Donate to Condor Recovery

By the end of this year, the federal funding that has supported our California Condor Recovery work will expire and won't be renewed.

We have launched Save the Condors 2025 Campaign to sustain what matters most - the Recovery Actions we know make a difference.

November 2025

2025 MCGives!

Until Dec 31, 2025 every gift is boosted by a Match!

Make a donation through Monterey County Gives! and your gift will be matched - increasing your support to Save the Condors.

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Save the Condors 2025 Campaign

$635,000 is needed to sustain our condor recovery efforts. If existing donors give just 25% more and we welcome 150 new supporters, we can meet this goal. Learn about our proven Recovery Actions and help us continue to save the condors.

Ventana Wildlife Society Condor Program operates on a $1.1M budget.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service no longer provides assistance, but the condor program has long relied on private support.

Corporate and foundation support is increasing, but individuals continue to be most important at 58% of the total need.

Save the Condors 2025 Campaign is focused on meeting our annual need of $635,000 from individual donors.

Please help us succeed in raising the support needed this year toward condor recovery - to Save the Condors.

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Proven Recovery Actions

The #1 Preventable Threat to Condor Survival

Ventana Wildlife Society has made remarkable progress - rebuilding a wild population from zero to over 100 condors in central California. Yet every year, condors face devastating losses, mostly from ingesting spent lead ammunition. Lead poisoning remains the leading cause of death for California Condors, but it’s a preventable threat - and we know it’s a problem we can solve!

The Solution – Our Proven Recovery Actions

We have implemented a comprehensive set of five Recovery Actions that brought the California Condor back from the brink of extinction. Each action is critical to the species' survival and works in concert to support a growing wild population.

RECOVERY ACTIONS and the importance for Condor Recovery

Non-Lead Outreach - Outreach Specialists educate rural communities about the deadly effects of lead ammunition and promote safe, effective non-lead alternatives.

Nest Monitoring - Field teams closely monitor active condor nests, improving the chances of successful hatching and fledging.

Captive Releases - Condors bred in captivity are regularly released to the wild to increase the population and strengthen genetic diversity.

Medical Treatment - Sick or injured condors receive care, including life-saving treatment for lead poisoning and other health threats.

CACO Central & GPS Tracking - We manage a centralized data system called CACO Central and track condors with GPS to detect illness early on and strategize outreach to key foraging zones.

These Recovery Actions Are Needed to Keep Condors Flying Free

In 1987, there were zero condors left in the wild and only 27 in captivity. Today, thanks to nearly three decades of dedicated effort - and a major boost following the launch of Ventana Wildlife Society’s Non-Lead Outreach Program - the central California population has grown to 113 wild condors. In 2024, we achieved a powerful milestone: a record-breaking nine chicks fledged in the wild, and for the first time, more condors were born than died in a single year. This is real, measurable progress - but it remains fragile.

As our federal grant funding will not be renewed and expires in December of this year, your support is critically needed to fuel our strategy of these Recovery Actions to Save the Condors

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