A Bit About Us
Friends of California Condors Wild and Free is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization whose purpose is promoting the recovery of the California Condor and the preservation of associated ecosystems for present and future generations through education, outreach, research and the support of cooperative stewardship. We work in collaboration with the Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge Complex, the California Condor Recovery Program, and other recovery program partners.
We are a group of dedicated volunteers that support the California condor recovery by providing educational and outreach programs through community presentations, tabling at events, conducting guided tours on the condor refuges, and participating in workdays on the condor wildlife refuges. Our volunteers also assist refuge biological programs and participate in maintenance projects at Bitter Creek NWR, Hopper Mountain NWR, and Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes NWR.
One of our most popular programs is our public tours of the Bitter Creek NWR and Hopper Mountain NWR. These tours allow participants access to what are normally closed refuges and provide a good opportunity to see condors in the wild, all while receiving a wealth of information about California condors, the Condor Recovery Program, and general refuge ecology.
Our group aims to educate and engage the community in the recovery of California condors. To do this, we provide talks for various organizations, such as schools, scouting troops, environmental clubs, and church groups. Our volunteers staff dozens of educational booths at Earth Days, Street Fairs, and zoo events, and other gatherings each year.
Our group supports Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge complex, which manages the Southern California population of California condors. Our popular workdays provide the refuges with the labor needed to complete big projects, while giving volunteers a good chance of spotting a wild condor. Workdays often consist of maintenance projects such as removing fencing, clearing brush/woody debris, landscaping around structures, and removing remnant facilities. Our members have also assisted refuge biological programs by volunteering in surveys of birds, flora, and mammals on the refuges.