Conservation of the Gopher Tortoise and Associated Species During Construction of the Florida Gas Transmission Company Phase III Expansion Project

Edward E. Wester and Joe W. Kolb

In 1994–95 Florida Gas Transmission Company constructed a 1,312-km (815-mile) natural gas pipeline from Louisiana to southern Florida. Preliminary surveys of the Phase III Expansion Project right-of-way indicated that the gopher tortoise, Gopherus polyphemus, occurred along much of the route and was especially abundant along those portions of the project route in peninsular Florida. The gopher tortoise is federally protected as a threatened species on those portions of the Phase III right-of-way in eastern Louisiana, south Mississippi, and southwestern Alabama. The gopher tortoise is also protected by state law in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Prior to initiation of construction activities, multiple teams of biologists, working simultaneously along the entire Phase III route, conducted intensive gopher tortoise burrow surveys, inspected burrows with remote video systems, collapsed unoccupied burrows, and ultimately trapped or excavated gopher tortoises occurring in burrows within the construction corridor. Gopher tortoises and any other vertebrate commensal organisms (such as the threatened eastern indigo snake) were temporarily displaced into burrows located adjacent to the construction corridor or into suitable adjacent habitat. The Phase III right-of-way was routinely resurveyed for new gopher tortoise burrows immediately before construction and all open trenches were inspected daily for tortoises or any other trapped wildlife. At project completion, 5,934 burrows had been cleared from the construction corridor and 2,524 gopher tortoises had been displaced, making this one of the largest single-species relocation efforts ever undertaken. Over 450 other vertebrate commensal organisms (including 40 species of frogs, lizards, snakes, mammals and birds) were also removed from burrows and displaced. Recaptures of marked tortoises and radio-telemetry studies indicated that displaced tortoises remained in the immediate vicinity throughout construction. Following revegetation, gopher tortoises have now reoccupied many areas of the Phase III right-of-way. Florida Gas Transmission Company’s program of temporary displacement proved successful and had a significantly lesser impact on the gopher tortoise and substantially lower cost than would have a program of off-site relocation.

Keywords: Gopher tortoise, natural gas pipeline, right-of-way, conservation, wildlife, threatened species, relocation