Printable VersionKINGMAN — The Sonoran Desert inhabiting the area may very well threaten land developments, mining operations, and ranch operations in Mohave County.
“There is a big pull to make the Sonoran tortoise endangered. This decision will allow us to be able to get our opinion in as far as restrictions and to be part of the rule making process,” said Buster Johnson, Mohave County Supervisor District III.
The Board of Supervisors unanimous vote Monday to support the Desert Tortoise Management Oversight Group Charter empowers Supervisor Johnson to sign the Charter on behalf of Mohave County.
“It is beneficial for the county to now have a seat at the table with state and federal leaders that make the decisions. The (desert tortoise) group benefits to have the county engaged, it allows a better handle on local input,” said Gerald Hillier, executive director of Quadstate Local Governments Authority.
Quadstate is an organization that encompasses a number of counties in Arizona and officials in Nevada, Utah, Arizona and California. The organization is designed to align necessary interest in federal issues linked to impact specific areas, in this case, the whole of the Mojave Desert.
Desert Tortoise Management Oversight Group, or MOG, will shuttle its supporting officials into the collective company of desert tortoise authority.
MOG includes federal, state, local, and tribal government agencies, all of who are interested in protecting the desert tortoise and its habitat. While doing so, there is an underlying interest that rallies and propels these agencies to join forces.
The common interest of monitoring the details of the species’ protection is how to protect what is crucial and beneficial to the growth of each specific area.
More locally, Mohave County’s interest is in protecting area land developments, uranium mining operations, and ranch operations.
To learn by example, areas of California and Nevada were required to install a protective desert tortoise fencing that is embedded 18 inches into the ground when their native Mojave population was classified ‘threatened’ in 1990.
If the endangered Sonoran desert tortoise of this area is not dealt with a decline in population will require the same ‘threatened’ species classification.
In the situation, the fencing could potentially add significant cost to new construction projects as well as existing roads in Mohave County.
The desert tortoise fencing runs approximately $15 per running foot, which results in fencing costs of $158,400, according to documents provided by MOG. The fencing costs would inevitably fall to taxpayers, Johnson said.
The Sonoran and Mojave populations are designated populations of desert tortoises. The names are purely geographical and not a distinction between differing tortoise species. A third population, the Sinaloan desert tortoise occurs specifically in Mexico.
You may contact the reporter at jhanson@havasunews.com.
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