What’s a desert tortoise worth?

By Joe Schoenmann

Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Some people think it’s a waste to spend a lot of money and time on desert tortoises. Others think airport parking fees can be collected in a more efficient and economical way — and are willing to bet big bucks on it. And having just been inundated with coverage of the Democratic and Republican national conventions, a few folks are champing at the bit to cast their ballots for president.

Who thinks we spend too much to save the tortoises?

Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins, for one. His district includes the county’s northern hinterlands. He railed against tortoise spending last week just before the County Commission voted to approve a federally financed desert tortoise monitoring program at a cost of $1.3 million.

If you watched the commission meeting and blinked, you might have missed it, because Collins was quick and to the point.

“Over all these years ... don’t we know where are the tortoises now?” Collins groused.

A county staffer replied that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requires continued monitoring of the desert tortoise population, which in turn helps as the county seeks to expand into federally owned land.

But could money for the tortoises be used for other projects?

It could. After being told the money could also be used for parks, or it could go to the Bureau of Land Management or the Forestry Service, Collins replied: “They would spend it better than us counting turtles — tortoises.”

“We need to get out of the tortoise business and get into some people and kids and food business,” he added.

With that, Collins moved for approval and the contract was unanimously approved.

Another tortoise-related measure passed without comment. This one was to provide a hotline for taking calls about desert tortoises and picking them up. After taking five bids, the commission approved a one-year contract for $104,000 with Knight & Leavitt Associates, touted as having 33 years of experience in desert-tortoise-related activities in Southern Nevada. Money for the service comes from fees paid by developers.

Shifting away from animals of the four-legged variety, the presidential and vice presidential candidates are firing up people to vote. When and where can voters go if they already know who they want in the Oval Office?

Whoa, Nellie! Early voting is popular in Nevada, but you can’t do it for at least another month.

Early voting begins 17 days before Election Day, which is the first Tuesday in November. This year, that means early voting begins Oct. 18. It lasts 14 days, through the Friday before the general election.

Dozens of early voting sites will be located across the valley.

But even if you can vote early, you might not want to, given the raft of biting stories emerging in just the first few days after the conventions. You never know whether some last-second story will have the power to change your mind.

For more information on early voting in Clark County, go to www.accessclarkcounty.com/depts/election/English/Pages/earlyvot.aspx.

What was that big-ticket item the County Commission approved for McCarran International Airport last week?

In the not too distant future, you’ll park at McCarran International Airport and take care of your parking fee without handing the money to a human being. At a cost of $7.6 million, the airport is purchasing an automated system for parking fee payments. The system is expected to improve reliability and ease expansion of parking facilities, customer service and auditing abilities.