Gopher Tortoise Permitting Guidelines Proposed Revisions

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission sought input on draft revisions to the Gopher Tortoise Permitting Guidelines. Staff accepted public comment between August 24 and September 23, 2022. Questions can be directed to Katherine Richardson, the Gopher Tortoise Program Coordinator, at Katherine.Richardson@MyFWC.com.
FWC staff also held two webinars to present an overview of the revisions. A copy of the webinar presentation is available below.
To better protect gopher tortoises during permitted activities, the guidelines revisions propose to:
- Adjust mitigation contributions to incentivize relocation to protected areas.
- Facilitate regulatory enforcement by defining roles and responsibilities.
- Clarifying other provisions.