On October 18th, Rodolfo "Rudy" Garcia Morales, manager of the Mapimí Bolson Tortoise Ecosystem Preserve, and his team completed installation of the new perimeter fence around Rancho San Ignacio, which represents 62,439 acres of prime Bolson Tortoise (Gopherus flavomarginatus) habitat purchased by the Turtle Conservancy in 2016.

With this, the roughly 30 miles of fencing around the Preserve are now complete. Between material shortages, price increases, a boundary dispute with a neighboring property, and the COVID-19 lockdown, the project took nearly a decade to finish. When we first acquired the ranch, the fence was little more than a few strands of rusting barbed wire and broken posts scattered on the ground; now it is a solid four-strand fence with functioning gates where roads cross the fenceline.

Cattle from neighboring ranches rove onto the preserve, stripping the land of the native plants and water that wild species depend on for survival. Along with Bolson Tortoises, this preserve protects the Durango Mud Turtle (Kinosternon durangoense) along with 28 mammals species, more than 200 bird species, 44 reptile species, and five amphibian species. This completed fencing can now exclude wandering cattle from the land, protecting this fragile ecosystem.

A big thank-you to Rudy, his dedicated team, and to all of you who support the Turtle Conservancy and make this important work possible.