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A Message From Ray Ashton
12 August 2005
As many of you know, the Gopher Tortoise Conservation Initiative (GTCI) has been working for 5 years now to get FWC to change the entire system of tortoise protection/conservation. What we have is an example of a species conservation program that does not work at any level. It is a symptom of the "old way" sustained by the good old boys who treat all species like they do deer and turkey. This system will not work for tortoises and as the rampant unplanned growth continues in Florida and elsewhere, it will not work for common game species as well. It took three years for the agency to realize that what they were doing isn't working and it has only been in the last year that the agency, I believe has realized that the situation is critical.
The stakeholders at all levels realize that something has to be done now and patience is growing very thin. The rate of loss of habitat and animals is growing at an alarming rate and, it appears in many areas that the FWC has been become more impudent in their efforts to uphold what rules there are. Meanwhile there has been an insistence to stay with ALL of the old ineffective rules or guidelines until a complete plan is developed. There are many policies that could be changed (and have been in the past) like requiring acceptable methodologies in surveying tortoises, proper relocation methods, and setting minimum professional training standards for consultants that work with tortoise and other protected species mitigation activities. Even the lifting of the URTD testing rule could be done now.
There are huge issues that are going to take a great deal of planning and phasing to get done like changing the TAKE rule to an Incidental Take Policy that protects tortoise populations within counties. Check our web page regarding the TAKE policy and why this is such a complicated issue.
Like almost everyone, my patience is wearing thin. Some have said GTCI is protecting FWC and defending them. In some sense we have been because we want to give their current efforts an opportunity to make the great changes. In my roles as chair of the Florida Committee on Rare and Endangered Plants and Animals (FCREPA), the Gopher Tortoise Council, and on various committees working with FFWCC in the past, I have never seen such a positive effort to committed to real change. The people working on this are the best and do care.
However, time is running out and all the good intentions of the FWC group working on tortoise conservation seem to be held up in making some of the more simple changes listed above because of administrative or legal feet dragging. The losses of tortoise habitat and the potential for protecting areas and populations is dwindling far more rapidly than most FWC folks seem to understand.
I have been thinking for a number of days, away from the phone calls about one disaster after another and suggest to those of you who have asked about what should be done, I recommend the following.
- Those individuals and organizations who are concerned start putting on the pressure on FWC to "GET R DONE". Go to the press, legislators, governor, and your membership to really begin to put on the pressure to get these changes done and to expedite getting the real issues resolved.
- If FWC does not take action on some of the simple changes as listed above within the next 3 months, then those considering legal action should begin to organize this effort. The reason is if they are not putting into place the simple changes that can make a big difference, then it will be a very long time before the big changes are going to be in place. These issues do not have to go through a public hearing process and are backed by good data.
- Encourage your local county governments to get involved with good local regulations that control TAKE and how on site relocation is permitted (if at all). Some counties are beginning to screen consultants for example. Remember conservation begins at home. If your county tries to back off this by saying they cannot legally do this, have them contact us. This is a simple cop out at this point because of concerns for developer backlash. We can demonstrate that if done properly, local rules can help in many ways.
Please watch our web page and if we can help, please let us know. Be patient but don't sit idle while doing so. Thanks for your concern.
Regards, Ray Ashton
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