TE-1. Desert tortoise habitat, by habitat category, will be managed to achieve the following desired conditions:
Category I - Maintain stable, viable populations and protect existing tortoise habitat values and increase populations where possible,
Category II - Maintain stable, viable populations and halt further declines in tortoise habitat values, and
Category III - Limit tortoise habitat and population declines to the extent possible through mitigation.
TE-2. Categories I and II desert tortoise habitat will be managed to retain all natural shelter sites (boulders or caliche caves or similar features used by tortoises for sheltering) and to be unfragmented.
TE-3. In Category I and II areas, vegetation will consist of at least 5 percent native perennial grasses, at least 10 percent native perennial forbs or subshrubs, at least 30 percent native trees and cacti, by dry weight, as limited by the potential of the ecological site as described by the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) ecological site guides.