Ventana Wildlife Society
USA (central California) · 36.60°N · 121.90°W
Restoring California's native wildlife through science, education and partnership since the late 1970s.
About Ventana Wildlife Society
Ventana Wildlife Society works to recover native wildlife and the habitats they depend on across central California, pairing hands-on science with conservation that brings people along.
Some of California's most iconic species came perilously close to vanishing. By the late 1980s the wild California condor had all but disappeared, brought down by lead poisoning, shooting, power lines and habitat loss, with only a tiny remnant of the population left. Without direct intervention, North America's largest land bird would have been lost for good.
Founded in 1977 and based on the Monterey coast, Ventana approaches recovery through field science, partnership and patient, long-term effort. The team breeds and releases birds, tracks them in the wild, tackles the threats that put them at risk, and campaigns for non-lead ammunition so that scavenging birds are no longer poisoned by the carcasses they feed on.
Its condor programme has helped rebuild a free-flying population in the Big Sur region, and an earlier effort restored breeding bald eagles to the central coast after decades of absence. Alongside species work, a long-running education programme takes young people from across the area into the outdoors each year, opening up nature to children who might otherwise never reach it.
Reintroduction is slow, technical and easy to underfund, yet it is one of the few things that can pull a species back from the edge. Support keeps trackers in the field, birds in the sky and the next generation connected to the wild places these animals call home.
California Condor Recovery
Returning critically endangered condors to central California skies through release and monitoring.
Bald Eagle restoration
A recovery effort that helped re-establish nesting eagles across the region.
Education programmes
Connecting young people with nature through hands-on classes across Monterey County.
Big Sur Discovery Center
Welcoming the public with nature talks and programmes that bring local wildlife to life.
Be part of the movement
Donating is the last step, not the first. Pick one and start today.
- 1WatchStream the films and stories behind their work, then tell someone what moved you.Watch →
- 2FollowFollow Ventana Wildlife Society on Instagram and keep their work in your feed.Follow ↗
- 3ShareShare this page so more people meet Ventana Wildlife Society. Reach is its own kind of donation.
- 4Donate100% of your gift routes to Ventana Wildlife Society's conservation work. Ecoflix takes nothing.Donate →