Desert Tortoise, from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
They’re slow, methodical, and ancient. And for most of their species’ time on Earth, their impact on humanity was negligible. In fact, humanity’s impact on the desert tortoise was far more detrimental; so much so that they’ve been labeled as endangered since 1980.
Since then, the cost to monitor and rescue the desert tortoise has accumulated. From 1996 to 2006, for instance, it cost about $93 million to monitor them. That said, I think most people would agree that over that time span it is money well spent. The number is actually far less then other endangered species, like the Pacific Northwest salmon and the Stellar sea lion, of which hundreds of millions of dollars have spent.
Most recently, the concern over the desert tortoise has focused on the building of huge solar farms in the Mojave Desert near Joshua Tree National Monument. One solar farm has spent $56 million toward the protection of the species. However, animal rights advocates are basically against the building of solar farms for fear that they will harm the desert tortoise.
And just what is the fear? Well, solar farms themselves – the buildings and the solar panels – do not create a significant danger to the tortoises. If anything, they take away some potential land for the tortoises to live in.
But that’s not the concern. With the presence of humans comes changes to the ecosystem. Huge buildings provide nesting areas for eagles, which easily prey on young desert tortoises. Also, the presence of humans also attracts certain insects, like ‘army ants’, which can also prey on young tortoises. These concerns, of course, are debatable.
What these activists are worried about the most is the increase of traffic that is associated with building a solar farm. That’s it. They’re afraid that every once in a while, a tortoise will be run over.
Essentially, this is a math problem. How much should we worry about desert tortoises in the vicinity of solar farms when compared to the benefits of solar energy? It’s a tough call, but I’m leaning toward the technological progress.
COMMENTARY
Sometimes the effort to do the right thing butts heads with other conscientious efforts. Such is the case between creating the largest solar energy facility in the U.S. vs. the desire of some animal rights activists to preserve the natural habitat of some desert tortoises.
Even though a plan is in place to relocate desert tortoises [...]
Mojave Desert Vista Restored- Castle Mountain Venture finished a reclamation effort, which cleaned up after a decade of open pit mining.
Check out the story here where utility crews removed 18 miles of power lines, leaving the Mojave Desert just like it was before gold mining began in the early 1900’s.
The Castle Mountain Venture is a [...]
