Tag: Gopher Tortoise
The content below has been tagged with the term “Gopher Tortoise.”
Articles
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Longleaf pine stand located in the Coastal Headwaters forest in Alabama. Photo by USDA.
Coastal Headwaters project in Florida is a major step for longleaf pine restoration
April 24, 2019 | 4 minute read
Pace, Florida — Rarely has the establishment of a conservation easement generated such fanfare. But dozens of public, private and nonprofit officials on Wednesday extolled the wonders of the permanent setting-aside of 3,719 acres of forested land. Coastal Headwaters Longleaf Forest; Healthy Forest Reserve Program Conservation Easement. Map by Roberta Moore, The Conservation Fund. This, though, was no ordinary celebration. It’s likely the first of many such easements intended to restore majestic longleaf pine stands across a large swath of private property. Learn more...
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Tyndall Air Force Base pine forests were scissored by Hurricane Michael. Photo by Dan Chapman, USFWS.
After Hurricane Michael
November 29, 2018 | 6 minute read
Camilla, Georgia — Hurricane Michael barreled across prime Southern timber territory, damaging five million acres of pines and hardwoods and destroying nearly $1.7 billion worth of marketable trees. Habitat for many of the region’s at-risk species — red-cockaded woodpeckers, gopher tortoises, eastern indigo snakes — was sundered. Red-cockaded woodpecker in flight. Photo by Martjan Lammertink, U.S. Forest Service. Now, six weeks after Michael killed more than 45 people in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia, forest owners salvage timber, clear stands and pray for a market rebound. Learn more...
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A buoy washed ashore by Hurricane Michael at St. Marks NWR.
Service makes headway in Hurricane Michael repairs
October 17, 2018 | 5 minute read
St. Marks, Florida — The images of Hurricane Michael’s rampage across the Panhandle have been seared, by now, into the nation’s collective consciousness: the roofless homes; the mountains of debris; the long lines of anguished people; and the miles of chopped-in-half trees. The worst of the damage came courtesy of winds nearing 155 mph. Michael’s counter-clockwise punch, though, pushed water from the Gulf of Mexico deep inland, swamping small towns, barrier islands and wildlife refuges, particularly along Michael’s eastern edge. Learn more...
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Prime example of wildland urban interface on Sanibel Island, J.N. “Ding” Darling NWR. Photo by USFWS.
Safe and sound burning
September 10, 2018 | 9 minute read
Hobe Sound, Florida — The well-to-do on Jupiter Island wanted the wildlife refuge burned and who was to say no? Not the federal biologists at the refuge across the Intracoastal Waterway. They were eager to accommodate their neighbors and restore the pine scrub habitat. But the stakes — and potential dangers — were high. A prescribed fire, by its nature, is carefully planned and executed to minimize mishaps. Yet, winds shift. Learn more...
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An Eastern indigo snake on sandy soil associated with the longleaf pine ecosystem. Photo © Houston Chandler, the Orianne Society (Used with permission).
Snakes in a bag
May 25, 2018 | 8 minute read
Andalusia, Alabama — A gaggle of biologists, zookeepers, college students and government officials traipsed through the Deep South longleaf pine forest one recent, gorgeous spring morning carefully clutching white pillowcases. They were looking for holes. More specifically, gopher tortoise burrows into which they could deposit their precious cargo of Eastern indigo snakes, aka “Emperors of the Forest.” Southern Alabama including Conecuh National Forest. Map by Roy Hewitt, USFWS. Learn more...
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Coushatta Tribe members (from left) Bertney Langley, Ernest Sickey and Gardner Rose show a sign that honors the habitat restoration partnership between the tribe and the Service. Photo courtesy of the Coushatta Tribe.
Woven from the Landscape
January 23, 2018 | 4 minute read
Before the United States was settled by Europeans, longleaf pine forests covered about 90 million acres of the Southeast. Most of these forests were logged for turpentine and lumber, and by 1975 they had been reduced to about 5 million acres. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is working with countless private landowners, state and federal agencies and conservation groups, to restore the glory of the longleaf. The motivation for many of these conservationists is to help the many at-risk and endangered birds and wildlife that thrive in longleaf forests from the red-cockaded woodpecker to the gopher tortoise. Learn more...
News
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Mountain sweet pitcher plant patch in Butt CPA. Photo by Gary Peeples, USFWS.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducts five-year status reviews of 53 Southeastern species
June 20, 2019 | 9 minute read
As part of the process mandated by the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will conduct five-year status reviews of 53 endangered or threatened fish, wildlife, and plants. These species are found in the Southeastern United States and Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The public is invited to provide information and comments concerning these species on or before August, 19, 2019. These five-year reviews will ensure listing classifications under the ESA are accurate and recommend changes in status where appropriate based on the latest science and analysis. Read the full story...
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David Printiss of TNC releases an eastern indigo snake into a gopher tortoise burrow during a 2018 release. Photo by Tim Donovan, FWC.
Good news for America’s longest snake! 15 eastern indigo snakes just released in year three of the North Florida recovery effort
June 11, 2019 | 8 minute read
Tallahassee, Florida — Fifteen eastern indigo snakes, listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, have just been released in northern Florida as part of a continuing collaborative plan to return the important, native, non-venomous apex predator to the region. This effort marks the third year in a row that snakes raised specifically for recovery of the species have been released at The Nature Conservancy’s Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve (ABRP) in Bristol. Read the full story...
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Sunrise at Nathanial P. Reed Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Diana Gu, USFWS.
Service renames Florida refuge to honor conservationist Nathaniel Reed
April 17, 2019 | 3 minute read
Hobe Sound, Florida — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) honored today the late Nathaniel Pryor Reed with a ceremony highlighting the renaming of a wildlife refuge in his name. The Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge is now the Nathaniel P. Reed Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge. “From Jupiter Island to the Everglades, and Tallahassee to Washington, Nathaniel Reed was a consummate conservationist and steadfast defender of the natural world,” said Leo Miranda, the Service’s director for the Southeast. Read the full story...
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Red-cockaded woodpecker. Photo by Martjan Lammertink, U.S. Forest Service.
Base recognized for conservation work
May 30, 2018 | 4 minute read
Camp Blanding, flush with federally endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers, donates juvenile birds to other wildlife areas across the South. Nearly two-thirds of the National Guard base in Northeast Florida is prime habitat for at-risk gopher tortoises too. More than 10,000 acres of pine and scrub is carefully burned each year to benefit under-threat flora and fauna as well as conservation-friendly longleaf pines. And the joint military base is a critical piece in the creation of a wildlife corridor that connects central Florida to southeast Georgia. Read the full story...
