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29th Annual Meeting and Symposium of the
Desert Tortoise Council, February 20-23, 2004
Abstracts
STUDENT PAPER
Mapping the Location, Habitat, and Characteristics of Eastern Mojave Desert Tortoises Encountered during NPC Construction and Maintenance Activities
Carol Lane1,2, Kristin Murphy3, Vick Tripoli2,
and Eileen Wynkoop2
1Department of Environmental Studies, University of Nevada,
Las Vegas
2Nevada Power Company
3U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Las
Vegas Field Office;
Nevada Power Company (NPC) has begun upgrading their transmission system in Southern Nevada to increase reliability and support the growing demand for electricity. Recently completed transmission lines are located in Ivanpah Valley, from Primm, Nevada to southwestern Las Vegas Valley and along the northern end of the Las Vegas Valley from Apex to Northwest Las Vegas Valley. The permitting and construction of new transmission lines has required Nevada Power Company to employ biologists to survey and monitor and consequently collect data pertaining to the Mojave Desert tortoise. The monitors have recorded the location, size, and sex any Mojave Desert tortoise encountered in or near construction projects along with data from other sensitive species. Data from biological monitors' field notes were collected and the location of Mojave Desert tortoises were mapped using Geographical Information Systems to identify density of Mojave desert tortoises within varied habitats of Nevada Power Company's project areas. Areas of new construction were located in the periphery of the growing Las Vegas Valley and urban growth is expected to continue outward as the Bureau of Land Management releases land for development. This fact, combined with the age structure of the population we observed indicate the Mojave Desert tortoise population will continue to decline in this region of Southern Nevada.
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