-----Original Message-----
From: CANYONJO at aol.com [mailto:CANYONJO at aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, April 29, 1999 8:11 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: gcpba NEWSWIRE - MAN ADMITS KILLING CONDOR


NEWS RELEASE FROM US FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE:

Admitting to shooting a California condor in the Grand Canyon last month,
Flagstaff defendant Ronald Tenney Owens (24) pled guilty to taking an
endangered species and possessing and discharging a firearm within a
National
Park. On April 26, 1999, U.S. Magistrate-Judge Stephen Verkamp accepted the
plea and the sentence recommended by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Owens was
fined $3,200, ordered to forfeit the firearm used in the commission of the
violations, placed on one year supervised probation, and as a condition of
probation ordered to perform 200 hours of community service under the
direction of Grand Canyon National Park, Wildlife Branch.

Owens turned himself into federal and state wildlife officials the
week after shooting the California condor with a hand gun while on a March
11, 1999, hiking and fishing trip along the Colorado River near Soap Creek
Rapids. Peregrine Fund biologists - who routinely monitor the condors -
found and recovered the body of the four-year-old female condor after
receiving a tip and noting that Condor #24 had not returned with other
condors following a sortie to the Soap Creek Rapids about six miles south of
Navajo Bridge (Marble Canyon). The Peregrine Fund (a non-profit
organization
for the conservation of birds of prey) is largely funding and performing the
release activities and the monitoring of the condors in the Southwest.

This case marks the first prosecution for a violation of the
Endangered Species Act at Grand Canyon National Park. The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Arizona Game and Fish Department, and National Park
Service
conducted the investigation into the incident.

Since December of 1996, 20 condors have been released at the
Vermilion Cliffs - a location 20 miles west of the shooting. Condor 24 was
hatched at the San Diego Wild Animal Park on April 4, 1995, and released at
the Vermillion Cliffs in May 1997. Today, 14 Vermilion Cliffs condors
survive and an additional six birds occupy the Hurricane Cliffs area on the
Arizona Strip, 50-miles southeast of Saint George, Utah, since their
release
in November 1998. The Service anticipates reestablishing a population of
150
condors in the canyon lands of northern Arizona and southern Utah.

The condors reintroduced in northern Arizona and southern Utah are
designated as an ?experimental population? under the Endangered Species Act.
While this designation adds management flexibility for agencies in the area,
the condors are still fully protected from being harmed or killed.

GCPBA thanks Jeff Humphreys, US Fish & Wildlife Service for furnishing this
News Release.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
gcpba NEWSWIRE is a FREE service to the boating community from the Grand
Canyon Private Boaters Association, paid for by our really dedicated
members...you can be a member, check out
http://www.gcpba.org
Send your e-mail address to gcpba at flagstaff.az.us and we'll add you to the
list, tell us to remove you and consider it done.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~