Off-road ban to save tortoises

Associated Press, San Francisco
Thursday January 6, 2005
The Guardian

A judge has ordered the US Bureau of Land Management to ban off-road vehicles on more than 200,000 hectares (500,000 acres) in southern California to protect the desert tortoise.

Government officials expect the ban to be short-lived, until an official report on the endangered species has been published. But the move has been praised by environmentalists, who say it sends a message to the White House and public land agencies that wildlife habitats must be protected.

The ban affects dried flood beds in two desert wildlife areas in Riverside, San Bernardino and Imperial counties. Anyone caught driving in the beds during the ban could face a $1,000 (£530) fine or up to a year in prison.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,13369,1384062,00.html

the Ft Irwin and 29 Palms. How many tortoises, burros, hares, etc are killed each year at those places?

Automobiles kill more people in the USA each year than bullets so maybe
they're applying the same rules to tortoises ...

:hi: