29th Annual Meeting and Symposium of the
Desert Tortoise Council, February 20-23, 2004
Abstracts

Desert Tortoise Management Issues: Cooperation and Potential for Partnerships

Gerald Hillier
QuadState County Government Coalition, P.O. Box 55820, Riverside, CA 92517

The QuadState County Government Coalition represents local governments, through their elected officials, in six counties within the four-state region that embraces desert tortoise habitat and populations. The organization is involved with desert tortoise management issues on behalf of their jurisdictions and their constituents. It has also become involved in a variety of related land use and policy issues including the Lower Colorado River MSCP, advocacy for changes in regard to the Federal Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Program to reflect Federal land acquisition effects on property tax base, and R.S. 2477 assertions.

Local governments provide a source of public accountability through its elected officials.

The Coalition continues to participate with the Management Oversight Group (MOG) and has also worked with the Assessment Committee (DTRPAC) as they look at the 1994 Recovery Plan, including hiring a biometrician who has provided input to the Committee. We continue to believe, as we stated last year, that the current Recovery Plan has significant flaws.

The Coalition is not anti-tortoise. We favor sound and reasonable land management. We ask for reasonableness in developing and implementing land use plans. This includes assessing the effects on users as well as looking at overall costs of implementation.

There are a number of areas of common ground. We need to find more and improve our dialogue.

• We need to focus on recovery where there is the greatest chance of real and permanent recovery.
• We need to find scientifically valid means of directing mitigation for habitat management and protection and perform investments where they have the best chance of return.
• We must solve the disease and predation issues.
• We need to come to an understanding regarding tax base erosion. If land acquisition is to continue as a primary source of mitigation, then we need your support in getting H.R. 380 passed during the current session of Congress.
• We need to commit to monitoring, and better evaluate the effects of our mitigation efforts.

We ask that you not lose sight of the fact that land use decisions affect real people and real livelihoods, and the decisions implemented require significant investment of both private and public funds. There needs to be assurance, and proof, that such investment will have a measurable and meaningful payoff.