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DECEMBER STAKEHOLDER MEETING - FINANCING TORTOISE CONSERVATION
December 9, 2006
Tallahassee
Prepared by: Ray Ashton
Late Information
Please note that I apologize to those that count on the web page for information about the stakeholder meetings. It was sent out late and then we had the usual near impossible task to get into the FWC share page.
Disclaimer
Note that as usual what is discussed and even decided upon in the Stakeholder meeting does not necessarily mean that it will happen. The discussions about what the Stakeholders think are indeed an indication of the direction things are going. In this case, there have been a number of discussions.
Key Points
Tortoise Conservation Plan
The management plan being developed for the gopher tortoise should be economically doable. Unlike so many other management plans in the past, we are striving to make sure that FWC is creating a plan that can be done with staff, program income and budget they have now and foresee in the future. This along with an on going advisory committee to oversee the operation of the program is going to be key to making this management plan work.
Self Sustaining
In the past, there have been no fees for permits or other services provided by FWC to manage tortoise conservation. The fees charged for habitat loss under the Incidental Take Rule were so low that the FWC recovered less than 20% of the habitat loss. Of course the tortoises were lost as well. Relocation was established on lands with no long term commitment to protection and no funds were collected for lands or management of the sites or the entire program in the future.
The new draft plan that centers on relocation of tortoises and real land conservation would charge fees for land acquisition and conservation easements for private lands that would take tortoises. Secondly, funds would be structured to not just pay for the cost of relocation but to do it correctly (See the Relocation Section on this webpage.) Fees would be established in a way that would be separate from the actual cost of a permit for relocation or the permit to become a recipient site.
RELOCATION IS OPEN TO COUNTIES, CITIES, NONPROFITS, AND OTHERS
Before, FWC permits were and are a mess. They take forever to get approved and the approval is not based on good science. FWC has taken a stand on relocation in the past that it had little or no conservation value and used Incidental Take as a means of recouping land for tortoise conservation. Now this will likely change. In fact, it has already. Basically FWC will permit recipient sites for a fee. However, County Commissions can do the same for relocation sites, mitigation banking sites can be involved, and the donor sites where development is taking place may have options besides just paying for habitat loss. In other words, under the scrutiny of the FWC, the relocation program will essentially be in the “open market place”.
SOME POINTS ON HOW THIS MIGHT WORK
Where would permits come from? FWC? a County?, or City?
How much would they cost? Probably the fees will be based on the cost of services provided including helping with site planning (proactive conservation), site inspections, and better law enforcement.
Where would the fees come from to recoup habitat loss? Unlike other protected species, tortoise mitigation has been complicated and based on old data. We know now that tortoise populations need a complicated diet, move around in miles of habitat in their routine lives, and need much more land than the quarter of an acre provided on site or paid for by those developing the land. Far more tortoise habitat will be needed to move the tortoises and sustain the conservation of this species. How do we get it?
Under these new concepts of doing things, in the open market place, donor site owners can work with local governments, or with other developers to come up with appropriate habitat. In turn, the conservation lands become a positive for the local communities and may well expedite the exiting conservation lands programs already in place. In lieu of out right buying of lands, conservation easements may be purchased which are far less expensive and will allow agricultural interest to become involved in conservation that will provide certain tax and other benefits. Similarly, state agencies may be involved in tortoise relocation and obtain sorely needed management funds as well as money to expand conservation lands.
Actual Cost of Relocation
We know far more than we did 10 years ago about tortoise relocation and how to make it work. We now have a much better idea of habitat needs (forage), and the fact that tortoises have a great homing instinct that must be considered when developing a relocation program. We also know that management of the habitat is important (see Ashton and Ashton, 2004. The Gopher Tortoise, A Life History, Pineapple Press, Sarasota FL) if tortoises are to survive over 50, 100 or more years. This means an on going cost that has been ignored. So what are the costs?
Surveying the donor site completely to see how many tortoises there are and how much habitat is there. Is it truly good habitat? For example,,can tortoises dig burrows on the site or is the water table too shallow?
Surveying the recipient site completely to know if there are already tortoises there, what the quality of the habitat is, and how to manage the area to provide good habitat for the number of tortoises to be relocated.
Prepare the recipient site. Sometimes this may take a burn and clearing of some trees and shrubs. Or it may be as simple as figuring out how many cattle can live on the preserve with the tortoises.
The site must be fenced. This fence may be needed to keep tortoises there until their internal GPS is reset which takes 6 months. If the site is in a developed area, it may take a permanent fence to keep tortoises in and ATVs and predators like dogs outside of the fence.
Applying for the Recipient Site Permit will include how all the above will be done along with a complete management and monitoring program in perpetuity.
The tortoises are moved once the site is prepared. This usually includes a backhoe and trained operator as well as a tortoise biologist with training and experience in digging burrows and relocation.
What does this all cost? Again we are in the marketplace and completion will keep costs within reason. Of course, the costs include the size of the recipient site, the number of tortoises being moved, the habitat on the donor site, and the long-term management and monitoring.
WHAT ABOUT LONG TERM MANAGEMENT?
One of the greatest flaws in our conservation lands programs is that we know we need to monitor changes in the habitat to insure that it does not change into something we did not want. Exotic plants may move in, shrubs may get too thick and reduce food plants for tortoises. Under this new concept, there would be a system, possibly statewide that would require performance bonds on landowners or managers to insure that they will do the management agreed to. It will also allow for the enforcement statewide to get the eyes on the ground throughout the state.
WHAT ABOUT GENERAL PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT?
The great thing about this program is that it allows for local government involvement from? the local citizens. If a preserve is next to your back yard and they are not managing it correctly, then it is easier to get it noticed and cared for.
The management program called Assurance Colonies is designed to have different types of situations where tortoises can be placed, even back yards; it encourages education and proper management of local conservation lands.
CITIZEN ACTION TO MAKE IT HAPPEN
Many local action committees made up of conservation-minded people are encouraging local government involvement. This has been to stop Take and Live Burial . Yes, we need to stop this practice and make Incidental Take truly “accidental take”.
Encourage local government officials to see the benefits in becoming involved with this type of program. The best way to stop take is to make the relocation program much more attractive. Have them contact the Gopher Tortoise Conservation Imitative to organize a plan. Note that FWC staff cannot speak about much of what is listed here. Since it is in the development stages, they cannot even talk too much about what is likely. It has been only recently FWC has realized that local governments have the authority to be involved with protected species conservation.
Contact FWC and encourage them to continue with this bold new way of conservation. Also, let your legislators know that this may be a way to make conservation more cost effective but they will need to help FWC regain some of the staff and budget lost over the past 15 years.
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