State and federal officials set up habitat fund to compensate for energy development

State and federal officials overseeing the push to build solar and wind plants in California's desert signed an agreement Wednesday that they say will streamline project approvals. The agreement allows energy developers to compensate for destruction of wildlife habitat by paying into a special fund to be managed by the nonprofit National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, according to news releases from the California Energy Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Representatives of the wildlife service, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the state Department of Fish and Game and the Energy Commission will decide how to spend the money, according to the agencies. The money could be used to acquire and protect land inhabited by desert tortoises, which are threatened with extinction. It also could be used to restore or enhance habitat. Energy company officials have said recently that they support the idea, as long as it doesn't make their projects more costly. Ileene Anderson, a biologist with the Center for Biological Diversity, said pooling money from projects could allow for larger, more meaningful conservation efforts...more