About The Project

The data collected by Eco Vita staff played a vital role in ensuring the project’s compliance with environmental regulations and the conservation of the threatened desert tortoise.

Eco Vita supported the expansion of a 4,703-acre gold mining project by conducting a comprehensive desert tortoise quantification survey. These surveys were meticulously carried out in accordance with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Mojave Desert Tortoise Pre-project Survey Protocols.

Team members faced the challenge of navigating extremely rough terrain and significant elevation gains each day, which one team member aptly described as “desert tortoise bootcamp.” The collected data not only ensured compliance with environmental regulations but also provided crucial insights into the habitat and population dynamics of the desert tortoise. This information is essential for mitigating the impact of the mining project on this threatened species.