A unique opportunity to learn more about our beloved desert tortoises, up close and personal from the experts. Reporter Mike Lipsitz has more on a field seminar this Saturday……
With the existence of the desert tortoise threatened with extinction, Copper Mountain College and the Desert Institute at Joshua Tree National Park will host a field seminar on the fascinating species April 6. Starting in the classroom, Edward LaRue Jr., representing the Desert Tortoise Council, will discuss tortoise detection and occurrence in the Morongo Basin since 1989, construction monitoring, current threats, and tortoise life. CMC professor of biology, Paul Delaney, will discuss management of the College’s tortoise translocation area, and reveal the remarkable variety of adaptations exhibited by tortoises in the preserve. Delaney says, “Protecting threatened species is critically important because they are indicators of biodiversity and ecosystem stability. Intact ecosystems and biodiversity provide important medical, genetic, aesthetic, recreational, agricultural and ecological resources upon which humans depend.” For a class catalog, information, and registration call 760-367-5535 or visit joshuatree.org.
FIELD SEMINAR ON THE DESERT TORTOISE SATURDAY
