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CAMP SHELBY, Miss. – The Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center’s environmental department plans to release 89 gopher tortoises into the wild at the post Wednesday, September 20, 2017.
The release is scheduled as part of The Nature Conservancy Camp Shelby Field Office’s gopher tortoise Head-Start project developed to study the federally threatened and state endangered species. The study’s intent is to increase their survival rate in the wild by 70 to 85 percent.
Camp Shelby harbors the largest known population of gopher tortoises in the western portion of the animal’s range. In our area, very few tortoises reach adulthood.
In 2014, biologist James Lee, along with Camp Shelby’s Natural Resource Conservation team, developed an indoor tortoise Head-Start facility at the post to raise tortoises until they reach two-years old to increase the state’s tortoise population.
Media are invited to visit the tortoise nursery at 9 a.m. and then convoy with Camp Shelby’s environmental team to the release area at 10:15 a.m.
Media interested in covering the event should contact 2nd Lt Rachel Henson at 601-988-5949 or rachel.c.henson.mil@mail.mil. Media should arrive at Camp Shelby’s South gate off of Highway 49 no later than 8:45 a.m.
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| Date Taken: | 09.18.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 12.29.2017 16:49 |
| Story ID: | 260850 |
| Location: | MISSISSIPPI, US |
| Web Views: | 125 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Camp Shelby Environmental Department Gives Endangered Species a Head-Start, by 1LT Rachel Henson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
