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Sam Rainsy

Sam Rainsy (សម រង្ស៊ី, UNGEGN: Sâm Rôngsi, ALA-LC: Sam Raṅs′ī ; born 10 March 1949) is a Cambodian activist, economist and former politician who most recently served as the Leader of the Opposition. He is now the interim leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party due to the continued ban on political activity by the party's leader, Kem Sokha. Between 1998 and 2017, he was the leading opposition figure in Cambodian politics and the main challenger to prime minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian People's Party. Since 2015, he has lived in exile, having been banned from entering the country.

Sam Rainsy became a member of parliament for Siem Reap in 1993 in elections organized by UNTAC. He has had his parliamentary immunity revoked three times. He was MP for Siem Reap from 1993 until 1995 when he was expelled from the Constituent Assembly. A co-founder of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), Rainsy was previously a member of the royalist Funcinpec Party and served as the Minister of Economy and Finance during Norodom Ranariddh's administration from 1993 until his sacking in 1994. In June 1995, he was expelled from the National Assembly, and formed the Khmer Nation Party (KNP), which changed its name before the 1998 elections to the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) to avoid registration issues. From 2000 to 2002 and again from 2012 to 2014, Rainsy was the chairperson of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats.

Sam Rainsy went into exile on February 3, 2005, citing fear of arrest after a vote in the National Assembly removed parliamentary immunity from himself and fellow SRP MPs Chea Poch and Cheam Channy. Rainsy faced multiple criminal defamation charges after accusing the Cambodian People's Party and Funcinpec of corruption in the formation of the current coalition government. He has also accused Prime Minister Hun Sen of involvement in the 2004 murder of SRP-affiliated union leader Chea Vichea.

In September 2010, Rainsy was tried in absentia and sentenced to 10 years in prison for charges widely believed to be politically motivated. In 2012, the Sam Rainsy Party merged with the Human Rights Party to form the Cambodia National Rescue Party. Following his resignation from the Sam Rainsy Party to lead the newly formed opposition party, Kong Korm succeeded him as party leader in November 2012. On 12 July 2013, King Norodom Sihamoni granted a royal pardon to Rainsy at the request of the Prime Minister, Hun Sen, allowing the opposition leader to return to Cambodia without threat of imprisonment, although he remained ineligible for candidacy in the 2013 general election. Rainsy returned to Cambodia on 19 July 2013 where hundreds of thousands of his supporters waited along the roads. The CNRP gained 55 seats in the National Assembly although Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha have denied these results and accused the ruling party of poll fraud. The opposition boycotted parliament in September 2013, until July 2014.

In 2016, Rainsy again left Cambodia after being charged with defamation and incitement for accusing Hun Sen's government of orchestrating the high-profile murder of political activist Kem Ley. In October 2016, Rainsy's request for a royal pardon was rejected by the Prime Minister, Hun Sen. In February 2017, Rainsy resigned as President of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, and left the party just four months before local elections and a year before the general election. As of 20 February 2017, he has been banned from political activity.

In 2019, Rainsy announced he would return to Cambodia on Independence Day, but was blocked following the Cambodian government's intervention with airlines and with Thailand, where he would have transited.

Early life and political career
Sam Rainsy was born in Phnom Penh on 10 March 1949. He moved to France in 1965, studied there and then worked as an investment manager and executive director in a variety of Parisian financial companies. He became a member of the Funcinpec Party, and after returning to Cambodia in 1992 was elected a member of parliament for Siem Reap Province the following year. He became Minister of Finance, but was expelled from the party after losing a vote of no-confidence in 1994. In 1995, he founded the Khmer Nation Party (KNP), which changed its name before the 1998 elections to the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) to avoid registration issues. In the 2003 elections, it polled 22% of the vote.

At that time, the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh said it was "deeply concerned" that the government appeared to be trying to "silence the opposition". Other embassies, local and international organizations shared the same concerns. Sam was tried in absentia on 22 December 2005 in relation to the defamation lawsuits. The court sentenced him to 18 months in prison and ordered him to pay around US$14,000 in fines and compensation. On 5 February 2006, Rainsy received a Royal Pardon by Norodom Sihamoni at Hun Sen's request. He then returned to Cambodia on 10 February 2006.

In April 2008, Rainsy accused Cambodia's then foreign minister Hor Namhong of having served under the Khmer Rouge as director of the Beoung Trabek prison, where torture and murder was carried out. Hor Namhong responded by suing Rainsy for defamation and this was upheld by Cambodia's courts, but Hor Namhong's case was rejected in April 2011 by France's Cour de Cassation.

Following Rainsy's announcement on 7 July 2013, that he would return to Cambodia for the national legislative elections, he was pardoned for the "defamation" of Hor Namhong by King Norodom Sihamoni at the request of Hun Sen and returned to Cambodia on 19 July 2013.

On 22 July 2014, the Cambodian political crisis ongoing since 2013 was officially ended in a deal reached between the CPP and CNRP. The opposition also agreed to accept their seats in parliament, thus ending the longest political deadlock in Cambodian history. The CNRP was also given leadership roles in parliament, with Kem Sokha as the first vice president of the National Assembly and other politicians chairing 5 of the 10 parliamentary commissions. Rainsy proposed the National Assembly to formally recognize an official opposition and pushed for a full shadow cabinet. Such changes would allow him to debate directly with Hun Sen, similar to the Westminster system.

On 13 November 2015, the royal pardon that had been given to Rainsy in 2013 over the "defamation" of Hor Namhong was withdrawn. Three days later, he was unanimously removed from the National Assembly by the Cambodian People's Party while facing several charges. Sam Rainsy stood by his original claims that Hor Namhong had been responsible for prison deaths under the Khmer Rouge. On 1 December 2015, the Phnom Penh Municipal Court summoned Sam Rainsy in absentia to clarify a statement he posted to his Facebook account following a defamation complaint by parliamentary president Heng Samrin. Less than two weeks earlier, the same court had issued another summons for Sam Rainsy to appear for questioning over his alleged involvement in using a fake map to resolve a border dispute with Vietnam.

On 11 February 2017, Rainsy resigned as President of the Cambodia National Rescue Party following a proposed amendment by Hun Sen barring convicted criminals from leading a political party. His resignation was accepted by his party on 12 February. His successor as leader, Kem Sokha, was arrested on 3 September 2017, and, as of March 2018, remains in prison without trial. Sam Rainsy responded by creating the Cambodia National Rescue Movement (CNRM), which seeks to increase international pressure on the Hun Sen regime. The US said in February 2018 that it was suspending or curtailing programs that support the Cambodian military, local government authorities and a major taxation body. Germany in February 2018 suspended visas for Cambodian government members in light of the crackdown on the opposition. In the same month, the EU said it was considering targeted measures against the Hun Sen regime.

In March 2018, Kem Sokha's period of detention without trial was extended for six months, meaning that he will be in prison when the country's national parliamentary elections scheduled for July 2018 takes place. In the same month, Hun Sen rejected a proposal from Sam Rainsy for talks on a way of ending the crisis.

In August 2019, Rainsy announced his intention to return to Cambodia on Independence Day on 9 November. The government confirmed that they would arrest him should he return on that date. The Cambodian government responded by threatening any airline that transported him to Cambodia with "serious consequences". The government of Thailand, from where he planned to travel to Cambodia by land, also denied him entry at the request of Cambodia. Rainsy was denied boarding on a Thai Airways flight from Paris to Bangkok, from where he planned to travel to Cambodia, on 7 November, despite having a valid ticket. He said he will find another way to return to his country.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sam Rainsy advocated the introduction of immunity passports based on tests for antibodies as a way to restart the international economy.

In October 2020, Rainsy and the CNRP denounced China's military expansionism which involved agreement to establish military bases in Cambodia following the demolition of a US-built facility at the Ream Naval Base.

Family
Sam Rainsy's father, Sam Sary, had served as a minister in the education, planning and finance portfolios before becoming a Deputy Prime Minister in Sihanouk's government in the 1950s. Sam Rainsy's mother, In Em, was said to be the first Cambodian woman to have completed the Baccalauréat exam. Sam Sary fled the country in 1959 when Sam Rainsy was ten for suspected involvement in the Bangkok Plot, while his mother was thrown into prison. Sam Rainsy's grandfather, Sam Nhean had served as the President of the Royal Council of Cambodia and was a prominent member of the Democratic Party in the 1940s.

Sam Rainsy is married to Tioulong Saumura (since 1971), who is also member of parliament for his current party, and has three children: Patrice Sam, Muriel Sam and Rachel Sam. Tioulong Samura's father, Nhiek Tioulong, was a military general who founded the Khmer Renovation party and briefly served as Prime Minister in 1962. His mother-in-law, former First Lady Measketh Samphotre, died in November 2016, aged 96, but neither was able to attend the latter's funeral at Wat Svay Pope. Both Sam Rainsy and his wife claim to have Chinese ancestry, the former having revealed that one of his great-great grandfathers was a Chinese immigrant, while Nhiek Tioulong revealed that he had a Chinese grandfather during a dialogue session with Zhou Enlai in 1954. Rainsy maintains a home in Paris' 15th arrondissement.

University degrees

 * Economics (Institut d'études politiques de Paris)
 * Business Administration (Master of Business Administration from INSEAD - Fontainebleau - France) - 1980.
 * Accounting (Diplôme d'études comptables supérieures issued by the French Ministry of Education) - 1979.
 * Economics (Maîtrise + Diplôme d'études supérieures des Sciences économiques de la Faculté de droit et des sciences économiques de Paris - Panthéon-Assas) - 1973.
 * Political Science (Diplôme de l'Institut d'études politiques de Paris) - 1971.

title: Sam Rainsy


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Sau

Sau or SAU may refer to:

Places

 * Sau Reservoir, a Catalan water reservoir in the Ter river, named after the town drowned by its creation
 * Sau (Manatuto), a subdivision of the Manatuto Administrative Post of East Timor
 * Sao, Kunar, a village in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan where the Sawi language is spoken
 * Abbreviation for Saudi Arabia
 * A German name for the river Sava

People

 * Eroni Sau, Fiji Sevens Rugby Player
 * Sau Lan Wu, Chinese American particle physicist

Universities

 * Saint Ambrose University, in Iowa, US
 * Shenyang Aerospace University in China
 * Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, in Bangladesh
 * Sichuan Agricultural University, in China
 * Sindh Agriculture University in Pakistan
 * South Asian University, in India
 * Southern Adventist University, in the US
 * Southern Arkansas University, in the US
 * Southern Arkansas University Tech, in the US
 * Spring Arbor University, in Michigan, US

Organisations

 * Sauti ya Umma, a political party in Tanzania
 * Social Affairs Unit, a UK think-tank
 * South American Union

Transport

 * SAU. the IATA code for Tardamu Airport, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
 * SAU, the National Rail code for St Austell railway station, Cornwall, UK

Other uses

 * Sau (壽; Cantonese Yale: Sauh), as one of the auspicious Three Star Gods, is revered as the God of Longevity
 * Sau (band), a 1990s Catalan pop group
 * Sau (Rotuman king), the title of the Rotuman king
 * Sau language (disambiguation), several languages

title: Sau


text:
Talk:Flame tank

PIAT
Not convinced PIAT should get a mention as a weapon with a range better than a flame thrower tank GraemeLeggett 16:20, 8 Feb 2005 (UTC)

While PIATs were fairly lame, I included them because they were the British & Commonwealth equivalent to the other weapons mentioned. A PIAT would also have a fairly good chance at 50m range, wouldn't it? The Land 14:17, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)

 * The Crocodile range is quoted at somewhere from 80 to 120 yards (70 -110 metres). There's no particular need to mention specific examples at all. Its a specialist vehicle and only really used where the targets are known anyway. GraemeLeggett 16:35, 4 Mar 2005 (UTC)

 * I think it's fine the way it is. More info doesn't detract from the article.  The key word is "like."  Still, worth thinking about.-LtNOWIS 03:44, 5 Mar 2005 (UTC)

References and citations, please...
Hi All, this article seems quite good IMHO. Unfortunately references are not mentioned (especially writen ones), and also lacks relevant inline citations. Can the main editors of this article please help providing them? Thanks & regards, DPdH (talk) 09:41, 18 April 2009 (UTC)

Uhhh.. you.. you what?
From "Combat Effectiveness":

"due to the enemy tank's armor, your only and near-impossible hope being to continue hit the enemy tank with machine gun bullets, irritating the crew so much that they would want to bail out"

Seriously? Irritate the crew enough so they bail out? When did that ever happen? It's not a church fete, hardened soldiers don't get irritated out of cover. What are they planning to do, phone up and complain? Is there really any example of a crew being irritated into retreat? Captain deathbeard (talk) 09:06, 26 August 2009 (UTC) Not in the situation described. However it was occasionally used to force crews of immobilized tanks to surrender, so presumably yes hardened soldiers can be irritated enough by enemy's waste of ammunition to bail. A1s (talk) 10:43, 1 January 2010 (UTC)

Clean up time.
There is little in this article that is verified, and it appears that little is verifiable at all. Whole sections are going to need to be re-written or deleted, but I will hold off on the editing for now, but if there is anything you see that you think is worth discussing please post it in either this section or create one of your own, if anyone can help look for citations on this subject, I might have some cookies in it for you if you do. Totally not a sock-puppet: (Thirdaccountlostagain (talk) 01:15, 28 August 2011 (UTC))

just wwii
there needs to be more then just world war two tanks in this article — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.24.167.213 (talk) 22:24, 28 March 2012 (UTC)

minor error
during combat effectiveness it claims flame tanks were safer because infantry flamethrowers would explode if shot at, though this isn't the case as the gas would just blow back the guy with the flame thrower. someone with a citation should fix this if I'm not wrong — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.21.177.255 (talk) 22:01, 23 November 2013 (UTC)

External links modified
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title: Talk:Flame tank


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Chomeur

Chômeur is French for unemployed person. It may also refer to:

 * Chômeur, a grammatical term to describe an element of a sentence that has been "demoted"
 * Pouding chômeur, a dessert from Quebec
 * Tichumaren or Tishoumaren, a style of music in Northern Africa

title: Chomeur


text:
Saint Theodore

Saint Theodore may refer to:

People

 * St. Theodore (died 130), companion of St. Pausilippus
 * St. Theodore of Perge (died 220), see Theodore, Philippa and companions
 * St. Theodore the Martyr
 * St. Theodore of Amasea or St. Theodore Tyron (died 306), military saint
 * St. Theodore of Heraclea or St. Theodore Stratelates (281-319), military saint
 * St. Theodorus of Tabennese (c. 314–368), disciple of Saint Pachomius
 * Mar Theodore of Mopsuestia (c. 350–428), Christian theologian, and Bishop of Mopsuestia
 * St. Theodore of Octodurum or St. Yoder (4th century), bishop of Octodurum
 * St. Theodore of Vienne (died c. 575), Christian monk, abbot and hermit
 * St. Theodore of Marseille (died 594), persecuted bishop
 * St. Theodore of Sykeon (died 613), Byzantine ascetic
 * St. Theodore of Tarsus (602–690), archbishop of Canterbury
 * St. Theodore of Pavia (died 778), bishop
 * St. Theodore (died 820), Orthodox monk
 * St. Theodore the Studite (759–826), monk, opponent of iconoclasm, and hymnographer
 * St. Theodorus, (ca. 775–ca. 842), see Theodorus and Theophanes
 * St. Theodore of Komogovo (died 1788), Serbian Orthodox saint
 * St. Théodore Guérin (1798–1856), French nun who died in Indiana

Places

 * Theotokos of St. Theodore, an icon named after Theodore Stratelates
 * Saint-Théodore-d'Acton, Quebec, a small parish in Acton Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada

title: Saint Theodore


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User:Zabouth

=About Me= I'm From a Town Called Widnes In The North West of England, I now live in Cambridge.

What I Do

 * Play Computer Games
 * Fix Computers

Where you Can Find me
Now Time to plug the stuff I do * #incognitus on irc.incognitus.net

Zabouth (talk) 21:18, 15 April 2021 (UTC)

title: User:Zabouth


text:
Pipavav

Pipavav is a village located near the West coast of Gujarat, India. By road it is 2 hours (85 km) from Amreli, 30 minutes (16 km) from Rajula, 2.5 hours (130 km) from Bhavnagar on the East and 1.5 hrs (78 km) from Diu on the West. The nearest town to Pipavav is Rajula.

The village gave its name to the nearby Port Pipavav.

History
The name 'Pipavav' has two parts; the name 'Pipa' originates from the name of Saint Pipaji, who was a king from Rajasthan who left his kingdom in search of the eternity along with his queen Sitadevi. 'Vav' in Gujarati refers to a well. Pipavav village still has a well that was dug by Saint Pipaji. There is temple of Radha and Krishna in the village and there is a saying that its idols were obtained during the digging of the well.

Villagers mentions the importance of the place during the time of the Mahabharata, wherein Krishna (with Rukmini) stopped in the village on their way to Dwarks.

Preacher Morari Bapu held a Ram Katha at Pipavav to collect funds for the development of the Pipavav temple.

title: Pipavav


text:
User:Acsblogger

 * C-Tools 2.0

title: User:Acsblogger


text:
User talk:165.29.91.1

Nomination of Sektor for deletion
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Nomination of Rain (Mortal Kombat) for deletion
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"Smoke (Mortal Kombat character" listed at Redirects for discussion
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Nomination of Kabal (Mortal Kombat) for deletion
A discussion is taking place as to whether the article Kabal (Mortal Kombat) is suitable for inclusion in Wikipedia according to Wikipedia's policies and guidelines or whether it should be deleted.

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title: User talk:165.29.91.1


text:
Talk:Alpha Phi Omega

List of all-males
Do we still need to have the list of all-male chapters at co-ed institutions? I understand that even Delta has gone co-ed now. Henrymrx (t·c) 05:17, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

 * I can't find anything on Delta's website http://www.aphio-delta.org to support that they have gone co-ed.Naraht (talk) 11:44, 10 May 2009 (UTC)

 * It's not reflected in their chapter website yet, but I have received confirmation from a Delta Alum and current Board member that they are co-ed as of April 2009. Dr. Cash (talk) 14:09, 29 May 2009 (UTC)

 * When you have an appropriate reference... :) Naraht (talk) 15:05, 29 May 2009 (UTC)

It was under my impression that if Delta were to be forced to go coed, the chapter would formally disband and file a petition to have the chapter listing permanently removed from Alpha Phi Omega, i.e. if a new Chapter started in Auburn it would not be Delta chapter. Of course that was back when I was an active alumni and kept up with such things. Personally I find this better than being forced to go coed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.6.144.51 (talk) 16:20, 21 June 2009 (UTC)

 * That may be your understanding, but I have seen no sign one way or another on the chapter website. According to the National website they are still active, and I have a non-public source that indicates that they have sent in the initiation fees for the spring '09 new brothers. If you would like to inquire further, please do so on my talk page.Naraht (talk) 01:18, 22 June 2009 (UTC)

From what I've been told by my fellow Delta brothers the chapter has not yet gone coed, thankfully. I received this information from an immediate past president and recent graduate of Auburn. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.185.121.154 (talk) 17:51, 15 September 2010 (UTC)

Working on Alpha Phi Omega chapters page
Right now I'm working on a page for APO-USA chapters at User:Naraht/Alpha Phi Omega chapters. It's from a file from the national office, there are some issues such as active petitioning efforts showing up as Active. I still have to add/change entries in that column for active/inactive/PG/IG/closed. Right now I'm working on getting rid of as many red links as I can. I'm going to leave the one for Central YMCA College since there *should* be an article on it.Naraht (talk) 19:49, 8 October 2009 (UTC)

 * I see several dates in there being listed as January 1, . I think the '1/1' should be removed in those cases, only listing the year. When they entered those into the database, I think they were required to put a month and day, so they just put '1/1' since they didn't know the exact month/day. For our purposes, it's better to simply put the year. If a month/day other than January 1, is listed, then it's fine to keep that, though. Dr. Cash (talk) 20:11, 8 October 2009 (UTC)

 * I agree. While I know there was at least one chartering at a National Convention (Northern Arizona U). I doubt that anything in that table *really* occured on 1/1/year. One reason that I haven't touched the dates yet, is that I'm looking on taking the source back to my UNIX machine and transforming the dates to the DTS template which will allow sorting, but the rechartering dates and dates of inactivity may not be useful for that. (I'm considering making those two fields unsortable.) Also, I have to figure out how to make the Regions sortable in a reasonable way so that IX doesn't happen between IV and V. The simplest solution would be to simply have the arabic number in the column, but I *think* there is a smarter way. Yes, it would involve some massive substitutions, but that's what copying Wikipedia source to either Wordpad or worst case UNIX for use of sed, awk or perlNaraht (talk) 20:37, 8 October 2009 (UTC)+
 * Article for Central YMCA College created, only red link left is Frederick College which is in Virginia.Naraht (talk) 16:06, 18 March 2010 (UTC)

Where to put that APO was a Point of Light?
I'm sort of torn where the fact that APO was a Point of Light should go. ( http://archive.pointsoflight.org/awards/dpol/winner.cfm?AwardNum=2397 April 14th, 2003) ideas (or put it in :) ) Naraht (talk) 14:16, 29 April 2010 (UTC)

 * I've put the Points of Light announcement in the Programs section, and cleaned up the references there a bit as well. WTF? (talk) 21:57, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

 * Thank you. Any suggestions on how to improve the article? It failed GA apparently because too much of the information was from internal sources. I may be able to add or change some references to Scouting or Boy's Life magazines. Also, what's your opinion on splitting the large majority of the APO-Philippines stuff to a separate article?Naraht (talk) 22:09, 4 July 2010 (UTC)

 * Actually, I think it failed GA because it wasn't really ready for it and it was nominated in a drive-by nomination by an editor who wasn't a major contributor of the article. I've seen a lot of the Scouting and Boys Life stuff in Google Books searches for "Alpha Phi Omega", and it seems like those are reasonably third party citations to use for a lot of the historical material.

 * I'm not a huge fan of separating tons of stuff out into separate daughter articles. APO-Philippines still falls under the larger category of Alpha Phi Omega, which is what this article is about. Plus, if we're having a hard enough time finding third party references for this article, doing that for an APO-Philippines article can only be about 10 times worse! WTF? (talk) 00:02, 5 July 2010 (UTC)

 * APO-Phil is going to be pretty difficult to get good third party sources for, but at least there are some references for it as opposed to most of the Philippines Fraternities and Sororities. The question is not whether APO-Phil can be turned into a GA, but rather would the article without APO-Phil be closer. (If of course it makes sense to split it out. But there certainly wouldn't be one article for scouting in the USA and the Philippines)Naraht (talk) 02:54, 5 July 2010 (UTC)

APO Recent Edits
It is my understanding that what was previously on the wikipedia page for APO was a factual recollection of the recent events dealing with open membership in the past couple of years. I did not find it offensive or biased. Why was it taken down? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.202.179.91 (talk) 17:17, 18 August 2011 (UTC)
 * The question is how much information about Alpha Delta's split with Alpha Phi Omega belongs on the Alpha Phi Omega page. While the split is a *major* part of Alpha Delta's history and should be on the Alpha Delta page, whether or not it is a significant enough part of Alpha Phi Omega's history is debatable. (note, that I'm not sure which side of the debate I'm on) In round numbers, these were 1% of the chapters in the Fraternity. (3 of roughly 350)Naraht (talk) 17:26, 18 August 2011 (UTC)
 * Understandable, but if an organization were to create legislation that caused a part of it, however, small to leave, I would imagine that it would be worth mentioning. From what was on the page, it did not discuss Alpha Delta, simply mentioned that chapters had joined a different organization. I do not know too much about what happened before or since, but I would guess that the one or two lines that were up are probably still valid. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.202.179.91 (talk) 17:31, 18 August 2011 (UTC)
 * The text on the Alpha Phi Omega pages does mention by name (and give a link to Alpha Delta). And as far as I can tell the information is accurate (I'm on the Alpha Phi Omega history Committee and have talked by email with various Alpha Delta brothers by email). Accuracy and Noteworthiness are equally important.Naraht (talk) 19:16, 18 August 2011 (UTC)

Yes, I completely agree and understand about accuracy and noteworthiness. I would suggest that as long as the information is accurate according to APO and Alpha Delta officials, then I would say it belongs on there. As long as it remains historical and factual and does not become a biased representation of either side. From what I understand, this may be a hot topic depending on who you talk to. So, we always need to be careful with it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.202.179.91 (talk) 13:55, 19 August 2011 (UTC)
 * Just because something is accurate does not necessarily mean it should be included. I don't want to see us fall into the trap of giving undue weight to relatively trivial information.  Frankly, I think the article is too long as it is.  Henrymrx (t·c) 15:17, 19 August 2011 (UTC)

It is the largest fraternity in the world for starters. But also, I mean a listing of all the national service weeks (20 lines) is probably more undo weight than 2 lines devoted to something that was directly caused by the requirement of open membership. It provides unique insight and information on the fraternity that is useful in an encyclopedic article. There are other parts of the article that do not do that and have not been eliminated. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.202.179.91 (talk) 15:43, 19 August 2011 (UTC)

List of Founders?
I think that given the fact that the initial 6 advisors are all listed, that the other 13 founders should be added. If so, should we do it in text or as a bulleted list?Naraht (talk) 16:17, 29 November 2011 (UTC)

Scouts Royale Brotherhood
My personal opinion... SRB should not be mentioned on this page, OTOH a mention on the History of Alpha Phi Omega in the Philippines would be quite reasonable if decent sources could be found. I googled for "scouts royale brotherhood" and 1975. I found no hits in the first 100 that would consider a reasonable non-primary source for the year that it was founded. If *that* can't be found, what is the possibility of getting good secondary sources. (And yes, this does have the standard issue of references for fraternities in the Philippines being *considerably* more difficult to find clean references on than US fraternities for several reasons. :Naraht (talk) 18:22, 20 January 2012 (UTC)

Links
It appears that all of the apo.org links used as reference citations are now no longer functional, as the national fraternity has launched a new design the website. One big issue seems to be that there no longer appears to be a comprehensive list of chapters on the site, though there is a "chapter finder" tool. That can, of course, confirm that a chapter at the school is or has existed, but it's still not a list. WTF? (talk) 18:42, 24 September 2012 (UTC)
 * If you don't select any filtering criteria, you get everything (including the kitchen sink, alumni chapters(!?!), and extension efforts.Naraht (talk) 21:09, 24 September 2012 (UTC)
 * They seem to have fixed the alumni chapters thing and it now says "alumni associations", which is correct. There's also a nice google map there, too! WTF? (talk) 18:50, 27 September 2012 (UTC)
 * But no information as to whether the chapters there are active/inactive/PG/closed or whatever. Also there are several missing in the general search, for example within 10 miles of downtown DC (20001) should include George Washington University, but that one is missing. It does show up when you select it directly. Even with the map, massively inferior.Naraht (talk) 14:56, 28 September 2012 (UTC)
 * The Student Chapters selection doesn't include Alpha Chapter, for example, so I would assume that it only includes active chapters. I am not sure why they list "Extension Groups" and "Petitioning Groups" separately, since PGs are, by classification, extension groups. It would be nice if they included the inactive chapters, too, but perhaps they decided not to include that, since the list is public, they don't want to overtly advertise all the schools there used to be chapters at? WTF? (talk) 18:26, 28 September 2012 (UTC)

Superfluous Information
I think one of the major problems with this article is that it's too long. There is a lot of information here that just isn't going to be of interest to a general audience. Things like the list of National Service Week themes and the list of National Office locations do not need to be on here. That information could be moved to one of the APO-centered wiki projects out there.

I realize that most of the editors of this article are fraternity members like me. This information may be of great interest to us and to other members of the Fraternity, but I think that it very unlikely to be of interest to a general audience. That general audience is the intended audience of this encyclopedia and we should tailor the article to that.

Thoughts? Henrymrx (t·c) 01:15, 17 June 2013 (UTC)
 * I don't think pure length of the article should be necessarily looked at. Alpha Phi Alpha for example is more than twice the size (101K vs. 48K) more or less. Also, the moves around in the Land Bank building probably are of interest to few outside the Fraternity. (and not that many within(!)). I'd like to see the 2013 & 2014 service week themes added if the others are removed.
 * As a non-member, I think it's utterly ridiculous to list every theme for National Service Week since 1983. The average person checking Wiki doesn't care at all. If they do, that's what the national website is for. Also, wouldn't it be WP:COI for members to edit this article? Luthien22 (talk) 15:03, 27 August 2014 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure that information is directly accessible on the National website right now, I don't think the references there are to the current version of the website, they may need to be altered to use a copy on archive.org. And yes, I do have a COI, but I share the fact I'm a brother on my user page. I'm actually an alumnus whose been involved at some level since I graduated in 1990.Naraht (talk) 18:25, 27 August 2014 (UTC)

Some constructive criticism
I didn't see this article before the failed good article review in 2010, but it looks like it's gotten at least a bit better on the sourcing since according to an email I got from Alpha Phi Omega (they were trying to recruit me) this article contains good information that isn't on their official website (woo hoo!). That being said, I have a few points of constructive criticism that I'd like to bring up since I don't feel comfortable editing this without any prior knowledge of the organization, as I'm sure there's a lot more qualified people out there who will probably jump on it the moment they see this.

1) After reading the article a couple times, I still have no idea exactly how the fraternity was affiliated with the Boy Scouts. Was it a stamp of approval, a gold star, the authority to change bylaws... to me it's unclear since I know nothing of the topic.

2) The last paragraph in the section "Membership in Alpha Phi Omega-USA opened to women" sounds suspiciously as if it was almost lifted word for word from the original source "Torch and Trefoil" which is a publication by Alpha Phi Omega... it just smelt of promotional tone. However, I don't have access to the source, so it'd be great if somebody checked that.

3) It seems logical to me that the article about the bylaw change that resulted in the formation of Alpha Delta would have a link "See more: Alpha Delta" or "Main article: Alpha Delta". It's important enough to Alpha Delta's history that it should have a more significant link than the in-line one already present.

4) Although National Service Week is important, I really don't think listing every theme since 1987 is really necessary. Frankly, I just scrolled past the list without reading it.

Other then that, looks pretty good. If you see any edits by me, chances are they're copyediting for tone or grammar, since I did see a few things towards the end that needed grammatical fixing. Farewell! Luthien22 (talk) 15:00, 27 August 2014 (UTC)
 * The reference to the sentence "Early in his term (October 1931), Alpha Phi Omega was formally recognized by the Boy Scouts of America." says what happened, but that reference appears to be dead, if I can find a live version of that reference, perhaps you can suggest a better explanation.
 * Some of it is a quote, the quote that starts with (And includes the following points:)isn't ended anywhere (I think it should be at [18]). If that is pulled out into a block quote, it might be clearer what is and isn't. And I'll check the source for both 18 and 19.
 * It wasn't a bylaw change, it was a tightening of an existing policy. While it is important to Alpha Delta's history, it is fairly minor in Alpha Phi Omega's. It caused arguably a loss of 4 chapters out of more than 350 active, so no more relevant than including the SUNY schools getting rid of Social Fraternities should be in the history of Kappa Sigma.
 * Maybe change it to a collapsed list? I'm not sure that I would be a neutral editor on this since I've spent time trying to get all of the information.
 * Also, let me know any reference to the National website that comes up wrong, I think a lot of these need to be tied to a specific date on archive.org, the National website has changed almost completely at least 2 times over the last decade.Naraht (talk) 18:25, 27 August 2014 (UTC)
 * I just removed the list of National Service Week themes, as there really isn't a need to have it here. I am also affiliated as an alumnus with the fraternity, and there is no reason this can't be undone if someone objects. Kevin Rutherford (talk) 22:06, 15 November 2014 (UTC)

Additions: Regarding 1970 and gender equality
For the points in 's posting.
 * First we need actual references for this. "Data supported by the National archives, zeta chapter archives and letters of Earle Herbert" simply too broad and needed in article.
 * Minutes/proposed bylaw amendments from 1970 would be useful, do the T&Ts at www.apoarchive.org say anything?
 * First official female needs references. I have contact with someone who has talked to a woman initiated in 1950 as one of the charters at Central State University.
 * spelling, etc. Title IX is always used with the roman numeral
 * Stating that it was definitively the tax exemption seems strange when focusing on the *internal* pressures above.Naraht (talk) 14:45, 31 December 2014 (UTC)
 * I support points on this matter.  The edits also add little to the encyclopedic nature of this article. — Lentower (talk) 08:15, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

Revert add back of only cited sentence
I reverted your add back of your only cited sentence: For the other chapter: — Lentower (talk) 17:38, 4 January 2015 (UTC)
 * This article does not need this level of detail, especially as Alpha Delta National Fraternity has it's own article. (I will probably come back in a few days, and trim the Alpha Delta text further.)
 * It claimed Drexel's chapter was inactive, but the citation pointed at a different university, whose chapter is active.
 * Not being on a list isn't conclusive. A source that said the chapter went inactive is needed.
 * Service fraternities are often not listed with other Greek organizations, but viewed as service groups, and listed elsewhere.

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title: Talk:Alpha Phi Omega


text:
Soubrette

A soubrette is a female minor stock character in opera and theatre, often a pert lady's maid. By extension, the term can refer generally to any saucy or flirtatious young woman. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means "conceited" or "coy".

Theatre
In theatre, a soubrette is a comedy character who is vain and girlish, mischievous, lighthearted, coquettish and gossipy—often a chambermaid or confidante of the ingénue. She often displays a flirtatious or even sexually aggressive nature. The soubrette appeared in commedia dell'arte scenarios, often in the role of Columbina, where the actress would provide the details of her behaviour and dialogue. From there, she moved to the works of Molière, which were influenced by the Commedia; the role of Dorine in Tartuffe (1664) fits the description. A famous example, though a hundred years later, is Suzanne in Beaumarchais' Le Mariage de Figaro (1784).

Opera
In classical music and opera, the term soubrette refers to both a soprano voice type or fach, and a type of opera role. A soubrette voice is light with a bright, sweet timbre, a tessitura in the mid-range, but lacking extensive coloratura. A soubrette's vocal range extends approximately from middle C (C4) to "high D" (D6). The voice has a lighter vocal weight than other soprano voices with a brighter timbre. Many young singers start out as soubrettes but as they grow older and the voice matures more physically they may be reclassified as another voice type, usually either a light lyric soprano, a lyric coloratura soprano, or a coloratura mezzo-soprano. Rarely does a singer remain a soubrette throughout her entire career. The tessitura of the soubrette tends to lie a bit lower than the lyric soprano and spinto soprano.

Soubrette roles are typically found in comic operas or operettas and they usually portray good-looking, youthful girls who are flirtatious, saucy, and street-wise. Typically these roles are sung by younger singers and both sopranos and mezzo-sopranos are cast in them. Many soubrette roles have a considerable amount of spoken German dialogue, and therefore the soubrette singer must possess both an excellent comprehension of the German language and considerable acting skills. It is rare to find true soubrettes singing in major opera houses as their voices are typically unable to carry over larger orchestras in larger halls. Often lyric, coloratura, and mezzo-sopranos are cast in soubrette roles, especially in the early part of their singing careers. This does not mean that these singers are soubrette sopranos but it does mean they can play soubrette roles. The coloratura soprano has a higher range, can sing more dexterous vocal passages and has a somewhat brighter sound than the soubrette. The lyric soprano has a richer voice and higher range than the soubrette soprano. The mezzo-soprano can sing as high as a soubrette but with a darker timbre and heavier weight in the voice. Mezzos also have a much more extensive range in the lower register. In addition, the beautiful light voice of the soubrette is ideal for baroque music, early music and baroque opera, as well as many art songs. However, the soubrette soprano voice is limited even in this repertoire by its lack of coloratura skill and relatively limited range. Many operettas and musicals include soubrette characters, such as Valencienne in The Merry Widow, and in Gilbert and Sullivan the Jessie Bond mezzo-soprano roles such as Pitti-Sing (The Mikado). Another example is the character Ellie Mae Chipley, who sings "Life Upon the Wicked Stage" in Kern and Hammerstein's Show Boat.

Roles in opera and operettas
Source:

 * Adele, Die Fledermaus (J. Strauss II)
 * Alison, The Wandering Scholar (Holst)
 * Amor, Orfeo ed Euridice (Gluck)
 * Ännchen, Der Freischütz (von Weber)
 * Ann Page, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Nicolai)
 * Auretta, L'oca del Cairo (Mozart)
 * Barbarina, The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart)
 * Bärbele, Schwarzwaldmädel (Jessel)
 * Bastienne, Bastien und Bastienne (Mozart)
 * Belinda, Dido and Aeneas (Purcell)
 * Berta, Il barbiere di Siviglia (Gioachino Rossini)
 * Cis, Albert Herring (Britten)
 * Clotilde, Norma (Bellini)
 * Despina, Così fan tutte (Mozart)
 * Echo, Ariadne auf Naxos (R. Strauss)
 * Elisa, Il re pastore (Mozart)
 * Emmie, Albert Herring (Britten)
 * Giannetta, L'elisir d'amore (Donizetti)
 * Hannele, Schwarzwaldmädel (Jessel)
 * Hirte (Shepherd), Tannhäuser (Wagner)
 * Lisa, Gräfin Mariza (Kálmán)
 * Lisa, The Grand Duke (Gilbert and Sullivan)
 * Lisette, La rondine (Puccini)
 * Marie, Der Waffenschmied (Lortzing)
 * Marie, Zar und Zimmermann (Lortzing)
 * Marzellina, Fidelio (Beethoven)
 * Musetta, La bohème (Puccini)
 * Nannetta, Falstaff (Verdi)
 * Norina, Don Pasquale (Donizetti)
 * Ninetta, La finta semplice (Mozart)
 * Olga, Fedora (Giordano)
 * Papagena, The Magic Flute (Mozart)
 * Phoebe, The Yeomen of the Guard (Gilbert and Sullivan)
 * Pitti-Sing, The Mikado (Gilbert and Sullivan)
 * Servilia, La clemenza di Tito (Mozart)
 * Serpetta, La finta giardiniera (Mozart)
 * Serpina, La serva padrona (Pergolesi)
 * Sophie, Der Rosenkavalier (R. Strauss)
 * Stasi, Die Csárdásfürstin (Kálmán)
 * Susanna, The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart)
 * Yniold, Pelléas et Mélisande (Debussy)
 * Zerlina, Don Giovanni (Mozart)

title: Soubrette


text:
Machiya

Machiya (町屋/町家) are traditional wooden townhouses found throughout Japan and typified in the historical capital of Kyoto. ('townhouses') and ('farm dwellings') constitute the two categories of Japanese vernacular architecture known as  ('folk dwellings').

originated as early as the Heian period and continued to develop through to the Edo period and even into the Meiji period. housed urban merchants and craftsmen, a class collectively referred to as ('townspeople').

The word is written using two kanji: 'town' (町) and 'house' (家) or 'shop' (屋), depending on the kanji used to express it.

in Kyoto, sometimes called kyōmachiya (京町家/京町屋), formed the defining characteristic of downtown Kyoto architecture for centuries, representing the standard defining form of the throughout the country.

The typical Kyoto is a long wooden home with narrow street frontage, stretching deep into the city block and often containing one or more small courtyard gardens, known as. incorporate earthen walls and baked tile roofs, and are typically one, one and a half or two stories high, occasionally stretching to three stories. The front of the building traditionally served as the retail or shop space, known as lit. 'shop space' (店の間), typically having sliding or folding shutters that could open to display goods and wares.

Behind the shop space, the remainder of the main building would be divided into the lit. 'living room' (居室部), composed of divided rooms with raised timber floors and tatami mats coverings. would also feature a doma (土間) or tōriniwa (通り庭), an unfloored earthen service space that contained the kitchen, also serving as the passage to the rear of the plot, where storehouses known as kura (倉/蔵) would be found.

A hibukuro (火袋) above the kitchen would serve as a chimney, carrying smoke and heat away, and also serve as a skylight, bringing light into the kitchen. The plot's width was traditionally an index of wealth, and typical plots would be just 5.4 to 6 m wide but 20 m deep, leading to the nickname, or 'eel beds'.

The largest residential room in a, located in the rear of the main building and looking out over the garden which separated the main house from the storehouse, was known as the zashiki (座敷), and doubled as a reception room for special guests or clients. The sliding doors which made up the walls in a, as in most traditional Japanese buildings, provided a great degree of versatility; doors could be opened and closed or removed entirely to alter the number, size, and shape of rooms to suit the needs of the moment. Typically, however, the remainder of the building might be arranged to create smaller rooms, including an entrance hall or foyer (genkan (玄関)), butsuma (仏間), naka no ma (中の間) and oku no ma (奥の間), both of which mean simply 'central room'.

One occasion when rooms would be altered significantly is during the Gion Matsuri, when families would display their family treasures, including (folding screen) paintings and other artworks and heirlooms in the. also provided space for costumes, decorations, portable shrines (omikoshi (御神輿)), floats, and other things needed for the festival, as well as hosting spectators along the festival's parade route.

The design of a was also well-suited for the climate of Kyoto; with cold winters and often exceedingly-hot, humid summers, multiple layers of sliding doors ( and ) could be added or removed to moderate the temperature inside; closing all the screens in the winter would offer some protection from the cold, while opening them all in the summer offered some respite from the heat and humidity.

homes traditionally also made use of different types of screens which would be changed with the seasons; woven bamboo screens used in summer allowed air to flow through, but helped to block the sun. The open air garden courtyards likewise aided in air circulation and brought light into the house.

Design elements

The front of a features wooden lattices, or kōshi (格子), the styles of which were once indicative of the type of shop the  held. Silk or thread shops, rice sellers, (geisha houses), and liquor stores, among others, each had their own distinctive style of latticework. The types or styles of latticework are still today known by names using shop types, such as lit. 'thread shop lattice' (糸屋格子) or lit. 'rice shop lattice' (米屋格子). These lattices sometimes jut out from the front of the building, in which case they are known as degōshi (出格子). Normally unpainted, the of  (geisha and  communities) were frequently painted in bengara (紅殻), a vermillion or red ochre color.

The façade of the second story of a is generally not made of wood, but of earthwork, with a distinctive style of window known as lit. 'insect cage window' (虫籠窓).

The main entrance into a consists of two doors. The lit. 'big door' (大戸) was generally used only to transport goods, or large objects, into the building, while the smaller kugurido (潜り戸), or 'side door', was for normal, everyday use, i.e. for people to enter and exit.

often contain small courtyard gardens.

Community
communities can be compared to the s of Beijing. Small neighborhoods made up of closely grouped homes organized on both sides of a narrow street, sometimes with small alleyways (roji (路地)) in between the homes, help to create a strong sense of community. In addition, many areas were traditionally defined by a single craft or product. The Nishijin neighborhood, for example, is famous for its textiles; sharing a craft contributed greatly to a sense of community among fellow textile merchants in this area.

Destruction
, despite their status as part of Japan's cultural heritage, have undergone rapid decline in numbers in recent decades, with many being demolished in order to provide space for new buildings. Many reasons for this decline exist; are considered to be difficult and expensive to maintain, are subject to greater risk of damage from fires or earthquakes than modern buildings, and are considered old-fashioned and outdated by some. In a survey conducted in 2003, over 50% of residents noted that it is financially difficult to maintain a.

Between 1993 and 2003, over 13% of the in Kyoto were demolished. Roughly forty percent of those demolished were replaced with new modern houses, and another 40% were replaced with high-rise apartment buildings, parking lots, or modern-style commercial shops Of those remaining, over 80% have suffered significant losses to the traditional appearance of their façades. Roughly 20% of Kyoto's have been altered in a process called lit. 'signboard architecture' (看板建築), retaining the basic shape of a, but their façades have been completely covered over in cement, which replaces the wooden lattices of the first story and  windows and earthwork walls of the second story. Many of these have also lost their tile roofs, becoming more boxed-out in shape; many have also had aluminum or steel shutters installed, as are commonly seen in small urban shops around the world.

In response to the decline in numbers, however, some groups have formed with the express aim of restoring and protecting the  found in Kyoto. One such institution, the Fund, was established in 2005 with the backing of a Tokyo-based benefactor. The group works alongside individual owners to restore their buildings and to have them designated as "Structures of Scenic Importance" (景観重要建造物); under this designation, the structures are protected from demolition without the permission of the mayor of Kyoto, and a stipend is provided by the city government to the owners of the  to help support the upkeep of the building. Many of these restored buildings serve, at least in part, as community centers.

Iori, a company founded by art collector, writer, and cultural activist Alex Kerr in 2004 to save old, owns a number of which it restored, maintains, and rents to travelers. The company's main office, itself located in a, houses a traditional arts practice space, including a full-size Noh stage.

Examples
There are many remaining in Kyoto. Many are private residences, while others operating as businesses, notably cafes, and a few are museums. The largest in Kyoto is Sumiya in Shimabara, the traditional lit. 'pleasure quarter' (遊廓/遊郭) of Kyoto.

title: Machiya


text:
Oahe Dam

The Oahe Dam is a large earthen dam on the Missouri River, just north of Pierre, South Dakota, United States. Begun in 1948 and opened in 1962, the dam creates Lake Oahe, the fourth-largest man-made reservoir in the United States. The reservoir stretches 231 mi up the course of the Missouri to Bismarck, North Dakota. The dam's power plant provides electricity for much of the north-central United States. It is named for the Oahe Indian Mission established among the Lakota Sioux in 1874.

The project provides flood control, hydropower generation, irrigation, and navigation benefits. Oahe Dam is one of six Missouri River mainstem dams, the next dam upstream is Garrison Dam, near Riverdale, North Dakota, and the next dam downstream is Big Bend Dam, near Fort Thompson, South Dakota.

South Dakota Highway 204 runs directly atop the Oahe Dam, providing an automobile crossing of the Missouri River at the dam.

History

In September and October 1804, the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through what is now Lake Oahe while exploring the Missouri River.

The Oahe Dam was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1944, and construction by the United States Army Corps of Engineers began in 1948. The world's first rock tunnel boring machine (TBM) was invented in 1952 by James S. Robbins for the Oahe Dam project, which marked the beginning of machines replacing human tunnelers. The earth main dam reached its full height in October 1959. It was officially dedicated by President John F. Kennedy on August 17, 1962, the year in which it began generating power. The original project cost was $340,000,000.

Statistics

 * Dam height: 245 ft
 * Dam volume of earth fill: 92,000,000 cubic yards (70,000,000 m³)
 * Dam volume of concrete: 1,122,000 cubic yards (858,000 m³)
 * Spillway width: 456 ft
 * Spillway crest elevation: 1596.5 ft
 * Lake maximum depth: 205 ft
 * Plant discharge 56000 cuft/s
 * Water speed through intake tunnels: 11 mph (5 m/s)
 * Intake tunnel length: 3,650 feet (average) (1110 m)
 * Number of turbines: 7, Francis type, 100 RPM
 * Power generated per turbine: 112.29 MW
 * reservoir storage capacity: 23500000 acre.ft.
 * States served with electricity: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota and Montana
 * Number of recreation areas around lake: 51
 * Shore length: 2250 mi
 * Counties bordering lake: 14, including 4 in North Dakota (Burleigh, Emmons, Morton, Sioux), and 10 in South Dakota (Campbell, Corson, Dewey, Haakon, Hughes, Potter, Stanley, Sully, Walworth, and Ziebach)

Tours

Tours of the powerplant are given daily, Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Native American displacement
As a result of the dam's construction the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation lost 150000 acre bringing it down to 2850000 acre today. Standing Rock Reservation lost 55993 acre leaving it with 2300000 acre. Much of the land was taken by eminent domain claims made by the Bureau of Reclamation. Over and above the land loss, most of the reservations' prime agricultural land was included in the loss. The regions where the populations were resettled had soil with a higher clay content, and resources such as medicinal plants were less prevalent.

The loss of this land had a dramatic effect on the Natives who lived on the reservations. Most of the land was unable to be harvested (to allow the trees to be cut down for wood, etc.) before the land was flooded over with water. One visitor to the reservations later asked why there were so few older Natives on the reservations and was told that "the old people had died of heartache" after the construction of the dam and the loss of the reservations' land. As of 2015, poverty remains a problem for the displaced populations in the Dakotas, who are still seeking compensation for the loss of the towns submerged under Lake Oahe, and the loss of their traditional ways of life.

Huff Archeological Site is a fortified Mandan village site on what is now the bank of Lake Oahe. It is designated a National Historic Landmark, but is endangered by erosion pressure from the lake.

2011 flooding
Excessive precipitation in the spring, along with melting snow from the Rocky Mountains forced the dam to open the release gates (not the spillway), releasing 110000 ft3/s in June with another 50000 ft3/s through the power plant totaling 160000 ft3/s. The previous release record was 53900 ft3/s in 1997.

title: Oahe Dam


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Lake Oahe

Lake Oahe is a large reservoir behind Oahe Dam on the Missouri River; it begins in central South Dakota and continues north into North Dakota in the United States. The lake has an area of 370000 acre and a maximum depth of 205 ft. By volume, it is the fourth-largest reservoir in the US. Lake Oahe has a length of approximately 231 mi and has a shoreline of 2250 mi. 51 recreation areas are located along Lake Oahe, and 1.5 million people visit the reservoir every year. The lake is named for the 1874 Oahe Indian Mission.

Lake Oahe begins just north of Pierre, South Dakota and extends nearly as far north as Bismarck, North Dakota. Mobridge, South Dakota is located on the eastern shore of the central portion of the lake. Bridges over Lake Oahe include US Route 212 west of Gettysburg, South Dakota and US Route 12 at Mobridge. The former town of Forest City has been flooded beneath Lake Oahe, about 9 miles west of Gettysburg. Prehistoric archaeological sites have been explored in the area, including Molstad Village near Mobridge. It dates to before the emergence of the Arikara, Hidatsa, and Mandan as separate peoples, and has been designated as a National Historic Landmark.

Recreation
Species of fish in the reservoir include walleye, northern pike, channel catfish, and smallmouth bass. Chinook salmon, native to the Pacific Northwest, are artificially maintained in Lake Oahe and are a popular target for anglers. The lake also supports populations of the endangered pallid sturgeon.

There are 50 public recreation areas that allow access to Lake Oahe. Many of these areas offer boat ramp facilities, marinas, campgrounds, picnic areas, and hiking trails, along with access to hunting and fishing opportunities. Some of the recreation areas include:
 * Oahe Downstream Recreation Area
 * Cow Creek Recreation Area
 * Okobojo Point Recreation Area
 * West Whitlock Recreation Area
 * Indian Creek Recreation Area
 * Revheim Bay Recreation Area
 * West Pollock Recreation Area
 * Beaver Creek Recreation Area
 * Hazelton Recreation Area

Indian reservations and cultural resources
Both the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation and Standing Rock Indian Reservation occupy much of the western shoreline of Lake Oahe. Two possible burial sites of Sitting Bull, a Sioux leader, are located along Lake Oahe. One is near Fort Yates, North Dakota, while the other is near Mobridge.

The shoreline and public lands around Lake Oahe contain various artifacts and cultural resources, especially important to many Native American tribes that have historically lived and traveled through the Missouri River Basin and the Lake Oahe area. All artifacts, including fossils and other objects, are prohibited from collecting or damaging. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, along with other Federal and Tribal Law Enforcement officers enforce the unauthorized collection, vandalism, and damaging of culturally important sites and artifacts through the Antiquities Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979, and Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. Penalties for violations can include fines, and up to Federal prison sentences.

Forced relocation of Native Americans during construction
In the 1960s, the Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation built five large dams on the Missouri River, and implemented the Pick–Sloan Missouri Basin Program, forcing Native Americans to relocate from flooded areas. Over 200,000 acres on the Standing Rock Reservation and the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota were flooded by the Oahe Dam alone. As of 2015, poverty remains a problem for the displaced populations in the Dakotas, who are still seeking compensation for the loss of the towns submerged under Lake Oahe, and the loss of their traditional ways of life.

Dakota Access Pipeline
Lake Oahe became a point of contention in protests to block the Dakota Access Pipeline. The construction project has been controversial for its environmental impacts, and several Native American tribes in the Dakotas and Iowa have opposed the project. These include several Sioux nations and the Meskwaki. In 2016, a group from the Standing Rock Indian Reservation brought a petition to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and sued for an injunction to stop the project.

On December 4, 2016, USACE denied the easement that "would allow the Dakota Access Pipeline to cross under Lake Oahe" and Jo-Ellen Darcy, the United States Assistant Secretary of the Army, "said she based her decision on a need to explore alternate routes for the Dakota Access Pipeline crossing." Darcy stated, "that the consideration of alternative routes would be best accomplished through an Environmental Impact Statement with full public input and analysis."

Then-president Donald Trump soon thereafter issued "a memorandum and an executive order asking USACE to expedite its consideration of the company’s application for an easement to start construction." The USACE subsequently "withdrew its call for the environmental study."

On February 7, 2017, the USACE approved an easement through Lake Oahe. On February 9, 2017, the Cheyenne River Sioux filed the first legal challenge to the easement, citing an 1851 treaty and interference with the religious practices of the tribe.

In 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit sided with the Standing Rock Sioux and other tribes that there should have been a thorough environmental review (there was only a 2015 preliminary review) for the 2-mile pipeline section below Lake Oahe. In February 2022, the US Supreme Court agreed with this decision. The pipeline's construction remains frozen.

title: Lake Oahe


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Becket hitch

A becket hitch, including the double becket or figure-of-eight becket hitch, is any hitch that is made on an eye loop, i.e. on a becket. A becket hitch has the same structure as the sheet bend, which joins, or "bends", the ends of two ropes together. The becket hitch, in contrast, fixes a rope to a closed eye or hook. In this instance, a becket means the eye or hook of a pulley block, an eye in the end of a rope, or a rope handle on a sailor's sea chest.

Tying
For greater security, an additional round turn may be taken above the first before the line's working end is brought back under itself, creating a double becket or figure-of-eight becket. In the figure-of-eight becket hitch, the working end of the line is also passed through the becket loop, wrapped around the becket then under itself, but then the line is wrapped in the opposite direction over the incoming line, but tucked under and inside the first wrap to align with the length of the becket. The figure-of-eight becket hitch contains 2 bends: one bend around under the becket, and the other bend under and over the incoming line, then tucked under inside the first bend.

title: Becket hitch


text: Template:Campaignbox Spanish-American War: Cuba


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Desert tortoise

The desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is native to the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, and to the Sinaloan thornscrub of northwestern Mexico. G. agassizii is distributed in western Arizona, southeastern California, southern Nevada, and southwestern Utah. The specific name agassizii is in honor of Swiss-American zoologist Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz. The desert tortoise is the official state reptile in California and Nevada.

The desert tortoise lives about 50 to 80 years; it grows slowly and generally has a low reproductive rate. It spends most of its time in burrows, rock shelters, and pallets to regulate body temperature and reduce water loss. It is most active after seasonal rains and is inactive during most of the year. This inactivity helps reduce water loss during hot periods, whereas winter brumation facilitates survival during freezing temperatures and low food availability. Desert tortoises can tolerate water, salt, and energy imbalances on a daily basis, which increases their lifespans.

Taxonomy
In 2011, on the basis of DNA, geographic, and behavioral differences between desert tortoises east and west of the Colorado River, it was decided that two species of desert tortoises exist: Agassiz's desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) and Morafka's desert tortoise (Gopherus morafkai). The new species name is in honor of the late Professor David Joseph Morafka of California State University, Dominguez Hills, in recognition of his many contributions to the study and conservation of Gopherus. G. morafkai occurs east of the Colorado River in Arizona, as well as in the states of Sonora and Sinaloa, Mexico. The acceptance of G. morafkai reduced the range of G. agassizii by about 70% In 2016, based on a large-scale genetic analysis, ecological and morphological data, researchers proposed a split between the Sonoran and Sinaloan populations. This southernmost member of the Gopherus genus was named G. evgoodei, Goode's thornscrub tortoise.

Description
These tortoises may attain a length of 10 to 14 in, with males being slightly larger than females. A male tortoise has a longer gular horn than a female, his plastron (lower shell) is concave compared to a female tortoise. Males have larger tails than females do. Their shells are high-domed, and greenish-tan to dark brown in color. The high domes of their shells allow for space for their lungs, which helps them maintain thermoregulation, also known as maintaining internal temperature. Desert tortoises can grow to 4 - 6 in in height. They can range in weight from 8 to 15 pounds, or 3.5 kg to 7 kg. The front limbs have sharp, claw-like scales and are flattened for digging. Back legs are skinnier and very long.

Habitat
Desert tortoises can live in areas with ground temperatures exceeding 60 C because of their ability to dig burrows and escape the heat. At least 95% of their lives are spent in burrows. There, they are also protected from freezing winter weather while dormant, from November through February or March. Within their burrows, these tortoises create a subterranean environment that can be beneficial to other reptiles, mammals, birds, and invertebrates.

Scientists have divided the desert tortoise into three species: Agassiz's and Morafka's desert tortoises, with a third species, Goode's thornscrub tortoise, in northern Sinaloan and southern Sonora, Mexico. An isolated population of Agassiz's desert tortoise occurs in the Black Mountains of northwestern Arizona. They live in a different type of habitat, from sandy flats to rocky foothills. They have a strong proclivity in the Mojave Desert for alluvial fans, washes, and canyons where more suitable soils for den construction might be found. They range from near sea level to around 3500 ft in elevation. Tortoises show very strong site fidelity, and have well-established home ranges where they know where their food, water, and mineral resources are.

Desert tortoises inhabit elevations from below mean sea level in Death Valley to 5,300 ft in Arizona, though they are most common from around 1,000 to 3,500 ft. Estimates of densities vary from less than 8 PD/km2 on sites in southern California to over 500 PD/km2 in the western Mojave Desert, although most estimates are less than 150 PD/km2. The home range generally consists of 10 to 100 acre. In general, males have larger home ranges than females, and home range size increases with increasing resources and rainfall.

Desert tortoises are sensitive to the soil type, owing to their reliance on burrows for shelter, reduction of water loss, and regulation of body temperature. The soil should crumble easily during digging and be firm enough to resist collapse. Desert tortoises prefer sandy loam soils with varying amounts of gravel and clay, and tend to avoid sands or soils with low water-holding capacity, excess salts, or low resistance to flooding. They may consume soil to maintain adequate calcium levels, and may prefer sites with higher calcium content.

With the creation of off-road vehicles more humans are making their way in and out of the desert tortoises' home environment.

Shelters
Desert tortoises spend most of their lives in burrows, rock shelters, and pallets to regulate body temperature and reduce water loss. Burrows are tunnels dug into soil by desert tortoises or other animals, rock shelters are spaces protected by rocks and/or boulders, and pallets are depressions in the soil. The use of the various shelter types is related to their availability and climate. The number of burrows used, the extent of repetitive use, and the occurrence of burrow sharing are variable. Males tend to occupy deeper burrows than females. Seasonal trends in burrow use are influenced by desert tortoise sex and regional variation. Desert tortoise shelter sites are often associated with plant or rock cover. Desert tortoises often lay their eggs in nests dug in sufficiently deep soil at the entrance of burrows or under shrubs. Nests are typically 3 to 10 in deep.

Shelters are important for controlling body temperature and water regulation, as they allow desert tortoises to slow their rate of heating in summer and provide protection from cold during the winter. The humidity within burrows prevents dehydration. Burrows also provide protection from predators. The availability of adequate burrow sites influences desert tortoise densities.

Each desert tortoise uses about 5 to 25 burrows per year. Some burrows are used repeatedly, sometimes for several consecutive years. Desert tortoises share burrows with various mammals, reptiles, birds, and invertebrates, such as white-tailed antelope squirrels (Ammospermophilus leucurus), woodrats (Neotoma), collared peccaries (Dicolytes tajacu), burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia), Gambel's quail (Callipepla gambelii ), rattlesnakes (Crotalus spp.), Gila monsters (Heloderma suspectum), beetles, spiders, and scorpions. One burrow can host up to 23 desert tortoises – such sharing is more common for desert tortoises of opposite sexes than for desert tortoises of the same sex.

Reproduction
Tortoises mate in the spring and autumn. Male desert tortoises grow two large white glands around the chin area, called chin glands, that signify mating season. A male circles around female, biting her shell in the process. He then climbs upon the female and insert his penis (a white organ, usually only seen upon careful inspection during mating, as it is hidden inside the male and can only be coaxed out with sexual implication) into the cloaca of a female, which is located around the tail. The male may make grunting noises once atop a female, and may move his front legs up and down in a constant motion, as if playing a drum.

Months later, the female lays a clutch of four to eight hard-shelled eggs, which have the size and shape of ping-pong balls, usually in June or July. The eggs hatch in August or September. Wild female tortoises produce up to three clutches a year depending on the climate. Their eggs incubate from 90 to 135 days; some eggs may overwinter and hatch the following spring. In a laboratory experiment, temperature influenced hatching rates and hatchling sex. Incubation temperatures from 81 to 88 F resulted in hatching rates exceeding 83%, while incubation at 77 °F resulted in a 53% hatching rate. Incubation temperatures less than 88 °F resulted in all-male clutches. Average incubation time decreased from 124.7 days at 77 F to 78.2 days at 88 °F.

The desert tortoise is one of the few known tortoises in existence that has been observed engaging in homosexual intercourse Same-sex intercourse happens in many species, There is no one answer as to why this occurs. One possible explanation for this could be the social component of gaining and establishing dominance.

Maturation
The desert tortoise grows slowly, often taking 16 years or longer to reach about 20 cm in length. The growth rate varies with age, location, gender and precipitation. It can slow down from 12 mm/year for ages 4–8 years to about 6.0 mm/year for ages 16 to 20 years. Males and females grow at similar rates; females can grow slightly faster when young, but males grow larger than females.

Desert tortoises reach their reproductive maturity at ages 15 to 20, when they become longer than 18 cm (7 in). However, it is possible for them to mature faster as 10-year-old females that are able to reproduce have been observed.

Activity
Their activity depends on location, peaking in late spring for the Mojave Desert and in late summer to fall in Sonoran Desert; some populations exhibit two activity peaks during one year. Desert tortoises brumate during winters, roughly from November to February–April. Females begin brumating later and emerge earlier than males; juveniles emerge from brumation earlier than adults.

Temperature strongly influences desert tortoise activity level. Although desert tortoises can survive body temperatures from below freezing to over 104 °F, most activity occurs at temperatures from 79 to 93 F. The influence of temperature is reflected in daily activity patterns, with desert tortoises often active late in the morning during spring and fall, early in the morning and late in the evening during the summer, and occasionally becoming active during relatively warm winter afternoons. The activity generally increases after rainfall.

Although desert tortoises spend the majority of their time in shelter, movements of up to 660 ft per day are common. The common, comparatively short-distance movements presumably represent foraging activity, traveling between burrows, and possibly mate-seeking or other social behaviors. Long-distance movements could potentially represent dispersal into new areas and/or use of peripheral portions of the home range.

Lifespan
The lifespan of a desert tortoise can vary from 50 to 80 years. The main causes of mortality in desert tortoises include predators, human-related causes, diseases, and environmental factors such as drought, flooding, and fire. The annual death rate of adults is typically a few percent, but is much higher for young desert tortoises. Only 2–5% of hatchlings are estimated to reach maturity. Estimates of survival from hatching to 1 year of age for Mojave Desert tortoises range from 47 to 51%. Survival of Mojave Desert tortoises from 1 to 4 years of age is 71–89%.

Diet
The desert tortoise is an herbivore. Grasses form the bulk of its diet, but it also eats herbs, annual wildflowers, and new growth of cacti, as well as their fruit and flowers. Rocks and soil are also ingested, perhaps as a means of maintaining intestinal digestive bacteria as a source of supplementary calcium or other minerals. As with birds, stones may also function as gastroliths, enabling more efficient digestion of plant material in the stomach.

Much of the tortoise's water intake comes from moisture in the grasses and wildflowers they consume in the spring. A large urinary bladder can store over 40% of the tortoise's body weight in water, urea, uric acid, and nitrogenous wastes. During very dry times, they may give off waste as a white paste rather than a watery urine. During periods of adequate rainfall, they drink copiously from any pools they find, and eliminate solid urates. The tortoises can increase their body weight by up to 40% after copious drinking. Adult tortoises can survive a year or more without access to water. During the summer and dry seasons, they rely on the water contained within cactus fruits and mesquite grass. To maintain sufficient water, they reabsorb water in their bladders, and move to humid burrows in the morning to prevent water loss by evaporation.

A desert tortoise can empty its bladder as one of its defense mechanisms. This can leave the tortoise in a very vulnerable condition in dry areas, since the tortoise will no longer have a backup water supply. If a tortoise is seen in the wild, you should not handle, or pick them up unless they are in imminent danger. Handling of tortoises may have consequences for the animal, such as the development of upper respiratory tract infections.

Predation and conservation status
Ravens, Gila monsters, kit foxes, badgers, roadrunners, coyotes, and fire ants are all natural predators of the desert tortoise. They prey on eggs, juveniles, which are 2-3 in long with a thin, delicate shell, or, in some cases, adults. Ravens are thought to cause significant levels of juvenile tortoise predation in some areas of the Mojave Desert – frequently near urbanized areas. The most significant threats to tortoises include urbanization, disease, habitat destruction and fragmentation, illegal collection and vandalism by humans, and habitat conversion from invasive plant species (Brassica tournefortii, Bromus rubens and Erodium spp.).

Desert tortoise populations in some areas have declined by as much as 90% since the 1980s, and the Mojave population is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 in 1990, after being listed as endangered, or threatened in the case of the Beaver Dam Slope, Utah population, under an emergency rule in 1989. All desert tortoises are protected under law of the United States based on similarity of appearance to tortoises of the protected Mojave population. It is unlawful to touch, harm, harass, or collect wild desert tortoises. It is, however, possible to adopt captive tortoises through the Tortoise Adoption Program in Arizona, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Desert Tortoise Adoption Program in Utah, Joshua Tree Tortoise Rescue Project in California, or through Bureau of Land Management in Nevada. When adopted in Nevada, they will have a computer chip embedded on their backs for reference. According to Arizona Game and Fish Commission Rule R12-4-407 A.1, they may be possessed if the tortoises are obtained from a captive source which is properly documented. Commission Order 43: Reptile Notes 3: one tortoise per family member.

The Fort Irwin National Training Center of the US Army expanded into an area that was habitat for about 2,000 desert tortoises, and contained critical desert tortoise habitat (a designation by the US Fish and Wildlife Service). In March 2008, about 650 tortoises were moved by helicopter and vehicle, up to 35 km away. The Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee protects roughly 5,000 acre of desert tortoise habitat from human activity. This area includes 4,340 acre in Kern County, 710 acre in San Bernardino County, and 80 acre in Riverside County.

Another potential threat to the desert tortoise's habitat is a series of proposed wind and solar farms. As a result of legislation, solar energy companies have been making plans for huge projects in the desert regions of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. The requests submitted to the Bureau of Land Management total nearly 1800000 acre.

While tortoises are made to withstand tough conditions and high temperatures, they are unable to cope with the dangers of human development, such as the use of off-roading vehicles. These vehicles that come along at high speeds have the potential to crush and kill tortoises, running over their eggs and burrows and significantly impacting their population.

Ivanpah solar power project
Concerns about the impacts of the Ivanpah Solar thermal project led the developers to hire some 100 biologists and spend US$22 million caring for the tortoises on or near the site during construction. Despite this, in a 2011 Revised Biological Assessment for the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, the Bureau of Land Management anticipated the loss or significant degradation of 3,520 acre of tortoise habitat and the harm of 57–274 adult tortoises, 608 juveniles, and 236 eggs inside the work area, and 203 adult tortoises and 1,541 juvenile tortoises outside the work area. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) expects that most of the juvenile tortoises on the project will be killed.

Lawsuits
In the summer of 2010, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility filed a lawsuit against the National Park Service for not having taken measures to manage tortoise shooting in the Mojave National Preserve of California. Biologists discovered numerous gunshot wounds (holes) on dead tortoise shells which could likely have been caused long after natural death as these shells can take five years to disintegrate and make useful targets for well intentioned target shooters. These shells left behind by nature, droughts, roadkill, or vandals may have attracted ravens and threatened the healthy tortoises as any predator bird need only feed once on a small tortoise to remember it as a viable food source. The National Park Service did not take the measures they were urged to. They responded with "We simply do not believe that such regulations are warranted at this time." and no further action has been taken.

Diseases
Reptiles are known to become infected by a wide range of pathogens, which includes viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. More specifically, the G. agassizii population has been negatively affected by upper respiratory tract disease, cutaneous dyskeratosis, herpes virus, shell necrosis, urolithiasis (bladder stones), and parasites.

Upper respiratory tract disease
Upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) is a chronic, infectious disease responsible for population declines across the entire range of the desert tortoise. It was identified in the early 1970s in captive desert tortoise populations, and later identified in the wild population. URTD is caused by the infectious agents Mycoplasma agassizii and Mycoplasma testudineum, which are bacteria in the class Mollicutes and characterized by having no cell wall and a small genome.

Mycoplasmae appear to be highly virulent (infectious) in some populations, while chronic, or even dormant in others. The mechanism (whether environmental or genetic) responsible for this diversity is not understood. Infection is characterized by both physiological and behavioral changes: nasal and ocular discharge, palpebral edema (swelling of the upper and/or lower palpebra, or eyelid, the fleshy portion that is in contact with the tortoises eye globe) and conjunctivitis, weight loss, changes in color and elasticity of the integument, and lethargic or erratic behavior. These pathogens are likely transmitted by contact with an infected individual. Epidemiological studies of wild desert tortoises in the western Mojave Desert from 1992 to 1995 showed a 37% increase in M. agassizii. Tests were conducted on blood samples, and a positive test was determined by the presence of antibodies in the blood, defined as being seropositive.

Cutaneous dyskeratosis
Cutaneous dyskeratosis (CD) is a shell disease of unknown origin and has unknown implications on desert tortoise populations. Observationally, it is typified by shell lesions on the scutes. Areas infected with CD appear discolored, dry, rough and flakey, with peeling, pitting, and chipping through multiple cornified layers. Lesions are usually first located on the plastron (underside) of the tortoises, although lesions on the carapace (upper side) and fore limbs are not uncommon. In advanced cases, exposed areas become infected with bacteria, fungi, and exposed tissue and bone may become necrotic. CD was evident as early as 1979 and was initially identified on the Chuckwalla Bench Area of Critical Environmental Concern in Riverside County, California. Currently, the means of transmission are unknown, although hypotheses include autoimmune diseases, exposure to toxic chemicals (possibly from mines, or air pollution), or a deficiency disease (possibly resulting from tortoises consuming low-quality invasive plant species instead of high-nutrient native plants).

Impacts of disease
Two case studies outlined the spread of disease in desert tortoises. The Daggett Epidemiology of Upper Respiratory Tract Disease project, which provides supporting disease research for the Fort Irwin translocation project, lends an example of the spread of disease. In 2008, 197 health evaluations were conducted, revealing 25.0–45.2% exposure to M. agassizii and M. testudineum, respectively, in a core area adjacent to Interstate 15. The spread of disease was tracked over two years, and clinical signs of URTD spread from the core area to adjacent, outlying locations during this time. Overlaying home ranges and the social nature of these animals, suggests that disease-free individuals may be vulnerable to spread of disease, and that transmission can occur rapidly. Thus, wild tortoises that are close to the urban-wildlife interface may be vulnerable to spread of disease as a direct result of human influence.

The second study indicated that captive tortoises can be a source of disease to wild Agassiz's desert tortoise populations. Johnson et al. (2006) tested blood samples for URTD (n = 179) and herpesvirus (n = 109) from captive tortoises found near Barstow, CA and Hesperia, CA. Demographic and health data were collected from the tortoises, as well from other reptiles housed in the same facility. Of these, 45.3% showed signs of mild disease, 16.2% of moderate disease, and 4.5% of severe disease, and blood tests revealed that 82.7% of tortoises had antibodies to mycoplasma, and 26.6% had antibodies to herpesvirus (which means the tortoises were seropositive for these two diseases, and indicate previous exposure to the causative agents). With an estimated 200,000 captive desert tortoises in California, their escape or release into the wild is a real threat to uninfected wild populations of tortoises. Projections from this study suggest that about 4400 tortoises could escape from captivity in a given year, and with an 82% exposure rate to URTD, the wild population may be at greater risk than previously thought.

Domestic pets
Edwards et al. reported that 35% of desert tortoises in the Phoenix area are hybrids between either Gopherus agassizii and G. morafkai, or G. morafkai and the Texas tortoise, G. berlandieri. The intentional or accidental release of these tortoises could have dire consequences for wild tortoises.

Before obtaining a desert tortoise as a pet, it is best to check the laws and regulations of the local area and/or state. Desert tortoises may not be captured from the wild. They may, however, be given as a gift from one private owner to another. Desert tortoises need to be kept outdoors in a large area of dry soil and with access to vegetation and water. An underground den and a balanced diet are crucial to the health of captive tortoises.

Research
Wild populations of tortoises must be managed effectively to minimize the spread of diseases, which includes research and education. Despite significant research being conducted on desert tortoises and disease, a considerable knowledge gap still exists in understanding how disease affects desert tortoise population dynamics. It is not known if the population would still decline if disease were completely absent from the system; are tortoises more susceptible to disease during drought conditions? How does a non-native diet impact a tortoise's ability to ward off pathogens? What are the causes of immunity exhibited by some desert tortoises? The 2008 USFWS draft recovery plan suggests that populations of tortoises that are uninfected, or only recently infected, should likely be considered research and management priorities. Tortoises are known to show resistance to disease in some areas, an effort to identify and maintain these individuals in the populations is essential. Furthermore, increasing research on the social behavior of these animals, and garnering a greater understanding of how behavior facilitates disease transmission would be advantageous in understanding rates of transmission. Finally, translocation of tortoises should be done with extreme caution; disease is typically furtive and moving individuals or populations of tortoises across a landscape can have unforeseen consequences.

Education
As a corollary to research, education may help prevent captive tortoises from coming into contact with wild populations. Education campaigns through veterinarians, government agencies, schools, museums, and community centers throughout the range of the desert tortoise could limit the spread of tortoise diseases into wild populations. Strategies may include encouraging people to not breed their captive tortoises, ensure that different species of turtles and tortoises are not housed in the same facility (which would help to prevent the spread of novel diseases into the desert tortoise population), ensure captive tortoises are adequately housed to prevent them from escaping into the wild, and to ensure that captive turtles and tortoises are never released into the wild.

Desert tortoises have been severely affected by disease. Both upper respiratory tract disease and cutaneous dyskeratosis have caused precipitous population declines and die-offs across the entire range of this charismatic species. Both of these diseases are extremely likely to be caused by people, and URTD is easily linked with people releasing captive tortoises into the wild. The combination of scientific research and public education is imperative to curb the spread of disease and aid the tortoise in recovery.

State reptile
The desert tortoise is the state reptile of California and Nevada.

title: Desert tortoise


text: User talk:65.112.97.14

title: User talk:65.112.97.14