Gopher Tortoise Education Resources
Welcome educators, students, and parents! Here you will find gopher tortoise related information and activities for all ages. This page lists all of the brochures and other materials that are available for download.
Photos from FWC’s Flickr gallery are allowed to be used for non-commercial purposes.
Brochures
A Landowner's Guide: Managing habitat for gopher tortoises contains information and resources for managing gopher tortoise habitat.
A guide to living with gopher tortoises contains information on the importance of gopher tortoise in Florida and what to do if you encounter one.
Una guía para vivir con Tortugas de tierra contiene información sobre la importancia de la tortuga de tierra en Florida y lo que debe hacer si encuentra una.
Before you build contains information about what landowners should know about gopher tortoises before breaking ground on construction activities.
Antes de construir contiene información sobre lo que todo propietario debe saber sobre las tortugas gopher antes de empezar a construir.
Fact Sheets
- Laws, Policies, and Guidelines
- Permitting and Mitigation
- Recipient Sites
- Leyes, Políticas y Directrices
- Online Permitting
- Horses and Safety
- Wildlife Rehabilitation
- Waif Gopher Tortoises
- Gopher Tortoises in Urban Areas
- Best Management Practices
- Upper Respiratory Tract Disease
- Gopher Tortoise Commensals
- Gopher Tortoises and Road Safety
- Gopher Tortoise and Dog Safety
Posters
The Got Gophers? Get Permits poster Has been revamped and distributed to local governments in Florida. You can also help by printing and posting this poster in your office or neighborhood.
The Longleaf Alliance also offers an educational poster that depicts many of the plants and animals that could be encountered on a stroll through the longleaf pine forest, one habitat in which the gopher tortoise can be found.
Decals
Children's Books
The Gopher Tortoise, by Zander Srodes. This children's activity book, reprinted by FWC in February 2009, is an educational activity book that introduces the life history and ecological significance of the gopher tortoise to young audiences.
Gopher Tracks, by Susan Jane Ryan. This 62-page book is most appropriate for fourth-graders and up. The book introduces gopher tortoise ecology, the role of fire in upland habitats, and the importance of environmental stewardship through the adventures of two girls, Tamika and Diana.
Curriculum
Ray and Patricia Ashton created a curriculum for the FWC that meets Florida's Sunshine State Standards.
Encounters with Gopher Tortoises: Protection and Natural History provides curriculum and activities to educators in Florida.
Curriculum Packet
Curriculum Powerpoint
Background Information for Slides
A limited number of CD format copies of the curriculum and a companion Facilitator's curriculum for training environmental educators are available and can be requested by calling 850-921-1030.
Coloring Pages
The following coloring sheets were created for the Gopher Tortoise Council and are provided by FWC for download and duplication.
Grant Opportunities
Grant opportunities are posted to the Gopher Tortoise Council's website frequently. Please check back for future opportunities as they are available.
If you have a funding opportunity available for gopher tortoise education or research and would like for us to include the information on our website, please send the announcement to GTEvents@MyFWC.com.