Long before Southern Nevada built its winding highways, desert tortoises roamed freely without consequence. For these federally protected animals, crossing the street without a dedicated path could mean a death sentence.

Along a 34-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 93 near Coyote Springs, fencing and underground tortoise crossings will allow for more safe passage.

“We see substantial road mortality and near-misses in this area,” said Kristi Holcomb, Southern Nevada biological supervisor at the Nevada Department of Transportation. “By adding the fencing, we’ll be able to stop the bleed.”

The federal Department of Transportation awarded Nevada’s transportation agency a $16.8 million grant to build 61 wildlife crossings and 68 miles of fencing along the highway. Clark and Lincoln counties, as well as private companies such as the Coyote Springs Investment group, will fund the project in total.

Under the Endangered Species Act, the federal government listed Mojave desert tortoises as threatened in 1990. The project area includes the last unfenced portion of what the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers to be the desert tortoise’s “critical habitat.”

In Clark County, some keep desert tortoises as pets, adoptions for which are only authorized through one Nevada nonprofit, the Tortoise Group. Environmentalists in the area have long worried that sprawling solar projects may have an adverse effect on tortoise populations. As many as 1,000 tortoises per square mile inhabited the Mojave Desert before urban development, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

Crossings prevent inbreeding

One major reason that connecting critical habitat across a highway is paramount is to prevent inbreeding, Holcomb said.

“When you build a highway down the middle of a desert tortoise population, they become shy about crossing the highway,” Holcomb said. “By installing tortoise fences, we’ll give the tortoise population a chance to recover.”

Desert tortoises tend to walk parallel to the fences, which will lead them to the crossings they need to go to the other side. Promoting genetic diversity is one way different tortoise populations can be stabilized, Holcomb said.

The Nevada Department of Transportation doesn’t have a set timeline, and the project will need to go through an expedited federal review process to ensure full consideration of environmental effects.

“Be mindful, not only of tortoises that might be on the roadway, but also of our impacts on tortoises,” Holcomb added.

Contact Alan Halaly at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on X.

RENO, Nev. (Nevada Athletics – Nevada women’s basketball returned home Wednesday night, hosting San Diego State and dropping the game to the Aztecs with a final score of 81-62.The Pack struck first with a driving layup by Audrey Roden. Defensively, they held off the Aztecs and didn’t allow them to score until three minutes into the game. It was their only basket through the first four and a half minutes of the opening quarter.

Imbie Jones, Lexie Givens and Izzy Sullivan contributed to a seven-point run that put Nevada up, 9-2, halfway through the first.

San Diego State came back to tie it up before Nevada found itself playing from behind for the first time. With just under two and a half remaining and the Pack down by six, Roden splashed a three to cut into the lead. 30 seconds later, Sullivan hit one of her own.

Heading into the second quarter, the Pack was trailing, 20-18.The Aztecs opened up the second attempting to pull away, going up by six, before the Pack cut it back to two with layups by Olivia Poulivaati and Dymonique Maxie.

Momentum didn’t favor Nevada as San Diego State extended the lead. At halftime, the Pack was down, 43-29.

Into the third quarter, each time Nevada began to cut into the lead, San Diego State extended it again. Both Givens and Roden hit major baskets for the Pack, but they still trailed, 61-48.

Nevada began the final 10 with threes by Givens and Sullivan, followed by a jumper by Roden to cut the lead to 10. Despite the good start to the fourth quarter, the Pack wasn’t able to continue with it, ultimately coming up short. 

Givens ended the night leading the Pack in scoring with 17, followed by Roden with 15. Jones led both teams in rebounding with seven.

Nevada will remain at home to host Utah State on Saturday at 1 PM.

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