U.S. Gives Desert Tortoise Protection as Endangered

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, alarmed by a sudden decline in the desert tortoise population, granted an emergency request from environmentalists Monday and declared that the species is endangered in the Mojave Desert.

California’s official state reptile--already under pressure from off-road vehicles and grazing livestock--is facing extinction from a rapidly spreading virus that so far has proved incurable, the Fish and Wildlife Service has concluded.

The rare emergency decision to list the tortoise as endangered could lead to new restrictions on housing construction, off-road motorcycle racing and the grazing of sheep and cattle in the desert tortoise habitat. It also is likely to spur efforts to find a cure for the disease and make additional federal funds available for protection of the species.

In some parts of the western Mojave Desert, the number of tortoises has dropped by nearly 60% in the last four years, studies have shown. The deadly respiratory virus, as well as other little-known diseases, appears to have spread throughout the tortoise’s range in California, Nevada, Utah and northwestern Arizona.

“We are taking emergency action now in an attempt to prevent any further loss to the Mojave desert tortoise population already devastated by these diseases,” said Marvin Plenert, Northwest regional director of the Fish and Wildlife Service. “Although listing of the species will not stop the spread of the diseases, it will afford the tortoise extra protection while scientists are working to control the outbreak.”

Under federal law, it is illegal to take, harass or kill a member of an endangered species. Construction on private land that is within the habitat of an endangered species requires a special federal permit. And federal agencies must consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service when deciding what uses will be permitted in the species’ habitat.

Environmentalists, whose petition to Interior Secretary Manuel Lujan Jr. led to the listing, welcomed the decision as the first step in saving the reptile from extinction.

“I think it’s wonderful,” said Johanna Wald, a spokeswoman for the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of three groups that sought the listing. “It’s tragic what has happened to the desert tortoise, and there can be no question it deserves emergency listing under the current circumstances.”

But representatives of the sheep-grazing industry and off-road vehicle enthusiasts expressed concern that the endangered designation could limit their use of the desert.

“We are obviously very disappointed in the listing,” said Jay Wilson, a lobbyist for the California Wool Growers Assn. “The action is going to increase the regulations and the management procedures we have to go through and do very little to help the tortoise.”

Federal officials said they are uncertain precisely what actions they will take to increase protection of the animal. Both environmentalists and industry advocates said they will be watching closely to see what the tortoise’s new designation will mean for the survival of the species--and for human use of the desert.

A ‘Positive Step’

“This is certainly a positive step to give the tortoise the protection it so desperately needs,” said Richard Spotts, a lobbyist for the Defenders of Wildlife, which also petitioned for endangered status. “The next big question is how the Fish and Wildlife Service will use its authority to protect the desert tortoise.”

The slow-moving tortoise, which can grow to about 12 inches long, spends most of its life in burrows under the desert floor, avoiding both the heat of the Mojave summer and the winter cold. Known to live to 50 years old, it feeds on desert flowers and grasses and seldom ventures far from its home territory.

The respiratory virus, little known in the wild before 1988, has been observed in captive tortoises for several decades. Government scientists believe the disease has been spread by the release of pet tortoises back into the wild and have called on the public not to return captive animals to the desert.

The species’ habitat extends from the western Mojave desert of California through southern Nevada to the southwest tip of Utah and into western Arizona. However, Monday’s action does not include the population in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, which is separated from the Mojave population by the Colorado River.

Last month, the state of California also moved to protect the tortoise by designating the species as threatened, which carries fewer protections than endangered status.

May Number 60,000

Federal officials estimate there are about 60,000 desert tortoises in California. About two-thirds of the animal’s habitat is controlled by government agencies, primarily the federal Bureau of Land Management.

The emergency designation, scheduled to take effect later this week, will remain in force for 240 days while the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of the Interior consider whether to grant that status permanently.

Earlier this year, the Bush Administration made two other moves to protect individual species from extinction: a ban on the importation of African elephant ivory and designation of the spotted owl as endangered.

To some environmentalists, the actions suggest that President Bush and Lujan have departed from the course set by the Reagan Administration on wildlife matters. Under Reagan in 1985, the Fish and Wildlife Service agreed that listing of the tortoise as endangered was warranted but did not take any action, citing more pressing concerns.

“There are some encouraging signs from the Interior Department that times have changed and there is a more responsible and sympathetic attitude toward conservation issues,” said Michael Bean of the Environmental Defense Fund, another of the groups that petitioned for listing of the tortoise.