Marines seek plan to move tortoises from Johnson Valley
By Leah Sanson, Hi-Desert Star
Thursday, September 8, 2016 2:18 pm
JOHNSON VALLEY *— Tortoises are proving to be a continuing problem at the Johnson Valley Shared Use Area that the Marines first used last month.
After the Center for Biological Diversity filed a notice of intent to challenge the Marine Corps’ plans to relocate desert tortoises from the site, which resulted in the halting of the relocation this spring, the Marine Corps is preparing a new environmental impact statement and researching other methods to relocate the tortoises without damaging their population.
The Center for Biological Diversity alleged that the Bureau of Land Management and the Marine Corps failed to consult adequately with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and fully address impacts to the more than 1,100 tortoises they planned to move.
“The Marines need to have a final translocation plan for the tortoises,” Ileene Anderson, senior scientist for the Center for Biological Diversity, stated.
Anderson said a previous tortoise relocation project the Marine Corps undertook was a disaster for the already-at-risk desert tortoises in the west Mojave Desert.
“The Marine Corps is considering various translocation options to better ensure the long-term success of local desert tortoise populations,” 1st Lt. Karen Holliday, public affairs officer at the Twentynine Palms Marine base, said last week.
With the tortoises still on site, when the Marines trained in the shared use area in August, they did not use live fire, she added. To her knowledge, troops just using roads in the area for convoy missions.
Holliday said the Marine Corps’ early plans to relocate tortoises were rushed and did not fully consider how it might affect the animals. That has changed.
The Marine Corps is now taking more measurements to ensure the safety of the desert tortoises.
“Due to the Marine Corps’ commitment to the stewardship of the environment and desert tortoise, MCAGCC has established a head start program and facility, Tortoise Research and Captive Rearing Site, to significantly advance the survivorship and understanding of this intriguing desert icon,” Holliday said.
The program gives the Marine Corps a long-term assessment of how to protect nests, babies and juveniles until they grow strong enough to survive the environment and sustain their population.
The environmental impact statement is scheduled for a public release in October. There will also be three public information sessions held in local communities.
The desert tortoise relocation will most likely occur in the spring or fall because of the temperature constraints, Holliday stated.
The Marine Corps plan to use the area again Aug. 1-30, 2017.
