THE BOLSON TORTOISE
Conservation Efforts - There is still hope!
This needs to be addressed!
In order to save the Bolson Tortoise, and prevent its extinction, we must implement conservation efforts to save and protect its habitat. Some organizations have already begun the vital work of increasing the number of Bolson Tortoises through captive breeding programs. To truly bring back the population of tortoises to what they once were, there must be more action to stop the habitat degradation and destruction of resources in the Chihuahuan desert. Protecting the halophytic grass that is their main source of food is very important, and stopping the exploitation of water resources is also important. It is important to understand the inequality in wealth and resources for the people in this area as well. They are disproportionately affected by the industrialization and extraction of resources in the Chihuahuan desert, which can also be attributed to racism in our society that protects White people with money, while taking advantage of people of color, like those in Northern Mexico. The United States is able to have healthy ecosystems and environment, while they export their goods from other places in the world that are suffering the consequences of that production. This is yet another crucial issue that must be faced by the restoration of the Chihuahuan desert ecosystem.
In 1966 the Chihuahua Bolson Tortoise reintroduction project was started by Ms. Appleton, and later sold to the Turner Endangered Species Fund. This project is a captive breeding program that has seen significant progress, and has produced about 500 tortoises, which is a large portion of the current Bolson Tortoise population (Bolson Tortoise, n.d.).
The Turtle conservation program is also implementing efforts to preserve the Bolson Tortoise. In 2016 the Turtle Conservancy and HABIO, A.C. purchased a 17,540 hectare ranch within the Biosphere Reserve to create the Bolson Tortoise Ecosystem Preserve, which gives complete protection to the tortoise not afforded in most of the rest of the Biosphere Reserve(“Turtle Conservancy”, n.d.).
There Is Hope!
But do not worry there are actions in place to make sure that the Bolson Tortoise is able to thrive in its habitat. There are efforts in place to conserve the Chihuahuan Desert and to make it so that the Bolson Tortoise is no longer on the endangered list.
As early as 1979 the Gopherus Flavomarginatus was listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act. The Bolson Tortoise is also protected under Mexican Law trying to protect it from being illegally traded and used by locals for food. In 2016, the Mexican Government added the Bolson tortoise to the priority species conservation list and developed an action plan for its protection (PACE; Programa de Acción para la Conservación de la Especie) With the listing of the Bolson Tortoise, the illegal trade to the United States may have been reduced. It is illegal for any person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to take, import or export, ship in interstate commerce, or sell or offer this species for sale in interstate or foreign commerce. (Bolson Tortoise | Encyclopedia.com. (n.d.)) Yes we do have to acknowledge that these laws in place do protect the tortoise but we need to continue to protect our bolson tortoise because these laws are not always enforced, and because they do not eliminate the habitat destruction still occurring.
Join the Action!
There are a few non-profit organizations in place to help conserve the population of the bolson tortoise. The main one being Turner Biodiversity.
Turner Biodiversity
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Ms. Appleton from Arizona. Ms. Appleton’s living collection was donated to the Turner Endangered Species Fund (TESF).
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500 new bolson tortoises to date, significant boost worldwide(Bolson Tortoise, n.d.).
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Captive breeding and head start programs that protect juveniles until they reach predator-resistant size are two ways to increase the bolson tortoise population
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“Group of 30 Bolson Tortoises that were collected and bred over a period of nearly 40 years by a private individual from Arizona”
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In 2006, 26 adult tortoises plus 7 hatchlings were moved from Arizona to the Armendaris Ranch to serve as a captive breeding colony for another reintroduction program.
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Four tortoises (2 males, 2 females) were donated to the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens (Carlsbad, New Mexico) where they are on exhibit.
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Breeding programs on the Armendaris Ranch and at the Living Desert Zoo have hatched over 400 juvenile tortoises.
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In 2016, 400 grew to 1000 in the population
(Gopherus flavomarginatus, n.d.)
Lets Make a Change!
All over the world natural resources are created and used for human benefits. This creates increased amounts of damage to the ecosystems. Natural resources have been used unsustainably largely because they have not been incorporated into economic decision-making. While these have been big issues at hand the ecological impacts of economic activity have been ignored. Many people in higher power have described this as capitalism. They have described capitalism as “an inherently expansionary system driven by a demand for continual growth in order to overcome the cyclical stagnation that afflicts it.” (Lang, 2021) Nature's resources are progressively exploited which should be understood, in large part, as a function of the demands of capital. The increase in population forces an increase of need for land i.e. cattle. But we also have to understand as the population increases our impact on the planet increases. As we learn to manage our assets (nature) that we have access to in line with our motivations, as best as we can, we will start to see change in our ecosystems. IT IS UP TO YOU TO MAKE THIS CHANGE, THE FUTURE OF THE BOLSON TORTOISE, AND ALL SPECIES ON EARTH IS IN YOU HANDS!
