As desert towns and cities grow, the diverse mosaic of ecological habitats inside Mojave National Preserve have become increasingly important as critical desert tortoise habitat.
Due to a variety of variables including loss of habitat and disease, the desert tortoise population has been declining for decades. In 1990, the Fish and Wildlife Service listed the desert tortoise as a threatened species. The listing required federal agencies to work together to stabilize desert tortoise populations.
Mojave National Preserve is doing its part to preserve the population with the recent installation of tortoise fencing along its roadways to prevent the slow moving reptiles from entering onto roads where dozens killed or injured every year. Cima Road is the first to have tortoise safety measures in place and there are plans to install dozens more miles of this fencing on Preserve roads.
The Mojave Desert is also home to a thriving population of ravens that prey on juvenile desert tortoise as their soft shells aren’t yet hard enough to protect them. Mojave National Preserve has also removed 500 utility poles from the 1940s that spanned 15 miles of the park. The poles were once ideal nesting grounds for the ravens and perches to scan the surrounding for young desert tortoises. They removal will hopefully help curb predation.
Mojave National Preserve Press Release:
Desert tortoises are vulnerable to vehicles as they slowly cross Preserve roads, with dozens killed or injured every year. Although these reptiles spend about 95 percent of their life in burrows, they are most active during spring and summer rains and can be seen eating wildflowers, drinking water from puddles or looking for mates.
“Tortoise fencing” is exclusionary metal fencing about 2 feet in height that is installed along road shoulders to prevent these creatures from entering onto roads during their out of burrow adventures.
“Roadkill should be a thing of the past. We want desert tortoises to thrive in Mojave National Preserve. Our team is making a huge investment in tortoise survival through these projects, and we’ll continue to be leaders in on-the-ground conservation of this keystone species.” –Mojave National Preserve Superintendent Ray McPadden
Cima Road is the first road to have tortoise safety measures in place, and the Preserve plans to install over dozens of more miles of this fencing on roads that intersect prime tortoise habitat.
“Desert tortoises face multiple threats to their persistence throughout their range. Mojave National Preserve has addressed most, but the science community believes tortoise exclusion fencing and removal of raven subsidies could be the primary management actions that will provide the best protection.” -Wildlife Biologist Neal Darby
Raven populations are thriving in the Mojave Desert; juvenile desert tortoise in particular are susceptible to predation by ravens as their slowly developing soft shells aren’t hard enough to protect them. Removing utility poles takes away advantageous nesting sites and perches for ravens looking for an easy juvenile desert tortoise snack. These utility poles date back to the 1940’s and their removal is a triumph to returning the desert landscape to its natural scenic beauty.
