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https://reasonstobecheerful.world/reconciliation-ecology-crocodiles-turkey-point-nuclear/>
"Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), the Sunshine State’s largest power
utility, employs all the people you might expect: electricians, lineworkers,
mechanical engineers — and a few you might not. For over 40 years, the company
has kept a team of wildlife biologists on staff. Their task? Monitoring the
giant carnivorous reptiles that reside in one of the state’s nuclear power
plants.
What sounds like a low-budget creature feature is actually a wildly successful
conservation story. It goes like this: In 1975, the shy and reclusive American
crocodile was facing extinction. Over-hunting and habitat decline caused by
encroaching development had pushed its numbers to a record low. By 1975, when
it was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, there were only
200 to 300 left.
Three years later, in 1978, workers at the Turkey Point nuclear power plant in
Homestead, Florida happened upon something that must have made them gasp: a
crocodile nest along one of the plant’s 5,900-acre “cooling canals.” Rather
than drive the crocs away — perhaps the easiest solution — FPL hired a team of
biologists and implemented a Crocodile Management Plan. Its goal was
unconventional: provide a suitable habitat for the crocs within the workings of
the nuclear power plant, allowing both to coexist."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
