I consider myself an environmentalist, and an animal-lover. But spending $7 million to relocate a thousand tortoises from Ft. Irwin? That sounds like a little much, even to a green like me.
OK, it's nice to hear that the foot-long critters will be monitored, even "after their movement to assigned translocation sites." And I'm sure the research into "the effects of translocation on the tortoises' reproduction and nutrition" will indeed "help determine the best methods for relocating these long-lived desert vegetarians." But, for a cash-strapped Army at war, doesn't this kind of study seem like a bit of a luxury?
