28th Annual Meeting and Symposium of the
Desert Tortoise Council, February 21-23, 2003
Abstracts

Desert Tortoise Collection, Husbandry, and Disposition in Nevada

Michael Burroughs¹ and Charles LaBar^2
1U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2701 N. Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130
²Southern Nevada Environmental, Inc., Las Vegas, NV

Desert tortoises have been collected from the wild and held as pets in southern Nevada for decades. The listing of the Mojave population of the desert tortoise in 1989 resulted in concerns by wildlife managers and the public regarding the disposition of unknown status desert tortoise and the distinction between "wild" tortoises protected by the Endangered Species Act (Act) and Pre-Act tortoises lawfully held prior to listing. In 1995, a habitat conservation plan (HCP) for Clark County, Nevada was approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The HCP and associated incidental take permit issued by the USFWS included programs and funding to collect all tortoises in developed areas, at the interface between desert and development, tortoises that occur on private lands to be developed, and unwanted captives. The objective of these programs was to minimize the potential release of captive tortoises into wild populations and the consequential spread of disease, and the interstate transportation of captive tortoises. The protocols involved in collecting, processing, housing, and translocating tortoises will be presented.