crumbs at a highway rest stop or dumpster diving behind a restaurant, ravens have come to associate people with food and water. william boarman: there is somewhere between 2 and 15 times the number of ravens at important resource sites, like landfills, sewage ponds, and towns, compared to the open desert. narrator: now there are so many more ravens that they have moved aggressively into areas that were mostly off-limits. and there they are disrupting the ecosystem. there are 4 major deserts in north america. in the united states, the mohave and the sonoran deserts are tortoise habitat. there is evidence that native americans have been living in these deserts for at least 10,000 years with relatively little impact. the famed photographer edward curtis photographed the mohave tribe as part of his study of native americans. but the mohave and sonoran deserts remained sparsely settled by europeans. difficult terrain, heat, and lack of water kept most settlers at bay. and while a few hardy adventurers were exploring the desert, it wasn't until the discovery of gold in the 1850s that people began moving to the desert in any