TEJON RANCH TO BAN LEAD BULLETS PROHIBITION, TAKING EFFECT IN 2008, IS AIMED AT PROTECTING CONDORS.Byline: ALEX DOBUZINSKIS Staff Writer LEBEC -- Hoping to protect rebounding condor populations, Tejon Ranch Tejon Ranch Company is the largest private landowner in California. It was incorporated in 1936 to organise the ownership of a large tract of land originally comprised of four Mexican land grants, and began ranching in the 1840's. will ban hunters from using lead bullets on the massive property near the Los Angeles-Kern county line. When condors eat game felled by lead bullets, they risk ingesting the bullets and getting poisoned. A recent University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university, one of the ten campuses of the University of California. , study backed up the threat posed to condors by lead bullets. "We know that hunters are really conservationists; they know the importance of balance in nature and the value of protecting endangered species endangered species, any plant or animal species whose ability to survive and reproduce has been jeopardized by human activities. In 1999 the U.S. government, in accordance with the U.S. ," said Barry Zoeller, spokesman for Tejon Ranch. "So we're sure that they're going to embrace this change on the ranch." The ban goes into effect Jan. 1, 2008. A 270,000-acre private ranch in the Tehachapi Mountains Te·hach·a·pi Mountains A range of southern California extending from east to west between the Sierra Nevada and the Coast Ranges north of Los Angeles. , Tejon Ranch is a popular hunting ground. Just 23 California condors were alive 25 years ago, but thanks to a breeding program, the state's condor population has risen to 70, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Parts of Tejon Ranch are important feeding and roosting grounds for the giant vultures, said Jeff Miller, conservation advocate for the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity The Center for Biological Diversity combines conservation biology with litigation, policy advocacy, and an innovative strategic vision to secure a future for animals and plants hovering on the brink of extinction, for the wilderness they need to survive, and by extension for the . The condors have been seen as far south as Placerita Canyon and Bear Divide near Newhall. Lead bullets remain a primary threat to the birds. Tejon Ranch's ban on the bullets was applauded by environmental groups and the Fish and Wildlife Service. Miller offered guarded praise for the ban. "It's fantastic that they're the first major entity to go lead-free for hunting," he said. "But the flip side Flip side In the context of general equities, opposite side to a proposition or position (buy, if sell is the proposition and vice versa). is they're planning some major development ... that's going to devastate dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. critical condor habitat." Some 1,800 hunters a year visit Tejon Ranch, which is home to deer, elk, antelope, wild pigs, wild turkey and quail. Zoeller said an alternative to lead bullets are those made of copper and alloys, which he said work just as well. The delayed in the ban allows hunters to test those bullets, he added. alex.dobuzinskis@dailynews.com (661) 257-5253 |
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