Some $3.7 million in USDA funding is available to agricultural producers willing to help restore and protect the habitat of gopher tortoises. The money is available through the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service jointly as part of the Working Lands for Wildlife, an innovative partnership that supports struggling landscapes and strengthens agricultural operations.
Patrick Rohling, NRCS conservationist, said the funding is part of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. Rohling said that those who sign up now will be put on the list for fiscal year 2017 money.
“Gopher tortoises are native to Covington County, and Covington County is the hub for gophers,” he said. “Anyone with very sandy soil who notices large burrows – that’s typical of the gopher tortoise. Anyone with a pine landscape – that’s the kind of landscape we are looking for.” Rohling said the longleaf pine ecosystem is in decline.
Local biologist Mark Bailey, Co-Author of “Turtles of Alabama,” said from a wildlife diversity standpoint, gopher tortoises are one of the most important wildlife species in our area.
“Their long, deep burrows provide shelter for so may other species of the original longleaf pine ecosystem that biologists call them a keystone species, meaning without them other forms of wildlife would decline and perhaps disappear,” he said. “There are species of beetle that occur only in gopher tortoise burrows. Rare indigo snakes, pine snakes and other reptiles overwinter in tortoise burrows.”
From the Andalusia Star News: https://www.andalusiastarnews.com/2015/12/16/funds-could-help-restore-tortoise-habitats/?utm_source=WIT121815&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=WeekInTrees