04-15-2008, 12:08 AM
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Wednesday approved the Gopher Tortoise Permitting Guidelines, the first major step in launching the gopher tortoise management plan approved by the Commission last September. The FWC reclassified the gopher tortoise to a threatened species last year, and the management plan serves as a blueprint to conserve the species.
This 62-page document is a framework for helping Florida meet the management plan objective of decreasing gopher tortoise mortality on lands proposed for development. The guidelines are intended to be a single source for all policies and protocols associated with the FWC's gopher tortoise permitting system.
Under the permitting guidelines, gopher tortoises must be relocated out of harm's way by an authorized agent, who will obtain a permit from the FWC. All permits will require some type of mitigation contribution -- in the past, some permits were at no cost.
The new permitting system is designed to create incentives for those who relocate gopher tortoises to protected land and thereby provide higher conservation value for the tortoises. In other words, those permit holders who move tortoises to protected, high-quality, managed habitat, will contribute the least for permits. That's because the higher quality the habitat, the better chance the tortoises will have to perpetuate the species, which is the goal of the management plan.
The permitting system also is designed to help provide incentives to landowners to manage their land for gopher tortoises and other native wildlife species. Landowners who do so may qualify for having their land certified and permitted as protected recipient sites eligible for receiving displaced gopher tortoises.
The Gopher Tortoise Permitting Guidelines may be edited and updated as needed in the future. Proposed changes will be reviewed annually by an FWC standing team and a public stakeholder advisory group. All changes require approval from the FWC executive director, who will coordinate with the FWC chairman to determine when changes to these guidelines are substantive and warrant full review by FWC commissioners.
This 62-page document is a framework for helping Florida meet the management plan objective of decreasing gopher tortoise mortality on lands proposed for development. The guidelines are intended to be a single source for all policies and protocols associated with the FWC's gopher tortoise permitting system.
Under the permitting guidelines, gopher tortoises must be relocated out of harm's way by an authorized agent, who will obtain a permit from the FWC. All permits will require some type of mitigation contribution -- in the past, some permits were at no cost.
The new permitting system is designed to create incentives for those who relocate gopher tortoises to protected land and thereby provide higher conservation value for the tortoises. In other words, those permit holders who move tortoises to protected, high-quality, managed habitat, will contribute the least for permits. That's because the higher quality the habitat, the better chance the tortoises will have to perpetuate the species, which is the goal of the management plan.
The permitting system also is designed to help provide incentives to landowners to manage their land for gopher tortoises and other native wildlife species. Landowners who do so may qualify for having their land certified and permitted as protected recipient sites eligible for receiving displaced gopher tortoises.
The Gopher Tortoise Permitting Guidelines may be edited and updated as needed in the future. Proposed changes will be reviewed annually by an FWC standing team and a public stakeholder advisory group. All changes require approval from the FWC executive director, who will coordinate with the FWC chairman to determine when changes to these guidelines are substantive and warrant full review by FWC commissioners.