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Restoring Qu’nes: The Nez Perce Condor Recovery

Project Details:

The colossal 10-foot wingspan of the qú’nes (condor) once shadowed the sheer walls of Hells Canyon, North America’s deepest gorge and a sacred part of the Nez Perce homeland. The California condor (Gymnogyps californianus), now Critically Endangered, has been absent here for more than a century. The Nez Perce Tribe’s Wildlife Division, with support from the Colossal Foundation’s Species Reintroduction Fund, is leading an effort to bring the world’s largest bird back to their ancestral homeland, reviving both an ecological cornerstone and a cultural touchstone.

In Partnership With

The Wildlife Division works to restore and protect wildlife and rare plants important to the Nimiipuu people. They support Tribal leaders in defending treaty rights and resources. The team conducts research and monitoring, protects and grows habitats, and advises on projects and policies at federal, state, and tribal levels.
They provide technical support to the Nez Perce Tribal Government and lead conservation efforts across the Tribe’s traditional lands. Their work includes helping recover wolves, bighorn sheep, California condors, rare plants, and native habitats. They also manage nearly 24,000 acres of land to replace habitat lost from hydropower projects in Washington and Idaho.

Progress So Far

For eight years, the Nez Perce Tribe has laid the groundwork for condor recovery in the Nez Perce homeland. A 2016 feasibility study confirmed Hells Canyon as prime habitat, with abundant food from salmon runs and wildlife populations. The tribe formed the Camas to Condors (C2C) coalition, working to secure a $2 million National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant to advance planning. Partnerships with the Yurok Tribe, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other organizations have strengthened regional efforts, while outreach has begun to reduce lead, the biggest threat to condor populations, in the ecosystem.

How the Species Reintroduction Fund is Helping

From 2025 to 2027, the project will complete its planning phase, with Colossal Foundation’s support, to achieve key milestones:

  • Recovery Assessment – Finalize a USFWS-approved condor release plan, identifying up to three release sites 

  • Capacity Building – Hire Tribal project lead, planner, and coordinator to build local capacity for guiding reintroduction long-term

  • Lead Prevention Campaign – Launch “Get the Lead Out” ammo-exchange and outreach to secure safer, lead-free food sources for condors and other scavengers