Restoration of the desert tortoise is one effort the designation is expected to benefit.
Millions of acres in the Mojave Desert have been designated as a Sentinel Landscape, meaning more will be done to balance military training with protecting listed plants and animals such as the desert tortoise. AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac, File)Millions of acres of the Mojave Desert, home to five military bases and at least 40 protected species, including the desert tortoise and Joshua trees, will have more protection thanks to a designation as California’s first Sentinel Landscape.
A desert tortoise walks around inside its pen at the Tortoise Research and Captive Rearing Site at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center , Twentynine Palms, California, March 15, 2021. TRACRS and Head Start Program, run by the MCAGCC Environmental Affairs Division, is a part of the Marine Corps’ commitment to environmental stewardship.
Other bases in the Mojave Desert include the National Training Center Fort Irwin, Edwards Air Force Base, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake and Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow.“As an example, it amplifies the combat center’s commitment to the tortoise , habitat restoration and other recovery efforts on and off the installation,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Brandon Owen, a 29 Palms base spokesperson.
Base ecologists at 29 Palms said the tortoise program has resulted in a 96% survival rate of turtles inside the facility each year. In the wild, the survival rate is less than 50%, base officials said. Some of the groups will include California State Parks, Death Valley National Park, Desert Tortoise Council, Joshua Tree National Park and the University of California Riverside.
There are now 17 Sentinel Landscapes, the other newly designated areas are in Hawaii, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Utah.
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