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Plants and Animals
 Because of its physical location, the NTS is host to thousands of
organisms that live either in the Mojave Desert, the Great Basin Desert,
or in transitional habitat between these two deserts. There are 754
different species of plants, about 1200 invertebrates, 34 reptiles, 239
birds, and 60 mammals which are known to occur on the NTS.
Some of these plants and animals are monitored by onsite biologists
because they are either rare, protected by law, at risk of being
directly affected by NTS activities, at risk of exposure to
radionuclides, or are game species which may be hunted and consumed by
members of the public and are therefore potential pathways of
radiological dose to the public.
The desert tortoise occurs on the southern third of the NTS and is
protected as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
The Desert Tortoise Compliance Program ensures that this species is
protected from harm on the NTS.
The Important Species and Habitat Monitoring Program exists to
ensure the protection of NTS plants and animals which are not protected
under the ESA but are considered important by state or federal resource
management agencies. Important species include those protected or
managed under state or federal regulations and sensitive
species whose long-term viability has been identified as a concern by
natural resource experts. These species’ habitats and critical resources
(for example, wetlands and nest sites) are also monitored under this
program.
Radiological monitoring of plants and animals is performed as
a component of the Routine Radiological Environmental Monitoring Plan
implemented on the NTS. This component exists to assess the radiological
dose to plants and animals from past and present NTS activities and to
calculate and report the potential radiological dose to a hypothetical
member of the public if they consume certain NTS game animals.
Refer to the following Fact Sheet for more information:
Plant and Animal
Life at the Nevada Test Site [PDF, 315KB]
Refer to the following documents for more information:
Ecology of the Nevada Test Site: An Annotated Bibliography [PDF, 8.5 MB]
Ecological Monitoring and Compliance Program Report [PDF, 20 MB]
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