Codee McDaniel

February 14, 2009

On February 12, 2009, the Fort Irwin National Training Center situated near Barstow, California resumed control over its Tortoise Relocation Program (the "Program"). Base expansion efforts have forced the relocation of the Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) to protect the species from harm by military training exercises. Congress approved the Army's expansion plan, comprising some 131,000 acres, in 2001. However, seven years passed before the Army futilely endeavored to translocate the 1,781 Mojave desert tortoises ("desert tortoise") inhabiting the base.

Management of the desert tortoise requires careful consideration because it is a threatened species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made this designation in 1990. Thus, before commencing any relocation activities, the Army first had to acquire a "take" permit from the agency. The Army obtained this permit in 2001, and dedicated the next seven years to orchestrating the $8.5 million desert tortoise translocation effort with the assistance of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Calamity ensued in March of 2008 when the Army finally attempted to move 646 desert tortoises. Ninety perished. The "take" permit only authorized the "demise" of 138 desert tortoises. Since this time, the Army has reached the limits of the "take" permit. Sadly, cars hit several tortoises while they were trying to return to the base, and coyotes prayed upon others.

The high mortality rate coupled with a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity in July of 2008 prompted the Program's suspension in November of 2008. The Program's primary defects stem from its lack of a scientific basis, and the prioritization of base expansion over the preservation of critical habitat for the desert tortoise. For instance, it is "widely known" that tortoises attempt to return home for the first two years following translocation. The Army, however, failed to adequately address this issue as no fences were erected to confine the translocated desert tortoises.

Desert tortoise populations have declined by ninety percent since the 1950s. This is astonishing considering that from 1996 to 2006, more than $93 million has been expended in the management of the desert tortoise. The "high roller" of the Endangered Species List receives more federal funding than the grizzly bear, bald eagle, or gray wolf, and yet, the Army is allowed to perpetuate the denigration of the desert tortoise without any real consequences. Or are they?

The Army's and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's alleged malfeasance respecting the translocation effort and the Program are currently pending review in the Northern District of California.

Sources:

April Reece, Endangered Species: Army Moves to Resume Controversial Tortoise Relocation Program, Land Letter, at 16 (Feb. 12, 2009).

Center for Biological Diversity v. Kempthorne, No. 3:2008--cv--03176 (N.D. Cal. July 2, 2008).

Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. § 1539(a)(1)(B) (2006).

Mike Stark, Mojave Desert Tortoise: Endangered Species List's High Roller, The Huffington Post, Jan. 20, 2009, at A1.

Mark C. Andersen, Et. Al., Regression--Tree Modeling of Desert Tortoise Habitat in the Central Mojave Desert, 10 Ecology Applications 890, 892--98 (2000).