Tortoise Land May Get New Protection : Environment: Wildlife officials propose designating 6.6 million acres as critical to the species’ survival. It could affect plans for a nuclear dump in the Mojave Desert.

Federal wildlife officials proposed Friday to designate 6.6 million acres in four western states as critical to the survival of the desert tortoise, which could affect plans to build a low-level nuclear waste dump in California’s Mojave Desert.

Under the proposal, projects and activities, including the planned dump, would be subjected to extra scrutiny to see if they harm land inhabited by the tortoise, which was declared a threatened species in 1990.

The proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stems from a settlement of two lawsuits filed by environmentalists, including a group trying to block construction of the 70-acre dump in Ward Valley, 22 miles west of Needles.

Designation of the acreage in Southern California, southern Nevada, northwestern Arizona and southwestern Utah as critical to the large reptile could affect roads, livestock grazing, off-road vehicles, mining, weapons testing and other activities. Most of the land is owned by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the Defense Department.

Because the desert tortoise is listed as a threatened species, landowners must receive federal approval before engaging in activities that could harm the animals. But designation of critical habitat affords another layer of more wide-ranging protection--this time not just of the animal, but the land it inhabits.

“It doesn’t mean we’re setting up sanctuaries for the tortoise. It doesn’t mean no human activities are allowed,” said David Klinger, a spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Service’s western region. “It does mean that when we do business with the landowners, which is primarily the BLM, there has to be a broader look at how their activities affect habitat.”

Three hearings on the proposal are scheduled, including one Oct. 6 in Riverside. A final decision by the wildlife agency is expected by Dec. 15.

Of the 6.6 million acres, nearly 4.8 million are in California, including seven parcels in San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, Kern and Imperial counties.

Mark Maley, a Fish and Wildlife Service biologist in Reno, said dozens of activities are conducted within the proposed critical habitat zones.

“Our office here alone probably has something like 20 consultations that would require more review. Most are with federal agencies, primarily rights of way for roads and power lines, and BLM’s proposed livestock grazing program,” Maley said.

“With each one, we would have to weigh the number of acres affected. We would also have to look at how much of that critical habitat has been disturbed already, such as power lines set across it.”

In 1992, the wildlife agency ruled that the state’s proposed Ward Valley dump would not jeopardize the survival of the tortoise, said federal wildlife biologist Jim Rorabaugh. But the dump would have to be reviewed by biologists again, this time under stricter rules.

BLM spokeswoman Elayn Briggs said her agency will not wait until the proposal is final. She said the agency would consult with wildlife biologists before carrying out any activities in the interim. “For Ward Valley, that means we would probably need to go back into conference with the Fish and Wildlife Service,” she said.

The long-delayed dump has faced many other hurdles. The major one remaining is approval from Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, who has said he will not transfer the federal site to the state for the dump until he holds hearings on safety and environmental issues.

Federal protection of endangered species does not stop development or other use of the land. In most cases, it might force a project to be moved, or require some extra safeguards. If wildlife biologists determine that the dump adversely changes the critical acreage, they would probably require the BLM to find ways to minimize or compensate for the damage.

The government’s proposal would not affect private landowners unless there is federal money or other federal government involvement in their projects.

The desert tortoise, the only naturally occurring tortoise in the Mojave Desert, grows to a length of about 15 inches and lives most of its life burrowed in the soil near washes, rocky hillsides or flat, sandy areas.

Considered extremely vulnerable to human activities because of its size and slow movement, it also has been dying because of a respiratory virus brought in by other, illegally transported tortoises.

Elden Hughes of the Sierra Club called the habitat proposal “a very, very important” step because it would stop the “chewing up” of the tortoise’s habitat by roads and other human activities.