The Ventana Wildlife Society (VWS) celebrated 30 years as a community-based private non-profit on May 10, 2007. VWS first began by rehabilitating and releasing wildlife at a 240-acre remote field site in the Ventana Wilderness. After 5 years, VWS began reintroducing prairie and peregrine falcons from this same location. Then, in 1986, a bald eagle restoration project began since a local population of eagles was absent for 60 years. VWS successfully restored this population in only 10 years.
The Ventana Wildlife Society Research and Education Center was established in Big Sur's Andrew Molera State Park in January 1992. Inspired by the desire to reach out to the public, and with support from the California Department of Parks and Recreation, VWS expanded its programs to include bird research at the bird banding lab, environmental education, and habitat restoration. Today, our current program areas include Species Recovery focusing on California Condor reintroduction, Conservation Ecology, Conservation Education, and Habitat Restoration.