In 1987, the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) was listed as a threatened species in the western portions of its range, from western Alabama to southeastern Louisiana. These tortoises are known as gophers because they dwell in burrows they dig in sandy soils. These burrows are as deep as ten (10) feet and as long as 25 to 35 feet. The burrows provide homes to co-inhabitants such as the dung beetle, the gopher frog and various snakes (including the eastern diamondback rattlesnake). Animals such as the fox squirrel, opossum, raccoon, fox, armadillo, and quail often occupy abandoned burrows.

The tortoise is closely associated with the longleaf pine ecosystem, a biologically diverse forest type that has declined by more than 95 percent. The decline in tortoise population can be directly associated with habitat loss, fire suppression, habitat fragmentation, human predation, and declining densities in remaining populations. In Mobile County, development and fragmentation of tortoise habitat are significant threats to the tortoise. It is essential to the survival of the gopher tortoise that conservation of the longleaf pine ecosystem continues. This conservation includes the use of prescribed burning by landowners, control of cogon grass, and the control of hardwoods.

Gopher tortoises are found in the Mobile County area. However, as more and more land is developed, the threat to the continued existence of the gopher tortoise grows. In an effort to protect the tortoise and at the same time provide for continued land development, the Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners of the City of Mobile ("Board") and the Fish and Wildlife Service of the United States Department of the Interior have jointly agreed to a Conservation Bank Plan-endangered species mitigation banking. The Gopher Tortoise Recovery Plan calls for the development of mechanisms to secure the protection of non-federal lands for the benefit of tortoises. Conservation banking is one such mechanism, providing an opportunity to address the legitimate needs of private landowners while potentially bolstering gopher tortoise recovery efforts.

Two hundred twenty-two acres of undeveloped land around Lake Converse are used as a tortoise conservation bank. This acreage is dominated by longleaf pine, sandy soil, and native grasses. The Board is committed to actively manage this area for tortoise conservation by controlling cogon grass, suppressing hardwoods through prescribed burning, and appropriate timber management. In return for its management of the bank site, the Board sells mitigation credits to landowners whose development activities cause the incidental take of tortoises. All relocated tortoises are tested for upper respiratory tract disease and tagged with radio transmitters in order for the Fish and Wildlife Service to monitor their movement.