The Riverside County Board of Supervisors recently approved a new project aimed at helping to protect the endangered desert tortoise. A $117,000 fencing project will help keep the reptiles from falling into a working gravel pit north of the city of Blythe.

LA Times staff writer Louis Sahagun talked with Lisa McRee on “LA Times Today” about the ongoing efforts to save the desert tortoise, which trace back decades in California.

View the full interview above. 

Watch “LA Times Today” at 7 and 10 p.m. Monday through Friday on Spectrum News 1 and the Spectrum News app.