That could make Ground Zero the center point for a confrontation between Bureau of Land Management rangers and the activists intent on stopping the tests. When the testing is ready to begin, the BLM will give the camp five days to move off the site, said Molly Brady, head of the agency's Needles office. After that, the activists must decide whether to move or lose the right to stay on the proposed dump site altogether. The camp isn't much to look at - just a large, dilapidated Army tent covered on one side with plastic sheeting to keep out the rain and a few smaller tents where volunteers sleep at night. You feel like you have the whole world to yourself.
Protesters share the space with the endangered desert tortoise.
The valley is considered critical habitat by biologists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and dump contractor U.S. Ecology has been monitoring the animals. The tortoise is an unofficial mascot for the coalition of environmentalists and American Indians fighting the dump. The old Army tent used as a kitchen and storage area is decorated with a yellow stylized painting of a tortoise. Martha Law was among the activists who founded the camp, convinced that keeping protesters at the proposed dump sit would show federal officials that opponents were serious about stopping the project. Law helped pick the name of the group, but can no longer remember exactly why, she said, laughing while she cooked for about 100 protesters who held a rally near the edge of the proposed dump site.