Today in Rotary, our speaker was biologist and WashCo
Habitat Conservation Plan Administrator Cameron Rognan who shared information
regarding the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve and its inhabitants, including the only
healthy population of desert tortoises in the world.
Speaking of the plans creation in 1996 , he noted, “the plan
requires us to remove tortoises before any development. Our ‘take’ permit allows us to move 1169
tortoises … to date we have only to take about 500. We don’t ever expect to take all of our
permitted animals in our 62,000 reserve with tortoise habitat making up about
half and with 130 miles of trails.” In
addition to protecting the area’s large assortment of critters, the Reserve is
also popular for recreatoin, including hiking, biking and climbing.
According to the biologist, “the desert tortoise spends
about 90% of its life underground, hybernating from mid-November to March and
can live nearly a century.”
The reasons for the decline of the worldwide desert tortoise
population are varied:
·
Upper-respiratory tract disease (URTD)
·
Loss of habitat
·
Illegal collecting
·
It takes a long time for the animals to
reproduce (the babies are only approximately 2” in length, but to reach the age
to reproduce [about the size of a dinner plate], it takes about 10 years)
·
Due to human population growth in the area,
there has also been an increase in new predators, including ravens and
raccoons.
For more information, contact the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve
at 634-5759.
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