SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

GTCI RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTIONS
REGARDING THE GOPHER TORTOISE TAKE
RULE AND THE FUTURE OF GOPHER TORTOISE
CONSERVATION IN FLORDIA

FEBRUARY 2005

Recently there have been a number of newspaper articles and other reports which have stimulated quite a number of phone calls and emails to GTCI from concerned citizens across Florida. People in all walks of life, including many state and local agencies are alarmed at the continuing loss of habitat and the massive number of gopher tortoises and their commensal species that are being destroyed. Most people are extremely alarmed by the fact that many tortoises and other animals are entombed in their burrows often for months before dying.

GTCI is extremely alarmed by the continued acceleration of habitat loss. In many counties this translates to the loss of the last possible populations of tortoises that could be used to establish “assurance colonies” that could, if managed properly save tortoises in perpetuity. However, the answer is not as easy as just stopping the permitting of “Take” by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). The following are a brief list of issues that are involved with Take that must be addressed in creating an alternative to Take and creating a long term plan for conservation of gopher tortoises and all the other species in the habitats being destroyed.

Reasons for the "take-rule"

1. Under current laws governing state and local planning, it is very difficult to stop development on private land because of the presence of a protected species since that would likely be considered as a taking of private property by the government.
   
   
2. There are not enough areas currently available to relocate the tortoises to that are being displaced by development.
   
   
3. There is concern about the potential for spreading disease in the tortoise populations.
   
   
4. TAKE provides funds for the purchase of tortoise habitat.
   
   
5. Relocation as it is directed by FWC guidelines is not an effective conservation tool, since most tortoises relocated under these guidelines have been shown to leave the relocation site, usually resulting in the death of the tortoise.
   
   
6. There is no conservation plan leading to an organized way in which to protect the gopher tortoise and its habitats under the current rapid urbanization of the state.

Things you need to know if you want to comment

The details related to the five major points that we have listed are complex and certainly cannot be fully explained here. However, we are going to provide the key issues in each of the five key points related to Take and give you our “educated” comments. We would be happy to discuss the details of these with you.

1. Development and Relocation Sites
   
   It is likely that we have passed the point of no return when it comes to reasonable regional or county Comprehensive Planning. However, citizens who are concerned about tortoises should encourage counties and municipalities to do the following:
   
   Suggested Recommendations You Should Promote
   
   
   1. Establish conservation land conservation programs in your county.
      
      
   2. Encourage local government to promote conservation on private lands through purchasing conservation easements. This plan should include land tax relief to people who have easements and manage their lands for protected species. This could be done through Conservation Tax Exemptions that work similar to Agricultural Tax Exemptions.
      
      
   3. Develop a county-wide plan in cooperation with FWC to encourage developers to work in an organized fashion to provide habitat for relocation of gopher tortoises and other species.
      
      
   4. If TAKE is the only option, then the fees should reflect the cost of replacing the acreage required to support the tortoises. Current fees are not based on good science and frequently not on good data on the number of tortoises on the development site. In outstanding, well-managed habitat, we have found that one adult tortoise requires a minimum of 1 acre. In poorer habitat it could be much more than one acre
   
   
2. Spreading Disease
   
   Nearly 20 years ago when URTD was found in gopher tortoises, clinical biologists announced that this disease could well have an impact on the species somewhat similar to AIDS in humans. Herpetologists and conservationists were extremely alarmed and demanded a halt to relocation and to require testing of tortoises to stop the spread of this disease. It was even speculated that this was an exotic disease brought in by pet tortoises from other parts of the world. However, with continued study and years of observations now it is evident that what is taking place in the wild clearly indicates that URTD is a disease that certainly causes some infected tortoises to die but not whole populations. Testing does not provide protection from spreading URTD or any of the other diseases that tortoises have. Testing does however cause months of delay in resolving protected species mitigation with the developer. This is due to the cumbersome trapping, testing, and permitting processes that are in place. Due to time constraints, many developers are pushed into paying for a TAKE permit, resulting in the death of the tortoise populations on their land.
   
   Suggested Recommendations You Should Promote
   
   
   1. Eliminate URTD testing and promote a policy where overall tortoise health of each tortoise being considered for relocation is assessed by a trained individual to insure that it does not have acute symptoms of any of the diseases that produce obvious symptoms.
      
      
   2. Require that any relocation be done in a proper manner that insures that tortoises are handled and transported properly and relocated in a proper fashion.
      
      
   3. Require that any recipient site be properly managed so that the site provides for the great diversity of forage required for healthy tortoises (See No. 3) and does so on a long term basis with proper management.
   
   
3. Relocation Rules
   
   Current FWC relocation permits are not designed to protect the tortoises. Essentially, tortoises are removed from one form of destruction to another. Current rules do not require that tortoises are placed on lands that are or will be managed properly, that the lands will not be developed in the near future. Tortoises can be and frequently are “dumped” on recipient sites with no consideration for available forage, burrowing sites, location of highways. Nor do current rules take into account, the desire for tortoises to “home” which often takes the majority of tortoises off the proposed relocation site. Current rules allow untrained individuals to do the actual relocation and there are no requirements for well planned long term management of the relocation sites.
   
   Suggested Recommendations You Should Promote
   
   
   1. Research on relocation clearly indicates that the entire relocation site must be enclosed by a temporary (minimum of 6 months) or permanent fencing if the relocation is to be successful. Temporary fencing should remain in place for at least 6 months to allow tortoises to reprogram their homing desire.
      
      
   2. Relocation should be done on sites that meet size, forage, canopy cover percentage, and burrow site availability requirements for the number of tortoises being relocated. All sites should have a long-term management and monitoring program approved and where burning may not be possible the management plan must have a functional alternative.
      
      
   3. Relocation should be designed by categories designated by the goals of the relocation. These include:
      
      
      
      1. Assurance Colonies - Managed by conservation agencies: These are large areas of natural habitat that can sustain viable tortoise populations in perpetuity and can likely be burned as a primary part of the conservation plan. Relocation for reintroduction or augmentation is highly managed. Minimum size: 100 acres.
         
         
      2. Conservation Lands - Minimum size, 50 acres: These lands are managed for biodiversity and may be used for well-planned non-invasive human use. May include permanent conservation easements on privately owned lands or lands owned by counties that have a managed conservation lands programs.
         
         
      3. On Site Conservation - Minimum size, 25 acres: These may be properly planned and managed areas on development sites. These may include conservation easements on privately owned lands or land transferred to county conservation lands programs.
         
         
      4. Park, Education Facilities, private property: These lands are those where the landowners, managers or educators can obtain (easily) a permit to rescue tortoises. These facilities must fit criteria that will insure the needs of the tortoise(s) are met and the tortoise cannot escape. This may include some on site situations. These should be managed by local governments with over sight by FWC.
   
   
4. Organized Conservation Plan
   FWC does not have a plan for the long-term conservation of any protected species including gopher tortoises. It has not taken into consideration the rapid loss of remaining natural habitats or what is needed to sustain long-term, viable biodiversity of the various habitats found in Florida. Nature is going to be limited to islands of protected lands throughout the state. In some areas there are lands that are managed by federal or state agencies like Florida Department of Forestry (DOF) that rarely are managed in a fashion that promotes biodiversity even on lands that have been acquired by the state for that purpose.
   
   Suggested Recommendations You Should Promote
   
   
1. Encourage FWC to develop policies that would perpetually protect a minimum of 10% of the estimated tortoise populations in each county. This includes working in cooperation with federal, other state, and local counties agencies.
   
   
2. Encourage the FWC to change its emphasis on permitting to using its economic and staff resources for the development of assurance colonies and for their long term management including cooperative efforts to meet the 10% conservation goals.
   
   
3. Establish policies where developers pay a proper share in acquiring lands for relocation and the long term support of assurance colonies. These policies should be developed in a cooperative way with developers and county agencies.
   
   
4. FWC should turn over much of the permitting to local agencies. Where the counties do not have the environmental staff, then they should be carried out by FWC in a way that would encourage local governments to become involved.
   
   
5. FWC should encourage public involvement with conservation programs through conservation education, particularly education efforts which are directed to adults and the various stakeholders involved with tortoise conservation (landowners, developers, investment bankers, consultants, state and county personnel.
   
   
6. Individuals who wish to accept rescued tortoises should be permitted to do so with minimal but proper restriction. These efforts promote positive and effective support for the conservation of gopher tortoises, their commensals and their habitat. This should be handled by local agencies.

Writing or E-mailing your comments

We strongly recommend that you write one or more of the people listed below. We suggest that letters to:

FWC Commissioners,

Governor Jeb Bush,

Your State Representatives

County Commission members

Please note that there is a task force of FWC staff that has been working very hard to create a new plan for gopher tortoise conservation including a revamping of the rules. However, history has taught us that bureaucratic agencies find it extremely difficult to make substantial change. If the needed changes are to see daylight, the administrative powers and those who control budget will have to cause reluctant staff to think out of the box and move in the right direction.

Pick your Points

We have listed points under each issue that are important in changing FWC rules related to TAKE permitting. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU CLEARLY LIST OUT THE ISSUES YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT.