The state set out in 2015 to protect 65 gopher tortoise habitats and succeeded in 10 years.
The state of Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources announced today that its Georgia Gopher Tortoise Initiative has permanently protected 65 viable gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) populations in the state. The final population in the state’s goal is an easement that will conserve and protect more than 250 tortoises as well as the pineland habitat in which they reside, totalling 1,210 acres.
The state launched the initiative in 2015. It has since grown to involve 30 state agencies, conservation organizations, companies, private landowners and private foundations, according to the Georgia DNR.
Head Starting Gopher Tortoises Increases Chances Of Survival
“We’re incredibly proud of the success of these conservation efforts. Avoiding federal listing not only helps protect wildlife, it also prevents potential economic impacts for our state,” DNR Commissioner Walter Rabon said in a statement released to the media. “This collaborative approach has shown great promise as a model for successful wildlife conservation in the future.”
When the initiative was launched, the state determined that only 26 of the 125 populations considered viable were protected. It was determined that 65 populations had to be protected in order to ensure the survival and thriving of the species in the state. Each population had to have at least 250 adult gopher tortoises for it to be considered a viable population. Its took ten ears to protect 65 populations as well as conserved 100,000 acres of habitat in south Georgia to ensure their survival. the state also restored longleaf pine ecosystems that the gopher tortoise calls home.
The Gopher Tortoise Conservation Initiative is comprised of public and private members, including the following:
• Athens Land Trust
• Bobolink Foundation
• Georgia-Alabama Land Trust
• Georgia Chamber of Commerce
• Georgia Conservancy
• Georgia Department of Transportation
• Georgia Forestry Commission
• Georgia Power
• Georgia Wildlife Federation
• Knobloch Family Foundation
• Open Space Institute
• Pattillo Industrial Real Estate
• R. Howard Dobbs Jr. Foundation
• Robert W. Woodruff Foundation
• Southern Power
• Tall Timbers
• The Conservation Fund
• The Jones Center at Ichauway
• The Nature Conservancy
• The Orianne Society
• Turner Foundation
• U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities
• U.S. Forest Service (Forest Legacy Program)
• WildArk
These organizations are in addition to the Georgia DNR, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
“By leveraging the momentum of the gopher tortoise’s candidate status and its cherished role as Georgia’s state reptile, we built a conservation strategy rooted in science and partnership,” Peter Maholland, Georgia Field Office supervisor, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said. “Together with DNR, private landowners and dedicated non-government organizations, we identified high-quality tortoise populations and developed ‘tortoise sheds’ – a landscape-based approach inspired by watershed planning. This vision, championed by DNR’s Matt Elliott and the late Don Imm of Fish and Wildlife, continues to guide our work and exemplifies how collaboration drives conservation success.”
Gopher Tortoise Information
The gopher tortoise is an endangered species in western Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. It is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It is considered a keystone species by scientists, due to its burrowing nature, which then helps an estimated 360 other animal species who take advantage of those networks of tunnels. The reptile averages about a foot long and can be found in along the coastal plains of the Southeastern United States, including South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, southern Alabama, Mississippi, and southeastern Louisiana. Gopher tortoises dine primarily on grasses in the wild and can eat beans, corn and most fruit. It is protected throughout its range and requires a permit to keep.
