State Postpones Decision on Desert Tortoise
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The state Department of Fish and Game Commission on Friday postponed until June 30 a decision on whether the desert tortoise should be added to the state’s list of threatened species.
The postponement followed a U.S. Bureau of Land Management request that the commission delay the decision for two to four years. BLM state director Ed Hastey sought the delay in order to give the BLM more time to implement its own programs to protect the tortoise. A spokesman said the commission will take the BLM’s request into account.
Environmentalists have argued that the state listing is needed soon to ensure survival of tortoise populations, which have declined 30% to 70% in some portions of the western Mojave desert.
The listing, if approved, would require that proposed development plans in tortoise habitat consider measures to protect the reptile.
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