Elevations on the Refuge range from . Purchased to protect dwindling California condor foraging and roosting habitat in 1985, the refuge is the site where the last wild female condor was trapped in 1986. The reintroduced condors feed and roost on the refuge. The refuge is an integral part of the Service's condor monitoring activities. The most notable physical features of the refuge are the
San Andreas Fault, which bisects the refuge, and the dramatic Bitter Creek Canyon. As of July 2014, there is a total population of 437 condors living in sites in California, Baja California and Arizona. This includes a wild population of 232 and a captive population of 205. Sixty-eight free-flying Condors are managed by the
US Fish & Wildlife Service in Southern California. ==Other species==