Posted on 03/03/2012 8:40:57 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
Stubborn does not come close to describing the desert tortoise, a species that did its evolving more than 220 million years ago and has since remained resolutely prehistoric.
At the $2.2-billion BrightSource Energy solar farm in the Ivanpah Valley, the tortoise brought construction to a standstill for three months when excavation work found far more animals than biologists expected.
BrightSource has spent $56 million so far to protect and relocate the tortoises, but even at that price, the work has met with unforeseen calamity: Animals crushed under vehicle tires, army ants attacking hatchlings in a makeshift nursery and one small tortoise carried off to an eagle nest, its embedded microchip pinging faintly as it receded.
Costly conservation efforts by state and federal agencies and solar companies have created a mishmash of strategies that one scientist says amounts to a "grand science experiment," said Jeff Lovich, who studies the impact of renewable energy projects on desert tortoises for the U.S. Geological Survey.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
“one small tortoise carried off to an eagle nest, its embedded microchip pinging faintly as it receded. “
Funniest. Line. Ever.
Nothing here that an additional $56B of taxpayer money can’t resolve.
Wow....green whacks verses animal rights whacks
Liberals on the horns of a dilemma.... Who wins ?
/johnny
They both will win. The taxpayer will lose.
Where’s the EPA in the Mojave Desert? Heck, where are the environmentalists?
...Interesting. No EPA interference. The Enviro crowd rolls over. The project has all of the things which in normal circumstances (i.e. if it was a petro-chemical project) would have it tied up for years both in red tape and court cases....
This solar company was given over 3000 acres of public land.
Which is crazier - worrying about some tortoises to the extent of shutting down an energy project or building a solar farm? I think the solar farm wins for insanity: 1) the tortoises were minding their own business, 2) solar farms are an extension of the climate change hoax, and 3) solar farms are not cost effective. Somebody in this country going to get a grip and end all this high-dollar bs?
Another leftist BS story. $56,000,000 to protect the desert tortoise. I bet the person responsible for paying this got his training from working on the government climate grant program. If there were 5 desert toroises living on the land their using I’ll eat my hat. Two 15 year old kids could have gatherned everyone up in a couple of days and move them out to new territory. Ever seen how big the desert is.
2 lbs. desert tortise meat (microchips removed), 3/8" cubes, floured.
1 lbs. mirepoix.
1/2 lb mushrooms sliced.
1 cup of tomato concasse.
1/2 bottle burgundy.
2 cloves garlic.
Thyme, parsley, sage, pepper and salt.
2 Tbsp blond roux.
1 quart desert tortise stock (standard stock procedure).
In hot saute pan, brown meat and set aside. Saute mirepoix to a dark color, add mushrooms at the end to just color. Add concasse and chopped garlic. Reduce to sec. When garlic is slightly browned, deglaze with wine, reduce until almost sec add stock and stir in roux to make a gravy that can coat the back of a spoon. Season as required.
Remove to oven and braise for 1.5 hours.
Serve on warm polenta with a southwestern cactus salad.
/johnny
No logging because of spotted owls. No oil pipelines because of elk. Now, no solar power because of a desert tortoise. Anyone see a pattern?
FF&F solution, kill off the ravens. But the raven is one smart bird, they just left the area and watched. When FF&F stopped trying to kill them, the ravens returned and started all over again.
So...an endangered species that is so common that they’re ending up under truck tires, being hauled away to nests, and become buffet bars for red ants?
So what you’re really saying is that it’s not endangered at all, huh?
Their lack of survival skills could be why they’re becoming endangered.
one tortoise carried
to eagle's nest, microchip
ping faintly recedes.
Hahaha, you can almost see the greenies gathered around the tracking console, mouths agape stunned horror!
Clever - I like it.
Look!
The neighbor’s dog!
Come to kill us all!
Look! Look! Look! Look!
Reminds me of when they spent about a quarter mil rehabing a seal from an oil spill, and about a minute after “being returned to the wild”, Jaws ate it.
Harness sun’s power,
or save the desert’s flowers?
Turtle soup sounds good.
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