In 1972, the Brown Berets, a group of Chicano activists, seized and claimed the islands for Mexico, citing the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, a treaty between Mexico and the USA by which Mexico lost more than half of its territory, and arguing that the treaty does not specifically mention the Channel Islands nor the Farallon Islands.
PRBO was founded in 1965 to study the birds migrating along the Pacific flyway, and has run the longest population study of landbirds in Western North America (continuous since 1966), as well as maintaining a year-round research presence on the Farallon Islands since 1969.
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The steep path up to the ridge gives splendid views across the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, and beyond to San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco; on clear days, especially in winter, the Farallon Islands, about 44 miles (70 km) away, can be seen beyond the Golden Gate.
Within the sanctuary are the Farallon Islands and associated National Wildlife Refuge, the sanctuary protects the feeding grounds of the seabirds and seals that breed and haul out on the islands.
Western Gull eggs were also occasionally taken, having a comparable flavor, but they were smaller than murre eggs and more fragile (an important factor given the choppy seas between the Farallon Islands and San Francisco).