003, Yurok tribal elders identified prey-go-neesh—the California condor—as the most important species to restore to their ancestral lands in Northern California. After a 14-year preparation led by Yurok Wildlife Director Tiana Williams-Claussen, the first condors returned to Yurok territory in March 2022, ending a 130-year absence.

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SOURCES

“Yurok Tribe Condor Livestream.” YouTube, uploaded by Yurok Wildlife, 2 Apr. 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7u_H-D2hrU.

“The Condor’s Shadow.” YouTube, uploaded by Klamath Raft & Timber, 16 Feb. 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WhJ_JCApOM.

Williams-Claussen, Tiana. "Bringing Back Prey-go-neesh, the California Condor, to My Tribe's Homeland." Living Bird, Spring 2022, www.allaboutbirds.org/news/bringing-back-prey-go-neesh-the-california-condor-to-my-tribes-homeland/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

"Yurok Condor Restoration Program." Yurok Tribe, www.yuroktribe.org/yurok-condor-restoration-program. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

"NCCRP Prepares to Release Three More Condors." Yurok Tribe, 3 Nov. 2023, www.yuroktribe.org/post/nccrp-prepares-to-release-three-more-condors. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

Williams-Claussen, Tiana. "Tiana Williams-Claussen." Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA, 15 Aug. 2024, www.ioes.ucla.edu/person/tiana-williams-claussen/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

Block, Melissa. "How Condors Returned to Yurok Land in Northern California." Bay Nature, 10 June 2022, baynature.org/2022/06/09/the-reintroduction-odyssey-of-the-yurok-condors/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

Robles, Erik. "Missing for a Century, the California Condor Flies Over Yurok Ancestral Lands Again." NRDC, 13 Apr. 2023, www.nrdc.org/stories/missing-century-california-condor-flies-over-yurok-ancestral-lands-again. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

"Yurok Condor Restoration Program." Bird Collective, 22 Mar. 2024, www.birdcollective.com/blogs/conservation/yurok-condor-restoration-program. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

Rott, Nathan. "How a Native Tribe is Saving Condors." Scholastic Science World, 19 Nov. 2024, scienceworld.scholastic.com/issues/2024-25/111824/saving-condors.html. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

"California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus)." U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, www.fws.gov/species/california-condor-gymnogyps-californianus. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

"California Condor Recovery Program." U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, www.fws.gov/program/california-condor-recovery/initiatives. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

"Threats - California Condors." National Park Service, www.nps.gov/subjects/condors/threats.htm. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

Finkelstein, Myra E., et al. "Lead poisoning and the deceptive recovery of the critically endangered California condor." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 109, no. 28, 25 June 2012, pp. 11449-11454. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1203141109. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

D'Elia, Jesse, and Susan M. Haig. California Condors in the Pacific Northwest. Oregon State University Press, 2013.

"California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) Fact Sheet." San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, c2017-2024, ielc.libguides.com/sdzg/factsheets/californiacondor. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

"California Condor." The Peregrine Fund, peregrinefund.org/explore-raptors-species/vultures/california-condor. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.

Gordon, Claire. "Lead Ammo, the Top Threat to Condors, Is Now Outlawed in California." Audubon, 9 Sept. 2024, www.audubon.org/news/lead-ammo-top-threat-condors-now-outlawed-california. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.