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Governor Schwarzenegger Signs Law to Protect California Condors

It’s official! On October 13, 2007, Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law the bill to protect California condors from lead poisoning. On July 1, 2008 the new regulations went into effect.

This victory comes after years of hard work on the ground, in the statehouse and especially from tens of thousands of our California activists who have repeatedly stood up for these beleaguered birds.

Assemblyman Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara), the author of the bill, credited Defenders of Wildlife and other conservation organizations with creating the kind of broad support that enabled Schwarzenegger to sign the bill.

Once on the verge of extinction, California condors will now have a fighting chance at survival. The difficult – and costly – work of conservation groups and state and federal governments to bring them back from the edge will also have its best chance of success yet.

Cynthia Stringfield, a veterinarian who advises the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Condor Recovery Program, has noted that “more than half” of all condor deaths that have occurred since the endangered birds were re-released were due to lead poisoning. She also said that the recent ban on lead ammunition "will make all the difference in the world" for these struggling birds.