the living desert and twenty-nine palms … living desert and twenty-nine palms band of mission...

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THELIVINGDESERTANDTWENTY-NINEPALMSBANDOFMISSIONINDIANSPARTNERTOCREATEAWARENESSOFTHEVULNERABLEDESERTTORTOISEFamily-FriendlyCelebrationToBeHeldSaturday,September30

TWENTYNINEPALMS,CA--(August31,2017)–TheLivingDesertZooandGardensandtheTwenty-NinePalmsBandofMissionIndiansarepartneringtocreateawarenessofthevulnerabledeserttortoise.Theywillbehostingafamily-friendlycelebrationofthedeserttortoiseonSaturday,September30,from9a.m.to1p.m.outsideTortoiseRockCasino,73829BaselineRd.,TwentyninePalms.Theday’sevents,opentoallages,includeencounterswithalivedeserttortoise,interactivelearningexperiences,educationalchats,crafts,games,facepainting,photobooth,andmusic.AttendeeswillalsohavetheopportunitytomeetandtakeaphotowithTheLivingDesert’sMojaveMaxinemascot.Inaddition,therewillbegiveawaysandafreebarbequeboxedlunchbyDickey’sBarbequePit,whilesupplieslast.“TheLivingDesertisthrilledtopartnerwiththeTwenty-NinePalmsBandofMissionIndianstohelpeducatethepublicaboutourpreciousdeserttortoises,”saidAllenMonroe,PresidentandCEOofTheLivingDesert.“It’simportantforpeopletoknowthatthedeserttortoiseisclassifiedasathreatenedspecies.Ifthepublicunderstandstheirplight,theycantakeactionstohelpensuretheyhavealong,healthyfuture.”

ThedeserttortoiseisthegrandsurvivorofCalifornia’sdesert,havingroamedthelandfortensofthousandsofyears.Toescapetheextremeheat,deserttortoisesspendmosttheirtimeundergroundinburrowsandventureouttomainlyeatanddrink.Deserttortoisenumbersaredecliningduetotheexpandinghumanpopulationandotherenvironmentalfactors,suchasincreasedpredators.Manypeopleareunawarethatravensareamajorpredatorofdeserttortoises.Uncoveredtrashbinshavecontributedtoanincreaseinravenpopulations,causingfurtherdeclinesindeserttortoisenumbers.Researchersarecloselymonitoringthetortoisepopulationsandworkingtoaddressthemanythreats.AccordingtoTheLivingDesert,thefollowingaresometipstoprotecttheseanimals:Keepthedesertclean,donottouchordisturbdeserttortoiseinthewild,stayondesignatedroadsandtrails,checkunderparkedvehicles,andalwayswatchfortortoisesonroadsandtrails.TheTwenty-NinePalmsBandofMissionIndiansknowsthatprotectingthedeserttortoiseisalong-termeffort.TheTribeestablishedaconservationareain2013fortortoiseprotection,andcontinuestospreadthewordbytrainingemployeesandconductingoutreach.“Notonlyisthedeserttortoise,or‘Aya,wovenintoourancestralChemehueviheritageasasymbolofwisdom,butTortoiseRockCasinowasnamedtocelebrateitssignificantroleinourdesertecosystem,”saidDarrellMike,ChairmanoftheTwenty-NinePalmsBandofMissionIndians.“Thisisagreat

opportunityforfamiliestojoinusforafunandentertainingday,whilelearninghowtoprotectthethreateneddeserttortoise.”FormoreinformationaboutTheLivingDesertvisitwww.LivingDesert.org.FormoreinformationaboutTwenty-NinePalmsBandofMissionIndiansandTortoiseRockCasino,visitwww.TortoiseRockCasino.com.AboutTheLivingDesert:TheLivingDesertisanAZA-accreditedzooandgardensthatisdedicatedtodesertconservationthroughpreservation,educationandappreciation.Itisafamily-friendlyplacetoexplorenatureandcreatemeaningfulexperiencesforgueststhatarerememberedforalifetime.Formoreinformation:(760)346-5694orvisitwww.LivingDesert.org.TheLivingDesertislocatedat:47900PortolaAvenue,PalmDesert,CA92260.AbouttheTwenty-NinePalmsBandofMissionIndians:TheTwenty-NinePalmsBandofMissionIndianstracetheiroriginsbacktotheChemehuevi,apeacefulandnomadicTribewhoseterritoryoncecoveredpartsofCalifornia,Utah,Arizona,andSouthernNevada.In1867,agroupofChemehuevisettledattheOasisofMarainTwentyninePalms.TheTwenty-NinePalmsBandofMissionIndiansaretheirdescendants.Today,theTribe’sReservationlandsconsistoftwoparcels,whicharelocatednearthetownofTwentyninePalmsandtheCityofCoachella.TheTribe’stwoeconomicenterprises,TortoiseRockCasinoandSpotlight29Casino,helpprovidehousing,educationandfinancialsecurityfortheTribe’sfuturegenerations.

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