gopher tortoise

Join us for a conversation about the importance of gopher tortoises to our ecosystems. These large, long-lived reptiles can be found in all of Florida’s 67 counties. They play a crucial role in ecosystems because of the deep burrows they dig and live in. More than 350 other species — known as commensals — take advantage of those burrows for shelter. Their main threats are cars while trying to cross roads, and development that occurs on the land where they live.

April 10 is Gopher Tortoise Day, as designed by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission and the nonprofit Gopher Tortoise Council. So, we have a conversation about the importance of these large, long-lived reptiles that can be found in all of Florida’s 67 counties. These large, slow moving reptiles are crucial to ecosystems because of the deep burrows they dig and live in. More than 350 other species — known as commensals — take advantage of those burrows for shelter. Their main threats are cars while trying to cross roads, and development that occurs on the land where they live.

Florida residents can play an important part in conserving gopher tortoises, which are often found living near people in suburban, agricultural and other developed areas. When people get involved in gopher tortoise conservation, it helps ensure tortoises, and the over 350 species tortoises provide shelter for in their burrows, will continue to be found throughout the state in the future. Residents can get involved with conservation of gopher tortoises in several ways:

Southwest Florida is a hotspot for new construction. In Fort Myers alone there are more than 89 development projects, according to the City of Fort Myers development report. Before development happens, companies have to remove gopher tortoises to relocation sites to comply with Florida law – and Lee County is running out of room.

Pasha Donaldson, vice president of the Cape Coral Friends of Wildlife, does not know how many of the cape’s 3,500 burrowing owls fared during Hurricane Ian. But she does know of a way residents can help the animals that surivived the storm remain alive.“Please don’t put your trash on top of” their burrows, Donaldson said. That’s “that big thing for people dumping trash.”The burrowing owl occupies not just self-dug burrows, but can make a home in the ends of a drainage culvert underneath driveways, underneath a porch, or where a post used to be. Donaldson said to trap the owls down in their homes for the days or weeks it takes for the piles of trash created by Hurricane Ian could be deadly.

"There's an implication that the Fish Wildlife Service removed protections for gopher tortoises. They did not. If we wanted to think of the immediate protection level changes for the species, this finding document found no change," said Jeffrey Goessling of Eckerd College.

While every dog has it's day, so it seems, does the slow-moving, Florida-native tortoise.

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Gopher tortoises are long-lived reptiles that that can be found throughout Florida’s forests, pastures, and yards. They dig deep burrows for shelter and…