All the heavy equipment is in place and construction was set to begin on Pensacola's new fire station on Summit Boulevard, but a required site survey uncovered a gopher tortoise burrow.That means ...

Gopher tortoises saved at Tarpon construction site Tim Scott excavates a gopher tortoise burrow at the Keystone Springs subdivision Tuesday.

They instinctively know to dig just above the water table. "The burrow itself is an awesome work of engineering,” said Gerry-Ana Jones of the Indian River County Gopher Tortoise Alliance. “They are so ...

Collapsed burrows. Alarmed neighbors. Slow agency response. The destruction of a once-thriving gopher tortoise community in Lehigh Acres last week typifies what’s happening to the threatened ...

Gopher tortoise relocations spike amid development boom, but Florida running out of room Will Indian River County let developers build Ridge Top neighborhood atop 600 gopher tortoise burrows in ...

Gopher tortoises are listed by the state as "threatened," and, since their burrows are used by a variety of other creatures, they are considered a "keystone species," she said.

SAVING THE GOPHER TORTOISE As this keystone species' name suggests, the gopher tortoise is an expert at living underground — like a gopher. Gopher tortoises have shovel-like front legs and strong, ...

When a developer cleared land in Auburndale, residents say it did so without regard to gopher tortoises. One has been saved, but are others entombed?

The tortoises imperiled by loss of habitat should be put on the endangered species list in four southern states, environmental groups said as they prepared to sue the U.S. government over the issue.

More than 100 gopher tortoises were collected and transported about 30 miles from the Hyundai megasite to Fort Stewart Army base, officials say.