Wildlife Conservation

$10,000

Desert Tortoise Tracking Program

The Desert Tortoise Tracking Program began to evaluate how road curbs affected tortoise movement in the park. Since its inception in 2003, the program has allowed the park to make changes to improve how tortoises interact with roads, including changing curb design, restoring disturbed habitat areas, and doing outreach to increase public awareness.

Why Do Tortoises Need Our Help?

Mojave Desert Tortoises face significant threats, including the following:

• Road mortality causes large numbers of injuries and fatalities every year. Tortoises cross roadways to access resources and may also shelter under cars for shade.
• Predation affects tortoises during their most vulnerable life phase. Only about 1 in 5 tortoise hatchlings make it to adulthood. Human activity can actively increase scavenger populations, like ravens and coyotes, by increasing their food supply. This contributes to a more dangerous environment for tortoises.
• Rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns reduce the resources available to Mojave Desert Tortoises. These changes also alter tortoise mating season, natural cycles of brumation (hunkering down for the winter), and aestivation (reducing activity during the summer).
• Disease, which can be introduced into the wild population when pet tortoises are abandoned and affects tortoise lifespan and quality of life.

JTNPA has funded the Desert Tortoise Tracking Program since 2016. This program is funded through donations, our annual Adopt a Tortoise campaign, and our “Endangered Dinosaurs” Ecology for a Cause field class.

$50,000

Desert Bighorn Sheep Monitoring Program

The Desert Bighorn Sheep Monitoring Program supports park researchers in coordinating comprehensive studies of bighorn sheep populations in Joshua Tree National Park. This effort includes both aerial monitoring and ground-based searches to protect critical habitats from disturbance. Researchers collect biological samples and movement data to conduct genetic studies, health monitoring, and evaluations of population movement.

The program contributes to a broader understanding of bighorn sheep across the Mojave Desert, guiding future strategies for protecting this iconic species regionally.

Why Do Bighorn Sheep Need Our Help?

Desert Bighorn Sheep are adapted to mountainous regions surrounded by low valleys. In the Mojave Desert, bighorn sheep routinely move through California, Arizona, and parts of Nevada and Utah.

Human barriers can threaten herds by limiting their resources. These barriers contribute to:

• Lower genetic diversity when herds from the region do not interact with each other. These interactions are also necessary to support natural recolonization after local extinction.

• Limited resources by confining herds to areas that may not support their seasonal needs for food, water, and shelter.

• Road mortality when bighorn populations cross major roadways in an attempt to maintain historical movement patterns or navigate around new human-made barriers.

JTNPA has funded the Desert Bighorn Sheep Monitoring Program since 2020! This program is funded through donations, our annual Adopt a Bighorn campaign, and our “What’s the Big Deal?” Ecology for a Cause field class.