Journal

AgriLife Today: Natural Resources Institute aids in Florida gopher tortoise recovery

Collaborative effort celebrates recent achievements and outlines future goals.

First Steps: Gopher tortoise hatchlings indicate relocation success

A keystone species found in the southeastern U.S., the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) was listed as threatened in the western part of its range in 1987 and warranted for listing as threatened in the eastern part of its range in 2011, primarily due to the destruction and fragmentation of its native habitat. These findings prompted action among conservation groups to begin captive breeding or relocation programs to bolster population numbers and ensure that existing populations have safe habitats.

NRI selected as DoD 2021 Environmental Award Winner

USDA Launches Strategy to Continue Conserving the Gopher Tortoise and its Critical Habitat

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) today released its new 5-year plan to conserve the Southeast’s threatened gopher tortoise by focusing on the conservation and restoration of its key habitat―longleaf pine forests, and fire will play a leading role in the efforts.

Gopher Tortoise: Building a thriving community

In response to this unfortunate situation, the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute (NRI) researchers, including Drs. Wade Ryberg, Danielle Walkup, Toby Hibbitts  and Brandon Bowers, are working in partnership with many private landowners and stakeholders to relocate gopher tortoises to new, development-free habitats. Read their story here. 

The Intersection of Gopher Tortoise Policy and Conservation

Habitat loss, invasive species, disease, overexploitation, pollution—these are just a few of the many threats that species face in their fight for survival and that conservationists try to manage for in their efforts to protect and conserve species.

Protecting military readiness and the gopher tortoise at the same time

A first-in-the-nation conservation plan, crafted by the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and wildlife agencies in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, protects at-risk gopher tortoises while helping military bases to continue training and testing missions across the tortoise’s Southern turf.