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.
Juvenile tortoises are vulnerable to ravens due to their soft shells.
Exacerbating the issue has been a dramatic increase in Washington County’s raven population alongside the growing populace.
“We have tenfold or more the number of ravens than is normal, and that is unsustainable for the desert tortoise to continue to survive,” Rognan said.
Last April the Habitat Conservation Plan, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Utah Division of Wildlife Resources determined one of the best ways to move forward in dealing with the ravens was to seek a federal permit. This approval was needed as the birds are federally protected under the Migratory Bird Act.
Three weeks ago, the Fish and Wildlife Service was able to issue itself the needed permit and added the Habitat Conservation Plan to help the process of raven control moving forward. And one of the ways this will be facilitated is through egg-oiling.
“It’s like birth control for ravens,” Rognan said.
The application of the oil prevents the embryos within the eggs from developing and is considered a more humane and less divisive way to counter the growing raven population when compared to other means.
Parts of California began using this method around two to three years ago and have begun to see favorable results, Rognan said.
“It’s a great way to protect our tortoises,” he said.
The practice can reduce the nest’s energy demand, as adult birds will not have fledglings to nurture, he added. Additionally, when eggs are oiled rather than removed, adults are more likely to remain in the area and defend their territory, excluding other ravens. The strategy can also prevent ravens from teaching their young to attack small tortoises as they will have no babies to teach.
Habitat Conservation Plan staff will be trained on how to apply the oil, and a specialized drone will be utilized at least twice a year to spread the oil to raven nests located in hard-to-reach areas.
Egg oiling is one of a handful of measures the Habitat Conservation Plan plans to use to lower the raven population. Other practices involve making it harder for the birds to nest on utility poles, using lasers to drive them away from landfills and implementing a roadkill removal program.
In other news, the County Commission adopted a revised ordinance regarding water-efficient landscaping and construction that brings the county in compliance with the state water code. It also makes residents living in the unincorporated parts of the county eligible for the Washington County Water Conservancy District’s turf-removal rebate program.
Before the revision, municipalities and counties not in compliance with state code could not participate in the turf-removal program that has paid out $2 per square foot of lawn replaced with water-efficient landscaping.
The commission, acting as the county’s board of canvassers, certified the results of the recent Washington County Democrat Party’s March 5 presidential primary. The official results placed incumbent President Joe Biden first with 90.4% of the county’s Democrat vote.
St. George News reporter Alysha Lundgren contributed to this story.
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