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County approves cooperative agreement to fund Mojave desert tortoise monitoring and relocations
Summary
Washington County approved a cooperative agreement with the State Division of Wildlife Resources to support two tortoise projects: a translocation monitoring study supported with $20,000 from the county and a smaller relocation marking effort tied to a possible Northern Corridor project.
Cameron Rogan (speaker 16) presented two Division of Wildlife Resources projects: a translocation monitoring study that would attach radio transmitters to relocated Mojave desert tortoises and a smaller marking-and-relocation effort related to the proposed Northern Corridor. Rogan said the Division is covering most of the cost and the county will contribute $20,000 to the monitoring study and roughly $5,000 toward the relocation work should the corridor project proceed.
Rogan discussed the broader permitting context and the HCP (habitat-conservation-plan) take allowance, saying the original HCP allowed a numeric take of over 1,000 tortoises but that the county has relocated "somewhere around 500 tortoises or less" under that permit. Commissioners approved the cooperative agreement and asked staff to clarify one wording item in the presentation.
