ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — Monday is gopher tortoise day in Florida.
The reptiles live in forests, pastures and yards throughout the state, digging deep burrows for shelter.
WPTV spoke with Tony Adams, a state-registered gopher tortoise agent whose job is to protect and relocate the threatened species.
Pine flatwood is its native habitat and our community is one of its homes.
"The development pressure here in South Florida is incredible," Adams said. "There is nowhere else in the country like it. Local regulators and state authorities have been trying to come up with sensible solutions (and) it's a balancing act."
If gopher tortoises are found on a development site, work must stop. The tortoises must be relocated, often to private sanctuary lands that mirror their natural habitats.
Some of those sanctuaries are nearby, while others are in Central Florida.
Relocation is on a permit or reservation basis, and developers applying can often be frustrated by delays.
However, Adams speaks to the important role the gopher tortoise plays in our natural world.
"They are important because of the value they create for other species, i.e. lizards, salamanders," Adams said. "They use their burrow as a kind of refuge habitat."
Continuing conservation efforts aim to ensure the gopher tortoise stays on, or burrows into, the Florida landscape forever.
