Zion re-opens climbing routes after falcon nesting season

SPRINGDALE, Utah – Zion National Park in Utah has reopened popular rock-climbing routes after peregrine falcons finished their nesting season on the cliffs.

Park rangers say four juvenile falcons were raised successfully, two on Tunnel Wall and two on Angels Landing. Another nest and breeding pair were detected, but biologists did not record any successful offspring.

The park’s cliffs are home to a relatively large number of breeding falcons every season, and the park service works to protect sensitive sites. This year, 13 routes were closed in March. Most were reopened on Wednesday.

Zion is a sanctuary for the American peregrine falcon, a predatory bird that neared extinction in the 1970s but was removed from the endangered species list in 1999.