Ventana Wildlife Society was founded in 1977 by a group of private citizens to restore endangered species native to the central coast of California. Since its founding, VWS has focused on promoting our mission ?conserving native wildlife and their habitats? through biodiversity preservation. We have developed four highly effective programs that are integral to achieving our mission: Education and Outreach; Conservation Ecology; Species Recovery and Habitat Restoration.
Education and Outreach: Our educational projects include Natural Science Discovery Summer Camp (ages 8-12), Natural Science Discovery After School Program (ages 10-13), Natural Resource Recruitment (teen career workshops), and bird banding field trips. In addition, we reach out to thousands of children and adults each year with our traveling exhibit ?Bringing the Condors Home?. Our education programs incorporate the technique of coyote mentoring to encourage self discovery and nature awareness.
Conservation Ecology:
Visitors are welcome at our Big Sur Ornithology Lab as we study migrant and resident song birds throughout the year. Other projects include: Monarch Butterfly Winter Surveying and Micro Climate Research, Carmel River and Grassland Restoration Monitoring, Powerline Assessment and Mitigation at Camp Roberts and San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, Spotted Owl Surveys, and Barn Owl Monitoring.
Species Recovery:
We continue to restore the endangered California Condor through releases, public awareness, research and intensive monitoring at two Central California sites; Big Sur and Pinnacles National Monument. We also continue to monitor the self-sustaining population of Bald Eagles that we established throughout Monterey County.
Habitat Restoration:
At Andrew Molera State Park, we are working on riparian habitat restoration along the Big Sur River and are currently supporting restoration projects throughout the California Coastal Region.
Contact our office for more information on programs, volunteer opportunities, or to become a member – or visit our website at www.ventanaws.org