Today we would also like to celebrate the success and prosperity of the original stewards of the land we call home and its diverse inhabitants. We recognize that ORC is located on unceded land of the Chumash. Our county is also home to two of five release sites for the USFWS California Condor Recovery Program where this imperiled species has been protected from extinction for decades. Earlier this year a momentous event took place thanks to the efforts of the Yurok Tribe in partnership with @usfws @nationalparkservice @ventanawildlifesociety and others. Restoring the population of the CA Condor to Yurok Ancestral Territory and the Pacific Northwest has been a main objective for the Tribe since 2003. In May, the first California Condor to fly over Yurok skies in more than a century was released by the the NCCRP (Northern California Condor Recovery Program) and last month two more were released. From @theyuroktribe website: “The Yurok Tribe is one of many indigenous cultures that considers condors sacred. California condors, or prey-go-neesh in Yurok, have been spiritually tied to the Yurok Hlkelonah — the cultural and ecological landscape — since the beginning of the world. Condors feature prominently in the Tribe’s origin narrative, and its feathers and songs are foundational components of Yurok World Renewal ceremonies. Management and conservation of condors in Yurok Ancestral Territory and the Pacific Northwest is part of the Yurok Tribe’s obligation to restore balance to the world. YCRP seeks to return the condor to the integral role it plays in healthy ecosystems and, in doing so, to renew and strengthen the spiritual lifeways of the many tribes who revere this majestic species.” Photo by @usfws #IndigenousHealth #IndigenousWisdom #IndigenousConservation #WildlifeConservation #Yurok #RestoringHope #RestoringBalance #EndangeredSpecies #CaliforniaCondor #PreyGoNeesh #Condor #Vulture