Georgia department of natural resources (DNR), working with a variety of public andprivate partners, has devoted a great deal of effort since 2015 towards the gopher tortoiseconservation initiative…

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, through the State Wildlife Grants (SWG) Program (CFDA 15.634), awarded a $676,500 Formula Grant to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for the Gopher Tortoise Conservation Initiative (GTCI). Under this award, the Georgia DNR is working with public and private partners to permanently protect a minimum of 65 viable gopher tortoise populations (250 adult tortoises) across Georgia's coastal plain. To date, the DNR has protected 63 populations through data-driven habitat mapping and on-the-ground population surveys. The grant also supports prescribed burning on over 21,000 acres of high-priority gopher tortoise habitat to improve degraded areas, as well as strategic relocation of gopher tortoises displaced by development projects onto newly acquired state lands. This two-year grant runs from June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2026.

Georgia department of natural resources (DNR), working with a variety of public andprivate partners, has devoted a great deal of effort since 2015 towards the gopher tortoiseconservation initiative (gtci). The gtci has primarily been devoted to USFWS recommendation#1 and seeks to permanently protect 65 minimum viable populations ( 250 adult tortoises)spread across ecoregional units of the georgia coastal plain. At present we have protected 63.our land protection strategy in georgia is heavily data-driven and informed by both habitatmapping and on-the-ground population surveys. Georgia dnrs gopher tortoise survey crew hasconducted line transect distance sampling on over 70 sites since 2012, including 16 sites thathave been RE-surveyed to track populations through time. A number of these survey sites havesubsequently been permanently protected through either fee simple acquisition orconservation easement.many of the most recently protected properties are somewhat degraded due to years of timberproduction-focused management and fire suppression. With that in mind, we are continuing tofocus on recommendation #3, particularly with respect to RE-introducing and or increasingimplementation of georgia gopher tortoise conservation initiative FY24 prescribed fire on newly acquired lands. Since 2021, georgia dnrs gopher tortoise fire crew have worked collaboratively with interagency burn team partners such as the nature conservancy, the orianne society, and the georgia forestry commission to conduct prescribed fire on OVER21,000 acres of high-priority gopher tortoise habitat and adjacent habitats on state owned and private lands. In addition, a wide array of development projects (primarily agricultural, mining, or solarenergy) in recent years have necessitated translocations of large numbers of gopher tortoises. Georgia DNR has facilitated many of these strategic locations onto state managed lands, and desires to continue to do so for smaller translocations on newly acquired tracts where tortoise populations need bolstering.