Gopher Tortoises Could Delay
Your Next Land Development Project
Gopher tortoises are long-lived reptiles that occupy well-drained to excessively drained habitat on sandy uplands. They dig burrows commonly ranging from about 10 to nearly 40 feet deep for shelter and emerge to forage on low-growing plants. Gopher tortoises share these burrows with more than 350 other species, and are therefore referred to as a keystone species. Conservation of gopher tortoises depends not only on the efforts of Florida Wildlife Commission (FWC) and other conservation groups, but also on Florida’s citizens. There are many ways to co-exist with these gentle lands tortoises. In Florida, the gopher tortoise is listed as Threatened. Both the tortoise and its burrow are protected under state law, specifically provisions of Section 68A-27, Florida Administrative Code (FAC). Gopher tortoises must be relocated before any land clearing or development takes place, and property owners must obtain permits from the FWC before capturing and relocating tortoises. Applications for permits are available at Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The provisions of FAC regarding gopher tortoises were most recently updated in April 2013. According to these provisions: “No person shall take, attempt to take, pursue, hunt, harass, capture, possess, sell or transport any gopher tortoise or parts thereof or their eggs, or molest, damage, or destroy gopher tortoise burrows, except as authorized by Commission permit or when complying with Commission approved guidelines for specific actions which may impact gopher tortoises and their burrows. A gopher tortoise burrow is a tunnel with a cross-section that closely approximates the shape of a gopher tortoise.” A file photo of a typical gopher tortoise burrow is shown below. Briefly, it is against state law to kill, harass or destroy gopher tortoises, their eggs. Specifically, these provisions also prohibit destroying or damaging their burrows. Interestingly, during a pre-development inspection, it may not be the actual number or population of gopher tortoises that are within the property boundaries, but rather the number of burrows that are present.
Photo Credit: Gary Foster, Ft. Pierce, Fl.
Their modern-day range has been downsized from their historical region and now is limited to southern Alabama, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and a larger area in north and central Florida. The marked decrease in their extent appears to be most directly related to urbanization and development of their habitat.
If you have gopher tortoises on your property, you need to get a FWC relocation permit before disturbing the burrows. A disturbance includes any type of work within 25 feet of a gopher tortoise burrow. Most typical activities associated with residential lawn and landscape maintenance do not require a permit, provided they do not collapse gopher tortoise burrows or harm gopher tortoises.
You may find additional information on relocating gopher tortoises, their habitat, and so forth by visiting the “Gopher Tortoise Homepage” on the Florida Wildlife Commission website, or by calling the FWC at (850) 921-1031.
