The Living Desert

The Main Goal of This Project Is to Restore Degraded Desert Tortoise Habitat Sites Within the BLM Lands in the Chuckwalla Bench, Located Within the Desert Tortoise Colorado Desert Recovery Unit. These Areas Are Degraded Due to Climate Change and Historical Ecosystem Manipulation Due to the Construction of Run-off Containment Areas That Were Constructed Along Interstate 10 That Reduces Available Foraging Sources to the Tortoise in Some of the Area. Our Project Aims to Restore Desert Tortoise Habitat in the Equivalent of 3 Acres That Have Been Degraded in the Chuckwalla Critical Habitat Unit. the Project Will Analyze the Impacts of Manually Planting Native Perennial Species in Previously Disturbed Areas, Implementing the Best Practices of Planning for Water Retention and Acquisition of the Plants, and Thus Maximizing Their Likelihood of Survival. the Project Will Monitor Invasive Plant Reestablishment, the Survival of the Planted Native Forage Species, and the Success of Seeded Annuals for Two Years.the Secondary Goal Is to Create a Similar Plan for Implementing This Approach Across Other Important BLM Lands in the Entire Desert Tortoise Recovery Unit to Increase Native Plant Cover, Thereby Improving the Overall Habitat Conditions for the Species.