Desert Tortoise Conservation

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Desert Tortoise Conservation

• By Steven Peterson

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Major Points

• What threatens the Desert Tortoise?
• What is being done to conserve the species in
  Utah?
• What can we do as concerned citizens?

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Threats to the Desert Tortoise

• Illegal Collection
• Urban Expansion/Habitat Destruction
• Upper Respiratory Tract Disease
• Loss of Forage due to Grazing and invasive species

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Illegal Collection

• Pets
• -unlawful to remove the desert tortoise
• -Endangered Species Act

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Habitat Destruction
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• The United States Fish and Wildlife Service
  designated habitat critical to the survival and
  recovery of the Mojave populations of the desert
  tortoise in 1994.  Critical Habitat Units
  (yellow) were designated in California, Nevada,
  Utah and in Arizona north and west of the Grand
  Canyon. The blue area in the west is the Desert
  Tortoise Natural Area and blue area in the south
  is Joshua Tree National Park.

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Urban Expansion

• Destruction
• Fragmentation
• Ravens
• Washington County 5th fastest growing county in
  U.S.

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Disease

• Upper Respiratory Tract Infections
• How?
• - Translocation of Infected Species
• - Pet release
• - stress (e.g. drought)

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Grazing

• Limit number of permits
• Limit the destruction of soil and native plants

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Exotic Species

• Exotic Grasses
• - increased frequency of wildfires
• - historic intervals between fires 30
  to 100
• yrs
• - invasion of exotics lowered that to
  5 yrs
• some areas of the Mojave Desert

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Conservation of the Desert Tortoise

• Red Cliffs Desert Reserve
• Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP)
• Tortoise adoption program

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Red Cliffs Desert Reserve

• 38,787 acres
• Upper Virgin River Recovery Unit
• Accomplishments
• - fencing
• - restriction of ORV
• - purchase grazing rights
• - local community success

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Habitat Conservation Plan

• Led to establishment of Red Cliffs Desert
  Preserve
• Goal
• - allow orderly growth and development
• - minimize threat to Desert Tortoise and
• other federally listed species
• - Blood tested before relocation
• - So far over 400 tortoises have been
• processed by Washington County to
  allow for
• development

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Adoption Programs

• The Utah Desert Tortoise Foster Care Program
• Goals
• - Prevent illegal capture
• - Prevent spread of disease

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Become Involved

• Numerous Private Interest Groups
• - Desert Tortoise Council
• Community Politics
• - HCP
• Government Agencies
• - work with those responsible for
• overseeing recovery efforts
• Visit the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve

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Do Your Part

• Non-human actions like drought, predation,
  and disease take a toll on the desert tortoise
  naturally. Adding human activities such as
  mining, grazing, and off-highway vehicles, and
  the threats to the species escalate. Stay on
  designated trails or roads when visiting the
  desert. Keep dogs on leashes to prevent harm to
  tortoises when visiting the desert and report
  free-ranging dogs to local animal control
  agencies. And as always, use caution with fire
  and disposal of cigarettes

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Questions?