GOPHER TORTOISE LOCATION

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.