Opinion: The State of the Condor

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While the state considers and considers whether to ban lead ammunition so that the California condor has a better chance of avoiding extinction, Tejon Ranch went ahead and did it. Sometimes things are really that simple.

Managers of the giant private hunting reserve said recent studies convinced them lead ammunition was the major contributor to lead poisoning of condors. Other types of ammunition are readily available and not all that expensive. So why not?

Ranch managers said a couple of years ago that they were willing to ban lead if the government did the same. Then they decided not to wait. It’s a canny move, especially since the ranch wants to develop 5% of its land amid the Tehachapi Mountains, and faces fierce objections in part because of concerns over condors. Banning lead bullets--a more important step toward saving the endangered carrion eaters--takes some of the wind out of environmentalists’ sails.

The timing is sweet because the state Fish and Game Commission is poised to consider its own regulations on lead bullets after years of foot-dragging. Tejon Ranch already has made the state look slow, and if the commission doesn’t act, it now will look simply out of touch.