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ST. GEORGE — Ravens who prey on juvenile desert tortoises in the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve will be subjected to "birth control" in the near future following a decision made by the Washington County Commission.
Among the items addressed during Tuesday afternoon's County Commission meeting, a professional services agreement that includes raven egg-oiling in the desert reserve for over $13,000 was approved.
"Our HCP, or Habitat Conservation Plan, provides various protections for the desert tortoise in exchange for the ability to develop land within the county that is otherwise considered tortoise habitat," Habitat Conservation Plan administrator Cameron Rognan told the commission. "One of those protections we have been looking to try and provide is better control mechanisms over the ravens."
The Habitat Conservation Plan oversees the Red Cliff Desert Reserve and has maintained a raven monitoring program since 2015. As ravens are known predators of juvenile tortoises, efforts have been made in recent years to determine the severity of the predation and how to stop it.
Read the full article at St. George News.
