At Lykes Bros. Inc., responsible land stewardship means more than managing crops and cattle—it means protecting the native species that share our land. Through our Gopher Tortoise Relocation Program, we provide a home for Florida’s only native tortoise, helping preserve a keystone species while supporting conservation efforts across the state.
Found in dry, sandy uplands, scrub, pine flatwoods, and coastal dunes across the Southeast, this species has faced increasing pressure from habitat loss and development. The gopher tortoise is listed as a Threatened Species in Florida.
In 2007, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) implemented rules eliminating the “take” of gopher tortoises, meaning tortoises in the path of development must now be relocated to protected habitat. This created an urgent need for permitted recipient sites with suitable long-term habitat for these animals. Lykes Bros. Inc. has established several permitted gopher tortoise recipient sites, assisting with the safe relocation of these tortoises from development sites.
For more information on the state program, please visit the FWC site here.
Gopher tortoises are known for their remarkable ability to dig deep burrows—over 15 feet long—and these burrows make them essential to the ecosystem they live in. Nearly 400 other species, known as commensal species, depend on gopher tortoise burrows for shelter, including the Eastern indigo snake, Florida mouse, gopher frog, burrowing owl, and gopher cricket. By protecting the tortoise, we protect an entire community of wildlife.
The tortoise also benefits native plant communities through its feeding behavior. As it grazes, it “prunes” vegetation in ways that encourage healthy new growth—a natural form of land management that supports biodiversity across the landscape.
Lykes Bros. Inc. established one of the first privately permitted gopher tortoise recipient sites in Florida.
In 2010, we permitted NW Hackletrap, and have since expanded to six recipient sites encompassing more than 10,000 acres of suitable tortoise habitat.
All sites are located within the Fisheating Creek conservation easement on Lykes Ranch, providing permanent protection for relocated tortoises and enhancing the conservation value of the property.
Today, the Company is permitted to receive nearly 19,000 relocated gopher tortoises, with potential for future expansion into additional suitable habitat within the conservation easement.
As a Long-Term Protected Tier 1 Recipient Site, Lykes offers the lowest FWC mitigation costs and highest conservation value available under FWC guidelines.
Our program includes:
Flexible pricing options: $6,000 per adult tortoise with no charge for juveniles (when accompanied by at least one adult), or $5,500 per adult and $2,750 per juvenile tortoise.
No deposit requirement.
Mark, measure and transport of relocated tortoises.
Permanently protected habitat within a conservation easement.
Our Gopher Tortoise Relocation Program reflects the values that have guided Lykes Bros. Inc. for more than a century: respect for the land, responsibility to future generations, and a commitment to balancing productive agriculture with environmental stewardship. By providing a safe haven for this threatened species, we help ensure that Florida’s native wildlife continues to thrive alongside our operations.
Hunter Slade, CWB®
Senior Wildlife Biologist