The gopher tortoise, a burrowing creature located only in the southeastern United States, is finding itself increasingly under attack in Florida, where developers are creating more human spaces at the great expense of habitat required by this slow-to-reproduce species.
Already this keystone species (one integral to the healthy functioning of its ecosystem) has declined by an estimated 80 percent throughout its range. It has been nearly wiped out in South Carolina and Louisiana, largely because its habitat is either lost or degraded by urban development and the conversion of land to agricultural uses. In some areas, gopher tortoises are hunted by humans who still eat them.
In portions of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, the gopher tortoise is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. But in areas where it has no federal protections, the species' fate lies in the hands of state governments.
Where the Gopher Tortoise Stands in Florida
The state of Florida classifies the gopher tortoise as a "species of special concern." This designation is essentially a step away from a state "threatened" classification. In its listing of imperiled wildlife species, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC) notes that the gopher tortoise may already meet criteria for a threatened listing.
Fast-paced urban development in Florida, with its widespread destruction and degradation of the gopher tortoise's upland habitat, is probably the primary threat to the species in the Sunshine State. Development damages the tortoises in the short and long term.
In the short term, individual tortoises suffer. Gopher tortoises have evolved to evade danger by escaping to the safety of a burrow, a strategy that worked well when predators posed the primary threat to their survival. But when tortoises retreat to their burrows in an attempt to evade bulldozers and construction crews, they are often entombed under what ultimately becomes a strip mall or a subdivision. Because of their slow metabolism, entombed tortoises may take months to die of dehydration, starvation or suffocation.
Based on the FFWCC's permit records, an estimated 80,000 gopher tortoises have died in Florida since 1992 as a result of development of new homes, businesses, and roads. Their deaths are a concern not only on humane grounds but also to conservationists: The species' slow reproductive cycle and relatively late (9 to 11 years old) sexual maturity mean that recovery from significant population declines will be prolonged.
In the long-term, habitat destruction and degradation drive tortoises into unsuitable habitats, including areas near roads, areas without appropriate food plants or soils for burrowing, and areas in which predation—especially on young tortoises—is too high for the population to sustain it.
Even forms of habitat alteration that one might consider less intrusive than urban development, such as conversion of land to commercial forest uses, can eliminate gopher tortoise habitat by shading out the species' food plants. Though such areas may not be paved over, they are still lost to tortoises for the foreseeable future.
What's more, habitat fragmentation creates barriers to movement, which can reduce or eliminate the gene flow among gopher tortoise populations. Without adequate dispersal, a population's genetic variability may be reduced to such an extent that its extinction or local extirpation becomes more likely.
Florida offers developers two options to comply with the current regulations regarding gopher tortoise impacts: They can obtain a permit for "incidental take" (i.e., accidental killing) of gopher tortoises as a result of development or they can obtain a permit to relocate the tortoises. The FFWCC requires developers obtaining an incidental take permit to pay into a gopher tortoise habitat mitigation fund that's used to purchase habitat and manage it for these animals. While the habitat purchased likely has some beneficial effect on gopher tortoise conservation, it is not likely that the 9,700 acres set aside so far for tortoises will be sufficient to offset the loss of thousands of tortoises per year.
Relocation: Not (Yet) the Answer
Even when developers obtain permission to relocate tortoises from a site slated for development, the tortoises' trouble may be just beginning.
Typically, the developer will hire an environmental consultant to relocate tortoises. Some consultants do take care to ensure the survival and well-being of relocated tortoises, and use methods that increase the odds of tortoise survival after release. But Florida does not currently require such care, and therefore many relocations are conducted poorly. (Sometimes well-meaning residents of Florida also capture and relocate tortoises in an attempt to save them, but if the Good Samaritan isn't educated about the tortoise's habitat needs or how to relocate safely and effectively, these relocations may do more harm than good.)
Furthermore, current state guidelines do not require consultants (or other relocators) to monitor the tortoises after release. Post-release monitoring is important because some scientific studies suggest that many relocated tortoises don't stay at the new site for long. Many tortoises may die if they wander into unsuitable habitat or encounter a road.
The tendency of released tortoises to leave the new site may be due, at least in part, to the release method used. Tortoises are often simply set free at the new site with no post-release care or monitoring—this is termed a "hard release." Relocated tortoises are far more likely to survive a "soft release," in which they are kept temporarily within a fenced area at the new site and are provided with food, water and shelter until they adjust to their new surroundings. (Note: Tortoise relocation—by either method—should only be conducted by people who have been trained in safe and humane relocation methods.)
Most disturbing, however, is the fact that the site chosen for relocation often is, itself, slated for development.
The FFWCC has issued permits for the relocation of approximately 60,000 gopher tortoises since 1992. Owing to the lack of monitoring, the fate of these relocated tortoises is unknown. Furthermore, the state has no comprehensive plan to ensure that relocations will, cumulatively, benefit the conservation of this species.
What You Can Do
Please contact Governor Charlie Crist and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Executive Director Kenneth Haddad to ask them to prohibit any further "incidental take" of gopher tortoises until the FFWCC comes up with better solutions to the conflicts between gopher tortoise protection and development interests. Please let Governor Crist and Mr. Haddad know that allowing the continuation of incidental takes and poorly planned relocations of gopher tortoises is not only inhumane to the individual tortoises, it is an unrealistic and ineffective way to protect an imperiled species.
- Charlie Crist, Governor
Office of the Governor
The Capitol
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
850-488-7146
Fax: 850-487-0801
Charlie.Crist@myflorida.com
- Kenneth Haddad, Executive Director
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Farris Bryant Building
620 S. Meridian St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1600
850-487-3796
ken.haddad@fwc.state.fl.us
Posted April 29, 2005
Updated Feb. 1, 2007
