State Seeking Input on Management Plans to Protect Gopher Tortoises

News file photo

Hatchling gopher tortoises emerge from their eggs after many months of incubation no larger than a golf ball, and easily fall prey to predators, including roaming housecats.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is seeking public input on draft revisions to the Gopher Tortoise Management Plan. The Management Plan outlines the necessary objectives and conservation actions needed to lower the rate of gopher tortoise population declines and ultimately remove the species from the Florida Endangered and Threatened Species List.

Themes of the proposed revisions include 1) streamlining and aligning with other FWC management plans, 2) updating goals, objectives, and conservation actions, and 3) assessing new and emerging threats to the species.

Key revisions and information included in the management plan will be presented at two public webinars. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions. Webinars are scheduled for the

Courtesy FWC

Gopher tortoises are native to most of Florida and thrived on the high, sandy soil of the Ridge. They can live for more than a century and dig deep burrows that can house scores of other species, many threatened or endangered. Vast parts of their former habitat has been removed for housing and commercial development.

The first webinar regarding draft revisions for the Gopher Tortoise Management Plan will be Thursday, August 8, 2024, from 2-3:30 p.m., followed b y a second on Monday, August 12, 2024, from 10-11:30 a.m. EDT.

Information on the draft plan and instructions on how to join the webinars are available at MyFWC.com/GopherTortoise. A PDF copy of the presentation will also be posted on the website following the webinar.

Written comments will be accepted by online survey between July 29 and August 30, 2024. Individuals who would like to comment but are unable to do so in the specified timeframe or prefer an alternate format in which to comment, should contact [email protected].

The gopher tortoise is a State-designated Threatened species. The Gopher Tortoise Management Plan provides the management framework for gopher tortoise conservation in Florida. The initial management plan was approved in 2007. The currently used revision was approved in 2012.