Regional cooperation for better management of an at-risk species

The gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is federally listed as “Threatened” in Louisiana, Mississippi, and western Alabama, and listing was proposed for the Eastern populations in 2006. Can any one land manager on one site be expected to sustain this species, or reverse the decline of any at-risk species, regardless of the amount of land they own? Of course not. However, as of mid-2007, the Southeastern offices of all military services, the Forest Service, and the Fish and Wildlife Service, with the cooperation of the state DNRs, SE PARC, TNC, the Conservation Fund, the Gopher Tortoise Council, and NCASI, a forest industry research group, have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA…called by some parties a Memorandum of Intent …MOI), an open-ended plan to work towards better management of the Gopher tortoise within their lands. The route proposed is through the development of a Candidate Conservation Agreement (CCA) where multiple concerned groups and agencies agree to certain goals and activities in furtherance of the success of the species. The CCA has now been drafted, and will be reviewed before adoption by the partners. The goal is to encourage better land management, increasing populations of at-risk species throughout their range. This results in spreading any potential burden, decreasing the dependence on one agency for population recovery. Another benefit resulting from the widespread adoption of this plan is the numerous endangered plant species that could benefit, as currently they are largely ignored and continue to decline in population. Through the example of the Gopher Tortoise MOA and CCA, other threatened and endangered species may use this as a tool to aid in their recovery.