Zion Climbing Coalition and Zion National Park | Spring Falcon Update 2023
If you’ve ever wondered how local climbing organizations directly benefit you, here’s how: they get you access to more climbing!
This spring the Zion Climbing Coalition and the Zion National Park wildlife program worked together to identify peregrine falcon nesting sites in order to open cliffs to climbing. Climbers and park staff dedicated over 200 hours to the program, positively identifying 3 falcon nests throughout the main canyon. Because of this effort rangers were able to reopen some of the biggest walls in the park, including the Streaked Wall, Angels Landing, the East Temple, Mount Spry, the Sentinel, Mountain of the Sun, and the North Twin Brother. It was the most successful season in the partnership’s four-year history.
Thanks to the efforts of the wildlife staff and volunteers, Prodigal Sun saw multiple ascents once opened, as well as several ascents of Mount Spry, and the Streaked Wall had its first spring ascent in over a decade when Connor Baty Soloed Tales of the Scorpion over three days this spring.
When the peregrine falcon was listed as an endangered species in 1973, Zion National Park began monitoring as many as 27 distinct peregrine falcon territories. Though no longer listed as endangered, peregrine falcons are still protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, so the National Park continues to monitor and protect this species. The Zion wildlife program continues to monitor four breeding and nesting territories every spring and summer to allow this amazing species to continue to thrive, and to limit human/wildlife conflict.
Peregrines are notoriously territorial and have been known to dive-bomb climbers to protect their nests. If peregrine nesting sites are disturbed too much, the falcons may abandon their nests for the season. In order to allow the falcons the best chance at finding a suitable nest site and successfully raise their chicks, Zion National Park institutes blanket climbing closures starting March 1st each year, and then opens cliffs as biologists confirm nest sites throughout the spring and summer. The sooner the park staff can identity their nests, which often change location year-to-year, the earlier the surrounding climbs can be opened. Locating these nests early is how climbers have been helping provide access to the community. By August first, the chicks have fledged into flying, hunting falcons, and the cliffs can be reopened to climbing in full.
We’d like to give a big thanks to the Zion Wildlife Biologists Janice Stroud-Settles and Rachel Mangan for working with us, the ZCC Executive Director Steffan Gregory for setting this in motion four years ago, and all the volunteers for serving as good stewards of the areas they love to explore!
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