Solar project could displace 140 tortoises

A solar energy development on public land in northeastern San Bernardino County could displace as many as 140 desert tortoises, far more than the 17 that the developer's surveys found before the project was approved. Federal officials made the new estimate public in an interview Tuesday. Tortoises are a protected species. At least 43 tortoises have been moved from the project site to protect them from grading and construction work that began in October. The animals include 15 adults and 11 juveniles now held in pens and 17 that were carried a short distance to areas outside the fenced construction site, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Biologists with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which is overseeing the tortoise removals, now estimate that an additional 101 tortoises are living in areas of the 5.6-square-mile site that have not yet been cleared, said Larry LaPre, a wildlife biologist for the agency. The project is in the Ivanpah Valley, just west of Interstate 15 near Primm, Nev. Just how the new estimate will affect BrightSource Energy's $2 billion project is unclear. A spokesman for the Oakland-based company said the higher number of tortoises won't change the project's scope or construction schedule. Fish and Wildlife had granted permission for biologists to relocate 38 adult and 35 juvenile tortoises from the entire 5.6 square miles. The 17 moved outside the fence don't count toward those limits. But, based on the numbers found so far, biologists believe dozens more will be found, LaPre said. The situation prompted the BLM and Fish and Wildlife to enter into formal talks this week to increase the number of tortoises that can be moved...more

Green energy buts up against the ESA. Gotta love it.