Manatee County opens Gopher Tortoise preserve

DUETTE, Fla. - If you look closely at Duette Preserve in Manatee County, you can spot signs of life. 

"You can see little feet print. He’s most likely down there unless he’s out there foraging," said Kathleen Barrett. 

Barrett, the Ecological Program Manager for Manatee County’s Gopher Tortoise Recipient Sites, points out a burrow of a gopher tortoise. 

"They dig. They can be 10-foot down, 20-foot down. They build it, and then they’ll have a chamber at the bottom," she said. 

Barrett said the burrows can provide refuge for more than 360 different wildlife species. 

But as development gobbles up rural land and new homes go up, gopher tortoises are left homeless. 

"Here in Manatee we had a couple of projects where we ended up sending a couple of tortoises to Hernando County or Okeechobee County and we are like no, that is kind of ridiculous," she said. 

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Working with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Manatee County’s Natural Resource Department will welcome those displaced tortoises to their new home at the preserve. 

"The gopher tortoise is threatened. Their population has gotten so much lower in Florida because they’re being displaced out of their habitats. They’re living in suboptimal spoil piles on the sides of roads and things like that. To have a 22,000 acres to roam through will be a real refuge for them," she said. 

A new home for animals that have lived in the area longer than most. 

"Being a part of gopher tortoise rescue or rehoming is important to us because our preserves are designed and set up for wildlife. This is how we can help protect them and ensure the survival of this gopher tortoise species," said Charlie Hunsicker the director of Manatee County Natural Resources Department. 

Giving the species a change to thrive and survive. 

"We are set up now to receive those tortoises for their forever home," said Hunsicker. 

For more information on the Gopher Tortoise Recipient Site, contact Manatee County Natural Resources Department Ecological Program Manager Kathleen Barrett at (941) 742-5980, ext.1876. or kathleen.barrett@mymanatee.org.