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May 12, 2008
FORESTWATCH VOLUNTEERS REMOVE
MICROTRASH FROM CONDOR HABITAT IN SESPE WILDERNESS
Frequented by
Condors, the Thorn Point Lookout Tower
Gets a Good Cleaning But Much Work Remains
On Saturday, May 10th, after
camping at Thorn Meadows for the night, ForestWatch and eight
dedicated volunteers ventured into the Sespe Wilderness. Their
mission: to cleanup microtrash around a remote lookout tower at
Thorn Point frequented by the critically endangered California
condor. Microtrash is a term used to describe small bits of
glass, bottle caps, bullet shells, and other small litter that
has become one of the leading threats to the recovery of the
California condor.
The historic lookout
tower at Thorn
Point, elevation 6,935 feet.
Located between
Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge, a major condor release
and nesting site to the south, and the Bitter Creek National
Wildlife Refuge, an important foraging area for the condor to
the north, Thorn Point is in prime condor habitat, and condors
visit the area regularly. During the Day Fire in 2006,
firefighters were lucky enough to photograph condors perched on
trees in the vicinity of the lookout tower. While we were not
quite so lucky as to see a condor on this trip, we were
fortunate to have perfect weather, providing views in all
directions as we cleaned up harmful microtrash from the area to
make it safer for condors.
The Thorn Point cleanup was by far the most challenging of our
microtrash cleanups to date. The morning began with a gentle
hike along the headwaters of Cedar Creek, but razor-sharp
switchbacks and narrow trails on steep slopes quickly turned our
journey into a very challenging hike as we climbed to the point
— an elevation gain of nearly 2000 feet!
In the end the trek was worth
it, as it afforded dramatic vistas in all directions the whole
way, colorful wildflowers along the trail, and a surprising
diversity of plant life as we made our way through a conifer
forest of massive ponderosas, sugar pines, and big-cone Douglas
firs. Given the challenge of the hike itself, we all treated
ourselves to a generous lunch break at the top, while enjoying
the views, before getting to work.
The site had an abundance of
nails, aluminum foil, nuts, bots, washers, glass, and bullet
shells, but due to the smaller size of the site, the nine of us
were able to cleanup the entire site in about two hours. The
site still needs work, as both the lookout tower and the
adjacent shed have fallen into disarray over the years and if
they aren’t repaired or secured, we can expect to see a lot more
microtrash in the future. We’re currently discussing the issue
with the Forest Service to see if we can diminish the risk to
condors in the future.
All-in-all, we estimate we
picked up about 50 pounds of microtrash from the site: not a bad
days work! Thanks to everyone who participated in this
challenging but rewarding event!
ForestWatch volunteers at Thorn
Meadows basecamp along the boundary
of the Sespe Wilderness. Photo courtesy of Tim Doles.
ForestWatch volunteers break
for lunch beneath a historic lookout tower after a grueling
2,000-foot climb to Thorn Point. Photo courtesy of Tim Doles.
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