By Lauren Nolfo-Clements
It seemed like such good news: In June the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission determined that the gopher tortoise should be classified as "threatened." But despite recognizing that the species is at risk of extinction, Florida won't give it threatened-species protections until the commission approves a final management plan.
What this means is that the state continues to allow gopher tortoises to perish at the hands of developers by issuing "incidental take" permits. With these permits in hand, developers crush tortoises under bulldozers and entomb them in their burrows beneath slabs of concrete. Based on the commission's permit records, an estimated 80,000 gopher tortoises have been buried alive in Florida since 1991.
The commission points to relocation permits as a humane alternative to incidental take permits, and since 1991 it has issued enough for the relocation of nearly 60,000 gopher tortoises. But for a number of reasons, relocation has not lived up to the promise. Current regulations require that all candidates for relocation first be tested for upper respiratory tract disease, and any animal who tests positive is destroyed, along with the entire colony. While the disease may kill individual tortoises, its effects on the overall population have yet to be determined. The testing serves only as an obstacle to tortoise recovery and provides an excuse to condemn more tortoises to an unnecessary death.
Research has shown that a relocation method using "soft release"—temporarily penning the tortoises at the release point and giving them food, water and shelter for a period before they are set free—results in less disorientation, normal ranging behavior and increased survivorship. However, the Floridia Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission does not require that tortoises be relocated using "soft release."
If Florida is to live up to its responsibility to the gopher tortoise, it must:
place a moratorium on all incidental take permits while the commission drafts a final gopher tortoise management plan;
reevaluate incidental take permits that have been issued but not yet used and rescind permits in light of the tortoise’s new status;
halt Upper Respiratory Tract Disease testing; and
develop a final management plan by June 2007.
The final management plan must:
eliminates the current policy of issuing incidental take permits;
applies to all gopher tortoises and their habitat, eliminating exemptions, such as those for agricultural practices;
sets substantial penalties for those who harm gopher tortoises; and
requires all relocations of tortoises be performed properly and humanely, using soft releases.
What You Can Do
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is soliciting comments from the public regarding the management of gopher tortoises. Comments are due by 5 p.m. EDT Aug. 8. Click here to send your comments via e-mail, or write to:
Angela Williams
Gopher Tortoise Management Plan Comments
DHSC
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
620 South Meridian St.
Mail Station 10
Tallahassee, FL 32399–1600
For more information, contact Perran Ross at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at 850-488-4676 or via e-mail at Perran.ross@myfwc.com
Lauren Nolfo-Clements is a wildlife biologist for The Humane Society of the United States
