re: Taxpayers to shell out $50M for Marines to evacuate 1,200 Mojave tortoises

quote:

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The area slated for expansion is in prime tortoise habitat, and the number of breeding adults has dropped by about 50 percent over the last decade, according to a recent survey by federal biologists.

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I bet those tree hugging biologist inflated the numbers in the last survey or deflated numbers in the current survey to show a dramatic decrease in numbers today, thus requiring additional money for "studies" and habitat...