The Marine Corps has completed its study on the impacts of alternative plans to relocate tortoises that are in the Marines’ training area in Johnson Valley. The Marine Corps is required to relocate tortoises out of its training areas and to ensure that they have a high rate of survival. Years ago, the military tried re-locating tortoises out of the training area to desert areas near Barstow and Fort Irwin, with disastrous results, in which most tortoises did not survive. In 2006, a tortoise “head start” facility was started on the Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, where young tortoises are raised until they are large enough to survive most predator attacks, and then released back into the wild. The Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, which studies the Marine Corps’ plans for relocating tortoises, is online or available for review at the Twentynine Palms, Joshua Tree, and Yucca Valley libraries.
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MARINE CORPS RELEASES PLAN FOR RELOCATING JOHNSON VALLEY TORTOISES
