Grand Canyon Condors

Endangered species

Wildlife biologists in California are finishing plans to create a colony at Arizona’s Grand Canyon for the Californian condor, a federally listed endangered species.

The release, which would return the bird to the canyon after a 70-year absence, would plant the seeds for a second wild condor population, deemed necessary to bring the species back from the brink of extinction.

Although many Grand Canyon area residents have expressed concerns that the release of an endangered species may restrict their activities, no one has formally opposed the plan, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials said.

Some critics are concerned that the Grand Canyon, which receives 6 million visitors a year, will be too busy for the birds.