A young Sonoran Desert Tortoise making its way down a hillside in the early spring.

About a month later, fire tore through the area. While it can’t be known if this tortoise, or the Gila Monster resting a few meters away, survived, a return visit to the area later in the season makes it doubtful. Now, a year later, the only thing alive on the hill are the invasive grasses which fuel the issue. With OHV in mass numbers and target shooting unrestricted and controls unenforced, the region has been quickly converted to a sea of dead grass and revolving burns.