Desert Sun

According to Geary Hund, executive director of the Mojave Desert Land Trust, a conservation group that buys land to protect it from harmful development, there are no available land parcels that could be regarded as an equitable trade for the land planned for the proposed Paradise Valley development.

Hunt said even when species enjoy the protections of special designations, or a habitat conservation plan, things can still go wrong.

"A new city of 25,000 people in very sensitive high quality habitat that serves as an important linking corridor for wildlife would disturb a variety of animals including the desert tortoise in a way that cannot be mitigated with another parcel," he said.

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