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

Desert Tortoise Conservation and Management at Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake, California

Steve Pennix
Environmental Planning and Management Department, Code 870000D, Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake CA, 93555

The Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) at China Lake is located in the northwestern corner of the Mojave Desert. The Navy at China Lake manages greater than 1.1 million acres of land. NAWS lands cover portions of three floristic provinces: California, Great Basin and Mojave Desert. Since the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) was listed as a threatened species, The Navy has implemented an innovative planning and management program to protect and conserve this species.

Tortoise population densities were established for China Lake through extensive field surveys conducted by Kiva Biological Consulting (1991) throughout desert tortoise habitat located on-Station. Based on these surveys, a land use management and habitat conservation plan was designed to accommodate the Navy's ongoing and evolving military mission operations throughout the Station, and provide an effective conservation and protection strategy for desert tortoise habitat.

In 1992, the Station formally consulted with US Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) for the implementation of a programmatic Desert Tortoise Habitat Management Plan (HMP). China Lake's HMP accommodates the Station's ongoing military mission and provides guidelines for the new project's review and approval within the designated Habitat Management Areas (HMA), standard mitigation measures, and the designation of approximately 200,000 acres of the South Range as a management area for the desert tortoise. A non-jeopardy opinion was issued for the NAWS HMP by the Service in 1992. The Biological Opinion (BO) formalized the Station's avoidance and minimization process, defined a review and approval process for Navy projects occurring in tortoise habitat throughout the Station, provided incidental take limits, defined annual reporting requirements, and identified other reasonable and prudent measures.

The Station has managed ongoing military operations and desert tortoise management in accordance with the BO. The HMP has been fully incorporated into the Station's Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan (INRMP). The INRMP was reviewed and approved by both the Service and the California Department of Fish and Game in September 1999. NAWS China Lake has augmented the HMP through other actions beneficial to the desert tortoise including the removal of sheep grazing from the HMA and through fencing of Station land adjacent to other public lands.