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GENERAL
| BALD EAGLE | GOPHER
TORTOISE | MANATEE |
PANAMA CITY CRAYFISH
| IMPERILED SPECIES
on MyFWC.com |
QUESTIONS - Gopher Tortoise (as of 2006)
What is a gopher tortoise?
A gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is a large land turtle
that, as its name suggests, lives underground in a burrow.
Adults can weigh up to 15 pounds and average 9-11 inches long,
but some can reach 15 inches. They live throughout
Florida, but prefer high, dry, sandy places such as longleaf
pine sandhills, xeric oak hammocks, scrub, pine flatwoods, dry
prairies and coastal dunes.
How are gopher tortoises doing?
Gopher tortoises live in many parts of Florida, but their
numbers are declining. FWC biologists estimate that their
numbers have gone down by 60-80 percent in the last century
mainly because the places they live have been taken over by
human development.
Gopher tortoises have been around for about 60
million years, but biologists who study these ancient reptiles
are concerned they may disappear from many areas unless more is
done to protect them and preserve the habitat they need.
Are gopher tortoises protected in Florida?
The gopher tortoise is currently protected as a Species of
Special Concern in Florida. It is illegal to kill, harass,
injure, possess, transport, relocate or sell gopher tortoises or
their eggs, or destroy their burrows, without a permit from the
FWC.
Why is the FWC evaluating the status of the
gopher tortoise?
The FWC received a petition to reclassify the gopher tortoise.
In April 2005, the listing process was updated and the
Commission directed staff to evaluate gopher tortoises under the
new listing process rules.
What criteria did the gopher tortoise meet to
warrant this species being reclassified?
Based on geographic information systems technology, the
biological review panel determined that gopher tortoise numbers
have declined by more than 50 percent over a span of time equaling
three tortoise generations (average age of breeding adults).
This rate of decline meets the criteria for listing in the
“threatened” species category.
If the recommendation for reclassifying the
gopher tortoise is approved, will this mean that gopher
tortoises will receive more protection?
It could. The classification categories in Florida’s listed
species rule describe the relative risk of extinction, not level
of protection. The protections for any reclassified species will
be defined in a species-specific management plan that guides
species recovery.
The gopher tortoise management plan will address
a host of issues relating to gopher tortoise conservation
including permitting, law enforcement, habitat protection and
habitat management. Since no management plan currently exists
for the gopher tortoise, even if the species is not reclassified
as threatened, a management plan will be developed and
appropriate protections will be incorporated which may or may
not provide more protections than currently exist for gopher
tortoises.
What is the Gopher Tortoise 2 Team?
The FWC recognized the need to re-evaluate its gopher tortoise
management and policies. As a result, the Gopher Tortoise 2 Team
was assembled with industry, stakeholder and other interest
groups to look at new approaches on agency gopher tortoise
policies and management.
Will a revised permit system include
entombment of tortoises?
The Gopher Tortoise 2 Team is looking at a new permit system that eliminates or significantly minimizes
entombment. |
