PLEASE NOTE: Volunteers on these projects will be based with ACE Arizona in Flagstaff
Lake Mead National Recreation Area: (January - May 2007)
The Desert Tortoise is native to the Mojave Desert surrounding Las Vegas, Nevada, the fastest growing city in the United States over the last 10 years. Urbanization brings intense pressures on the fragile habitat of the Desert Tortoise, as off high vehicle activities, collection by humans, vandalism, and predation by ravens has conspired to endanger the survival of this officially threatened species. ACE crews partner with restoration biologists from Lake Mead National Recreation Area in an effort to close and replant illegal roads, preventing jeeps and all terrain vehicles from rampaging through fragile tortoise habitat. The project will involve transplanting native desert plants and constructing fences to block access to critical habitat. As is true with many ACE projects, the task will demand patience and a positive attitude, while affording the opportunity to contribute to the protection of a threatened species in a uniquely beautiful desert environment. Volunteers should be prepared to camp in temperatures at or just below the freezing point in order to take part in this winter project
