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the mohave desert one of the hottest

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driest and most barren deserts of North

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America Webster's dictionary wants to

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find desert as a desolate and forbidding

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prospect but on the contrary the Mojave

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Desert is a fragile place where a

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variety of plants and animals unique to

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this territory are commonly found the

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state of the desert tortoise however

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perhaps best of all represents the

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delicate balance of desert life and its

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the desert tortoise can be found in the

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western portion of Arizona southeastern

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California and a small area of southern

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nevada utah and mexico the tortoise

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family has been in existence for 175

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million years but a mere century or so

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of living with humans may be proving too

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much for them tortoises living in the

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mojave desert are generally found below

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the 4,000 foot level in joshua tree

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communities creosote bush and saltbush

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scrub habitats the burrows in which they

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live protect them from the extreme

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temperatures found in the desert

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environment the Halfmoon like appearance

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corresponds to the shape of their

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shelves and can be anywhere from six

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with the rebirth of spring Lee emerge

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from their burrows when a climate brings

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warmth and a feast of new annual plants

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in the wild desert tortoises can survive

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70 years or more and grow to over one

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foot in diameter reproduction of the

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tortoises doesn't begin until 15 to 20

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years of age the female lays between 1

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and 15 eggs and then abandons the nest

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these small hatchlings are born

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approximately 90 days later with very

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soft shells that will not become

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completely hardened for about five or

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six years and it is during this

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relatively defenseless stage that they

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fall prey to many animals consequently

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there's slow reproductive cycle delicate

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early years and destruction of their

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habitat make it difficult to save this

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frail species in 1990 the US Fish and

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Wildlife Service listed the desert

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tortoise has threatened under the

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Endangered Species Act this listing was

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prompted by severe population declines

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caused by the loss of habitat from

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off-road vehicles agriculture grazing

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animals and urbanization destroying

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their burrows and food supply people

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collecting these interesting creatures

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as pets exposing them to numerous

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diseases and predation by Ravens coyotes

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and Badgers are leading to their

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you

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since the early 19th century urban

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development has been deteriorating the

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desert tortoise habitat urbanization is

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expanding into regions of desert that

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since tortoises don't venture far from

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their original territory they are not

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likely to survive if relocated to areas

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adjacent to develop regions once their

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home is destroyed they too could perish

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and while progress is an undeniable part

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of our existence we still need to be

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aware of our desert ecosystem and the

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impact we are creating construction

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crews are being urged to watch out for

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the desert tortoise and other wildlife

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before any construction project begins a

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biological assessment is made in which

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areas to avoid are highlighted with

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ribbons and sometimes fencing crews are

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asked to limit the amount of disturbance

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within their project area check in

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trenches and holes for any animals that

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might have fallen in look under their

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vehicles for tortoises that like to

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escape from the Sun and discard all

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trash to keep predators away if a

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tortoise is spotted the project

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supervisor and a wildlife biologist must

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be notified immediately if a tortoise is

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killed accidentally or otherwise the

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project could be delayed following these

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simple guidelines could aid in saving a

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multi-million dollar project and an

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agriculture has also stripped away vast

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areas of desert environment and grazing

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livestock are competing with the

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tortoises food supply by feasting on the

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the Raven a species common to the Mojave

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Desert has become a major predator of

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the tortoise over the past 40 years the

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raven population has grown in response

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to urbanization and increased feeding

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opportunities at landfills many perceive

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the desert to be indestructible however

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the increasing popularity for desert

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you

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opportunity to watch a really unique

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animal in its natural environment watch

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what it does is it feeds is it is it

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seek shelter maybe even makes a nest or

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mates we would advise you to stay back

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and not interfere with the tortoises

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life pattern certainly we urge you not

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to pick it up or harass it in any way

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these animals are very delicate and and

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even though they're Hardy in the sense

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of being able to live in the desert they

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they don't do well when handle if you do

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happen to come across a tortoise that

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appears to be an immediate danger like

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note the direction in which it is moving

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gently pick it up placing your hand

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under the belly for support and be

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then approximately 100 feet off the road

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in a shaded area place the tortoise in

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protecting the desert tortoise and all

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life in the ecosystem from extinction is

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a responsibility we all must share

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developing an awareness of the various

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forms of life and existence is perhaps

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the first step in this conservation

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biological research has indicated that

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ecosystems can maintain themselves if we

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preserve them as complex systems this

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means all the parts of the system

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whether plant or animal are

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interconnected and must be preserved in

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the desert tortoise is only one animal

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in the desert however it's burrows

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provide habitat for other species it's

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been here a lot longer than the human

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race has probably dating back to the age

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of the dinosaurs it's an indicator that

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the health of the system is suffering

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when we see declines in an animal like

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this as we gain more insight into this

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diverse biological world we live in we

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also have the responsibility to preserve

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it progress and technology have advanced

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the human race to limitless capabilities

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but imagine if we started taking parts

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out of today's highly complex aircraft

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take away one part too many and the

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aircraft is destroyed in the mission

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lost so too with our environment if one

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part is missing like the desert tortoise

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then our mission of maintaining a

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healthy environment may be lost it is

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not too late if we all do our part in

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maintaining this delicate balance as we

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continue to explore the unknown our