Desert tortoises enjoying new home in the Colorado Desert

Story and photos by Alexandra Studd-Sojka. Wildlife Biologist and Kate Miyamoto, Public Affairs Specialist 

Nestled in burrows and hidden beneath the leathery leaves of a jojoba bush, desert tortoises translocated in 2023 from an area slated for a renewable energy project are adapting nicely to their new home. 

In January 2024, the BLM used radio transmitters to track three female desert tortoises in their new home in the Chuckwalla Bench area, a spectacular landscape that lies between the Chocolate and Chuckwalla Mountain ranges in the Colorado Desert in southern California. Prior to the translocation, the three tortoises were fitted with transmitters to monitor their daily movements and ensure they were not being impacted by construction activities.  

BLM Wildlife Biologist Alex Studd-Sojka discovered two desert tortoises enjoying the comfort of burrows and one hanging out at the base of a jojoba bush, a native desert shrub. As the weather begins to warm, the tortoises are slowly becoming active. Desert tortoises hibernate in burrows for up to nine months each year and are most active from March to June and September to October.  

“It was exciting to find the translocated tortoises enjoying their new home with excellent habitat for them to live out their lives and hopefully multiply,” said Studd-Sojka.  

The desert tortoise is a threatened species, so when it comes to project development on BLM-managed public lands, the BLM consults with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on potential impacts. As part of the development process for renewable energy projects, the BLM requires developers to mitigate circumstances impacting the desert tortoise.  Biologists from federal and state agencies work diligently alongside developers to determine the best outcome for the impacted tortoises. 

The translocated desert tortoises have reestablished themselves in a habitat protected from development. The BLM is actively involved in ongoing research projects addressing desert tortoise management and the tortoises are monitored every few months to better understand the effects of the translocation. The BLM will complete an annual health assessment including a visual check, measurements of their shell length and width, and weight.  

As a reminder, if you encounter a desert tortoise in the wild, do not approach or move them unless absolutely necessary as your presence can cause stress in the animal, possibly resulting in death. If you must approach a tortoise for their own safety, move slowly, pick up the animal gently, using both hands if necessary and always keep it level, placing it gently back on the ground.