As owner and principal scientist for Kinsinger Environmental Consulting (KEC), my job takes me into deep nature. Currently, I’m working in the Mojave desert watching spring burst into a profusion of flowering. Now butterflies are nectaring and Mojave ground squirrel and the desert tortoise have emerged from their winter dens to forage on their favorite seeds and greens. Desert kit fox and American badger are raising their pups and I am privileged to witness it all as I work to protect it.
The Mojave ground squirrel is listed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) as Threatened and the Desert Tortoise is listed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) as Threatened. That’s why I’m there.
At a time when industry is shifting to renewable energy the desert is being fragmented by development for wind and solar power, my job is to prevent direct mortality. I’m part of a team of biologists surveying for these species in the Joshua tree/creosote scrub habitat. Designated biologists move desert tortoises to safe habitat before they are fenced out of their old homes within the 12,000 acres of planned solar fields.
Is this enough to save these species from extinction while trying to save our planet? The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) is evaluating nearly 50% of the 22 million acres of public land for energy projects. However, the projects I work on are on private lands
On April 18, 2024, The California Fish and Game Commission voted 4 to 0 to upgrade the listing of the Desert Tortoise from Threatened to Endangered. Michael Tuma PhD, of the Desert Tortoise Council, said, “With their long generation times, slow growth and low reproductive rates, tortoise populations will need decades to recover from population declines, and that’s only if we can provide an environment with sustained relief”.
If you love nature. Be in it. In a time of competing interests, love it, know it and find your leading to preserve it.
Debbie Kinsinger founded KEC in 2003 with the goal of guiding land developers through the entitlements process from project siting to grading plan permitting and site preparation. As an Environmental Planner / Project Manager specializing in California Environmental Compliance she leads KEC in coordinating engineering and environmental compliance plans in the development of NEPA/CEQA Environmental Impact studies. Ms. Kinsinger works closely with her clients assisting them in navigating the entitlements process with a range of potential options and a clear understanding of the entitlement costs and project fees in advance of making irretrievable commitments of resources.
Debbie’s clients benefit in negotiations with agencies and regulators from her background as both the developer’s representative and an agency regulator who has conducted thousands of environmental investigations including: jurisdictional waters and wetland delineations, biological studies and focused surveys for sensitive, threatened and endangered flora and fauna.
Website: kecbiz.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/debbie-kinsinger-9b51337
