Quote Of The Day

From the Las Vegas Sun: Commissioner Tom Collins said the proposal has no chance at being adopted. “The likeliness of that thing passing is about the same as a whore with no teeth winning a beauty pageant,” he said.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/sep/03/some-question-need-new-rules-protect-desert-tortoi/

The story is actually a good story about how bureaucrats, in this case, for Clark County, and how they abuse their power.
From the Sun article: A study of Clark County’s protections for desert tortoises and other wildlife could lead to higher fees for development and an expansion of the area covered by the protections.
Although still in its early stages, a proposal to modify the county’s Multi-Species Habitat Conservation Plan could raise the fees from $550 to $1,600 an acre; expand by up to 200,000 acres the area covered by wildlife restrictions; and reduce the number of animals designated for research, from several dozen to fewer than 20.
“With climate change and renewable energy development (taking up thousands of acres of desert) ... and two decades of pretty much unmanaged breakneck-pace growth, we have to step up our game,” Nevada Conservation League Executive Director Scot Rutledge said.
Climate change is affecting the desert? How, making it hotter. So, how does that affect sand? Further, Las Vegas has more grass, trees, flowers and other green vegetation than there was 100 years ago. That should help the tortoises, not harm them. and if the Desert Tortoise is so much in danger, why are the tortoises being kept as pets in the Las Vegas Valley?

Commissioner Steve Sisolak says it best: Commissioner Steve Sisolak said he doesn’t see the sense in pushing ahead with plans to preserve and protect animals on land that won’t be touched for years. The commissioner, whose district includes a habitat of relocated tortoises, thinks the drive to adopt a new plan has as much to do with a handful of government employees wanting to remain relevant while development is on hold as it does protecting wildlife.
“I think they want to expand their empire at the expense of development and other worthwhile causes,” Sisolak said. “It’s the tortoises, the frog, the butterfly, the mustard plant. It’s kind of like a black hole. You cannot throw enough money into this thing.”
To understand how the money is spent, Sisolak ordered the Desert Conservation Program to report on expenditures of money received from fees and through a federal land program. That report is scheduled to be delivered at Tuesday’s County Commission meeting.
“We should definitely protect endangered species, but we’ve studied this for a good 20 years. It’s gone too far,” Sisolak said.
Finally, we had the best quote of the day, now, here is dumbest quote from Scot Rutledge: But Rutledge admits that political opposition to changes appears strong. That’s a worry because “politics are going to make the decision, not the science.”
And, Mr. Rutledge, what is the science? Or maybe you really mean, "I am irrelevant and I have no clue what I am talking about."
So, thanks to Sisolak and Collins, this plan by the irrelevant Mr. Rutledge, seems like it is dead in the water.