A more momentous number, if it comes, will be 450.

When wildlife officials, conservationists and others drafted a

for the species in 1996, they determined that until there were at least 450 condors, they couldn't be considered for delisting under the

.

Plus, that magic number comes with strings. According to the plan, condors need to be dispersed among three 150-bird populations -- two wild and one captive, with 15 breeding pairs in each group. And they have to be self-sustaining, reproducing and expanding on their own.

"We're not there yet," says

, who took over in March as California condor coordinator for USFWS.

For as much progress as the program's made, McCamman says, it faces serious challenges that will help guide an upcoming re-write of the recovery plan.

Key among issues are lead poisoning caused by condors eating animals, or gut piles from animals, shot with lead ammunition.

Wind turbines being planted along ridgetops near condors' ranges pose an increasing threat.

Along the California coast near Big Sur, a condor release site, biologists have noticed serious eggshell thinning. They believe it results from condors feeding on sea lion carcasses containing DDE, a residual from the now banned insecticide DDT. DDE remains in the water column off California, where lots of the insecticide was dumped.

As they re-draw the recovery plan, McCamman says, scientists and other condor caretakers will look at those issues and more -- everything from habitat loss to the potential effects of climate change on condors' ability to survive. They'll talk about whether to open a fifth breeding center at Mexico City's

, or develop another release site, perhaps in the Siskiyou Range, near the California-Oregon border.

The process is likely to take years and include input from lots of parties.

"The one thing about condors," McCamman says, "is they're loved by everybody. Lots of institutions and organizations are interested in their long-term survival.

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