Florida’s best-known tortoise is in a race — for its continued existence.
The gopher tortoise — the specie’s range includes much of the state — is a candidate for possible protection under the federal Endangered Species Act and is classified as “threatened” by the state.
The primary threat to the gopher tortoise is habitat loss through habitat destruction, fragmentation and degradation, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Yet, habitat destruction continues. It’s common enough the FWC operates a relocation program and identifies “recipient sites” for animals, usually private land in which the owner is paid per tortoise.
The relocation program began in 2007 and between 2007 and 2020, about 56,000 gopher tortoises were moved to “recipient sites.”
Earlier in 2021, the FWC issued a public plea for property owners to provide habitat for gopher tortoises because suitable shelter is becoming more difficult to find.
“For years the state has enabled sprawl development by simply moving tortoises out of the way,” said Elise Bennett, a senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity environmental group. “Now there’s nowhere left to put them.”
The relocation program is much better than the state’s old program, which allowed developers to bury the animals alive.
But the program — and potential changes to it — certainly has critics.
A rule on the books says gopher tortoises cannot be relocated more than 100 miles north of south of their original burrows, the burrows being threatened by development.
The rule was enacted to ensure tortoises are relocated to areas that support long-term viability and genetic integrity.
But FWC executive director Eric Sutton earlier this year issued an executive order waiving the rule for 90 days, during which time the commission is expected to consider a longer-term change to the rule.
“Gopher tortoises are caught in a habitat loss crisis, yet the commission is suggesting what amounts to a temporary storage solution,” said the center’s Bennett.
The order authorizes wildlife officials to approve “temporary relocation” options, enabling the detention of gopher tortoises in on-site pens while developers push ahead with construction.
The order also allows for the “temporary offsite” relocation of the animals to public lands.
George Heinrich, executive director of the Florida Turtle Conservation Trust, said the order diminishes the conservation outlook for gopher tortoises.
“We have long urged the commission to be more proactive with their efforts to conserve imperiled tortoise and freshwater turtle species,” Heinrich said in a statement. “The fact that our state wildlife agency has allowed it to get to this point is shameful. They simply must do better.”
The issue is on the agenda for a Dec. 15-16 FWC meeting in Destin.
The agenda also includes discussion of rules regarding imperiled beach-nesting birds and an update on a record number of manatee deaths in 2021.
People can comment through Friday, Dec. 10, via myfwc.com, where they also can find more information about gopher tortoise “recipient sites.”
Did you know?
Gopher tortoises can live up to 80 years.
In Florida, the animals live in dry oak sandhills, scrub, dry hammock, pine flatwoods, dry prairie, coastal grasslands and sand dunes.
On the island, they can be found in the coastal dunes, where they create burrows that provide protection from predators and the elements.
The burrows vary in size — from 3-50 feet long and 9-25 feet deep — and provide refuge for about 350 other species, including frogs, snakes, mice, skunks, foxes, rabbits, armadillos, owls, lizards and more.
The tortoises forage on grasses, palmetto berries, fruits and flowers.
The chief threat to the tortoises is habitat destruction but herbicides also cause harm.
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service