Devon Bistarkey (Miami University)
Every year, the Gopher Tortoise Council awards grants of up to $1,500 per project to educators and organizations working to develop programs celebrating Gopher Tortoise Day. Grant recipients share their work with GTC's members through an article developed for The Tortoise Burrow or a presentation at a future annual meeting. Keep reading to share in the Gopher Tortoise Day festivities held at Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve and Kingsley Plantation by the National Parks Service and National Parks Conservation Association.
Each year on April 10th, Gopher Tortoise Day, communities come together to raise awareness of one of the southeastern United States' most important keystone species – the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus). As one of five North American tortoise species, they play a crucial role in maintaining healthy upland ecosystems. Yet, they face increasing threats from habitat loss. Today, gopher tortoises are threatened, and their populations have declined by 80 percent over the last 100 years.
This year, visitors to Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve and Kingsley Plantation joined the celebration, engaging with the National Park Service and National Parks Conservation Association staff and volunteers to learn more about the gopher tortoise's unique habitat and way of life. Several resident tortoises even made appearances, delighting more than 70 attendees from over 11 states and two countries.
Gopher Tortoise Day serves as an opportunity to deepen public understanding of the ecological importance of the species and urgent need for conservation, which everyone can support through informed individual actions and community efforts.
Protecting gopher tortoises has an outsized impact
A gopher tortoise's life revolves around its burrow, which also provides shelter for more than 350 species, including the threatened Eastern indigo snake, Florida mouse, gopher frog, and burrowing owl. By digging extensive burrow systems that can reach up to 40 feet long and 10 feet deep, gopher tortoises offer critical refuge from extreme temperatures, fires, and predators. These burrows are a vital part of the ecosystem, but as habitat fragmentation increases, the connectivity of these burrow networks is at risk. Protecting these burrows and their inhabitants ensures the balance of longleaf pine forests, sandhills, scrublands, and coastal dunes. Gopher tortoises feed on various plants, including grasses and wildflowers, helping maintain plant diversity.
Habitat impacts and the movement, growth, and survival of a species
Despite their importance, gopher tortoises are listed as threatened or at risk in much of their range. Their populations are declining due to habitat loss, disconnected displacement/ translocation sites leading to poor relocation outcomes, and fragmented wildlife corridors, making it harder for tortoises to disperse/migrate and maintain genetic diversity. When tortoises are translocated, they are moved from their burrows to new locations due to construction or other land-use changes. It’s estimated that nearly half of all gopher tortoises in Florida have been translocated over the past decade. An estimated 10,000 tortoises are translocated annually, and around 130,000 gopher tortoises have been moved around as mitigation measures in Florida since 1989. Translocation sites and healthy populations are somewhat disconnected across Florida, and highway wildlife crossings might help mitigate this.
Leading research, engagement, and meaningful outcomes
The Gopher Tortoise Council (GTC), founded in 1978 by southeastern biologists and concerned citizens, has been at the forefront of efforts to protect the gopher tortoise and its habitat. The Council’s goals include offering professional guidance on conservation and management, encouraging research on gopher tortoises and other upland species, conducting public education initiatives, and advocating for strong protections across the southeastern United States.
In support of these efforts, a now postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Wildlife Sustainability Research, Southern Illinois University, Dr. Leyna Stemle, conducted her dissertation research at Archbold Biological Station, focusing on the conservation of Florida's gopher tortoise and young tortoises. Additionally, Stemle studied gopher tortoise translocation and habitat connectivity and recently presented her research at the Gopher Tortoise Council Symposium in St. Petersburg, FL, in November of 2024, helping to strengthen the connection between scientific research and conservation action.
Following the review of her research and the work of her colleague Dr. Hunter Howell, which included updating the International Union for Conservation of Nature listing for the Gopher Tortoise, she has also developed a StoryMap project highlighting key conservation challenges and solutions, serving as a powerful tool for education and advocacy.
As a master’s student in Miami University's Project Dragonfly program, I explore how conservation technology and community-driven conservation initiatives can bridge the gap between awareness and action. My focus is on how traditional and emerging visual media can influence human-nature interactions by evaluating technologies, content, and behaviors to extend engagement with diverse audiences and enhance conservation strategies and outcomes.
Observances like Gopher Tortoise Day help drive what I call “conservation conversations”. The integral relationship between today's digital information age and conservation efforts can create meaningful behavior change from consumption to engagement.
5 Ways You Can Help
Get involved in gopher tortoise conservation by supporting organizations like the Gopher Tortoise Council and partners. Residents, landowners, and policymakers all have a role in protecting gopher tortoises. Here’s how:
- Maintain native plant landscaping to provide natural food sources.
- Avoid harmful pesticides or herbicides that could impact the tortoises' food supply.
- Keep yards and open spaces free of obstacles blocking tortoises from moving safely.
- Support Wildlife Corridors
- Advocate for funding and expansion of the Florida Forever program, which protects critical tortoise habitat.
- Support efforts to connect wildlife corridors, ensuring gopher tortoises and other species can disperse or migrate safely.
- Encourage policymakers to prioritize effective displacement/ translocation sites that provide viable long-term solutions for tortoise relocations.
- Join the Gopher Tortoise Council & Get Involved in Gopher Tortoise Day Activities
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Gopher Tortoise Council are hosting events for Gopher Tortoise Day in various parks across the state.
- Purchase the Gopher Tortoise specialty plate
- Featuring artwork by Matt Patterson, the plates are now available for Florida Driver’s License holders. You can purchase a plate voucher online.
- Report Violations - Florida Residents
- Report injured or deceased tortoises at (850) 921-1030 or the toll-free Wildlife Alert hotline at (888) 404-3922, or use #FWC or *FWC on your cell phone.
- For development violations affecting gopher tortoises or their habitats, call (888)404-3922.
- Identify and prioritize roads that might need wildlife crossings to reduce roadkill incidents.
More Information & Resources:
Raising awareness and advocating for innovative conservation policies can impact the future of gopher tortoises and Florida’s diverse upland ecosystems.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission - Gopher Tortoise